Paid Founder-in-Residence: Build an Industrial AI Startup (Manufacturing, Defence or Energy)

The Flywheel Venture Studio ( is recruiting exceptional operators, engineers, and domain experts to build category-defining companies that solve hard problems in Europe’s most critical sectors: Manufacturing, Defence and Energy.

We are looking for ambitious entrepreneurs with first-hand insights into industrial challenges, bottlenecks, and revenue blockers. We turn your insight into a formidable company. You keep up to 80% equity of the company we build together.

We compress the 0 to 1 journey from years down to months. Accelerators, VCs, and incubators fund you and advise you. We build with you: validating the idea, shipping the first prototype, forming the founding team, incorporating, and winning your first customers and investors.

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. Successful residents receive up to €300k in committed capital at incorporation, and keep up to 80% of their equity.

The studio’s 20+ investors, including former operators from Google, Boeing and NASA stand ready to make warm introductions to first buyers, pilots, and investors.

We run a paid, hybrid founder-in-residence program out of Thessaloniki, Greece with deep access to one of Europe’s largest untapped pools of engineering talent. Successful ventures are free to build anywhere in Europe.

The Role

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

• Manufacturing & Supply Chains
• Defence & 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 guidance, material support and capital.

Responsibilities

During the FiR Program (ideally 1-3 months, 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’s industry partners
• Lead further capital raises with support from The Flywheel.
• Drive execution toward product-market fit and long-term growth

Requirements

We are looking for high-agency, deeply competent builders. Successful candidates should have one or more of the following:

• Several years of experience in one or more of our focus areas
• Strong product/technical leadership experience building from 0-1
• 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

• B2B enterprise sales or business development background
• Experience managing engineering or product teams
• Network of industry buyers

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

Who should not apply

• You already have traction, pilots, or a funded company and mainly need capital. We build companies; we don't just fund them.
• You can't point to a specific problem you've seen first-hand, or to the buyer who pays to solve it. You don't need a polished idea. You do need real insight.
• Your problem sits outside Manufacturing & Supply Chains, Defence & Security, and Energy & Sustainability.

What We Offer

(€4k/month) to validate idea, up to €300k at incorporation, you keep up to 80% of NewCo

• A real co-founder: We work beside you from first idea to first customers. You keep up to 80% of the company we build together.
• Instant credibility and access: backed by 20+ investors, including former operators from Google, Boeing, NASA, and the European Commission.
• A team that builds with you: fractional engineering, design, and go-to-market operators.
• User research & validation frameworks
• AI architecture & technical prototyping
• Business modeling & pricing strategy
• Access to industrial pilot programs and buyers
• Team formation and recruitment of technical talent
• Company formation, legal, and IP support
• Pre-incorporation: €4,000/month stipend to properly validate the idea for up to six months.
• Post-incorporation: Up to €300k in initial funding
• A path to your Series A: guidance and warm intros to US and EU investors, from founders with multiple raises and exits.

How our application process works

We review applications on a rolling basis. The process: a 7-minute application, a 30-minute screening call, then a deep-dive session before an offer. Most applicants hear back within 5 days.