GrowthBusiness.co.uk: Your gateway to entrepreneurial success

Entrepreneurs are typically thought of as lone rangers who sink or swim based on their individual skills or luck. Andrew Romans, general partner of The Founders Club, has a slightly different notion.

Having started his own company, Global TeleExchange, which went through five venture capital (VC) rounds, Romans concluded that who you have on board is at least as important as what you do. ‘Let’s face it, if a Hollywood film is directed by Oliver Stone and has Brad Pitt in the lead, it’s always going to get funded, regardless of the script,’ he says. ‘So the question was, how could I get my whole network rooting for my deal?’

Romans’ answer was The Founders Club. The core of the club is an admissions committee of a dozen or so venture capitalists, who decide which promising entrepreneurs are allowed to join. To become a member, you have to agree to give up a slice of your proceeds – between 5 and 10 per cent – when you sell your business. This cash is distributed among the clubs’ members (to the individuals, not their companies).

‘Typically, out of 30 VC-backed businesses, you might expect ten failures, 18 OK exits and two big, sensational deals,’ says Romans. ‘All 30 CEOs will make money on the 20 successful exits.’

The beauty of the model is not so much that you spread your risk, but that, in Romans’ view, you’re less likely to fail with the combined networks of 29 other CEOs and a cohort of VCs behind you. In some ways, it’s a formalisation of the way the start-up world works anyway, with a little extra thank you for helping out your buddies.

The club spent last year marketing itself to VCs and entrepreneurs across the US, Europe and Asia and is preparing to launch its first “fund” in healthcare and life sciences. Venture advisers already signed up include Michael Sheffery, founding general partner of $5 billion US healthcare investment firm OrbiMed, and Karl Naegler, a general partner at Paris-based Ventech who formerly worked with Atlas Venture.

It’s very much an international concept, which comes as no surprise when you discover that Romans speaks English, French and German, as well as being ‘conversant’ in Czech and Slovak. He explains, ‘The international element is attractive for some US members who might have a great network in the Valley but not necessarily in London, Paris or Stockholm.’