Co-Founder — Build an AI Startup in Manufacturing, Defense, or Energy

The Flywheel (www.theflywheel.studio) is recruiting exceptional founders to build category-defining companies at the intersection of AI and industrial real-economy sectors: Manufacturing, Defense, and Energy. We are looking for passionate entrepreneurs with first-hand knowledge of the problem(s) they have encountered in these sectors.

The Flywheel is a next-generation venture studio dedicated to building profitable, technologically differentiated, industrial AI companies. Traditional venture capital funds wait for founders and exceptional companies to emerge before they deploy capital. We take a different approach that strengthens the entire innovation ecosystem, by actively building and co-creating companies with outlier entrepreneurs to reduce early risk, accelerate validation, and help transformative ideas reach investability and scale faster.

As a Founder-in-Residence (FiR), you will be paid while validating, designing, and launching a new venture with hands-on support from experienced founders, operators, engineers, and industry partners.

The Role

As a Founder-in-Residence, you will work closely with The Flywheel team to identify, validate, and build a venture that leverages AI to accelerate productivity and efficiency in one of our core domains:

• Manufacturing & Supply Chains
• Defense & Security
• Energy & Sustainability

You will operate as the future CEO or CTO of a company formed during or after the program. This is a highly entrepreneurial role for individuals ready to build a 0–1 company with structured support and capital.

Responsibilities

During the FiR Program (up to 6 months):

• Conduct deep user research and problem validation across target industries
• Generate or evaluate multiple venture concepts and select a high-potential direction
• Develop early prototypes (with The Flywheel engineering support)
• Validate customer demand, willingness to pay, and pathway to profitability
• Run experiments, pilots, and market tests
• Build early business models, market segmentation & analysis, and GTM strategy
• Develop and present the investment case for NewCo creation

Upon NewCo Formation:

• Become CEO or CTO of the new company
• Use The Flywheel’s €300k investment to launch the venture
• Build the core founding team with our recruiting support
• Secure early customers/pilots with Flywheel industry partners
• Lead initial fundraising efforts for the Seed round (with our help)
• Drive execution toward product-market fit and long-term growth

Requirements

We are looking for high-agency, deeply competent builders, not generic applicants.

You should have:

• Several years experience in one or more of our focus areas
• OR strong product/technical leadership experience building from 0–1
• OR prior entrepreneurial experience (startup founder, early employee, product owner, technical lead)
• A track record of solving complex problems and delivering outcomes
• Strong communication and leadership ability
• A willingness to own the company end-to-end as CEO, or lead the technical direction of the company as CTO

Nice-to-haves:

• Fundraising experience
• B2B enterprise sales or biz dev background
• Experience managing engineering or product teams
• Deep network in industry

You do not need a fully formed idea or prototype to apply.

What We Offer

Paid Founder-in-Residence (up to 6 months)

€4,000/month stipend while validating and building your venture.

€300k Initial Investment

Committed capital for every venture that passes validation.

80% equity

You’ll be the majority owner from day one.

True Co-Founding Partnership

Work side-by-side with founders who have built and exited companies in advanced manufacturing, aerospace/defense, energy, and AI.

Hands-On Venture-Building Support Including:

• User research & validation frameworks
• AI architecture & technical prototyping
• Business modeling & pricing strategy
• Regulatory & defense procurement pathways
• Partnerships with manufacturers, defense groups, and energy operators
• Pilot & customer access through The Flywheel network

Deep Ecosystem Access

Connections into EU & US investors, industrial players, and technical talent.

A Fast, De-Risked Path to Company Creation

We compress the 0 to 1 journey from years down to months.

Apply Now - Limited Spots Available

We’re selecting a cohort of up to 5 new founders to start in Q1 2026. Apply via our website now!