Founders Box, a US-Based AI Fund Run By International Media Veterans

Outside the Box Ventures is an early-stage VC firm anchored by Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn) and built on a distinctive thesis: that technical founders fail not because they lack great technology, but because they lack the ability to make the world care about it. Raising capital is storytelling. Winning customers is storytelling. Hiring great talent is storytelling. Most founders are exceptional builders. Far fewer know how to communicate what they've built in a way that moves investors, customers, and partners to act.

To bridge that gap, Outside the Box launched Founders Box, a 10-week VC growth program that pairs early-stage founders directly with world-class journalists and editors from some of the most influential media institutions in the world, including Inc., Wired, the Harvard Business Review, and Newsweek. Alongside that editorial mentorship, founders gain access to a network of more than 100 mentors including unicorn founders, Fortune 500 CEOs, and top-tier investors.

The program's first cohort received over 11,000 applications for 15 spots, making it more selective than Harvard. Selected companies also receive $250K–$1M in equity investments. Results from the first cohort are now beginning to speak for themselves: participating companies have achieved a 300% increase in customer conversion rates, a 20x increase in revenue per customer, Fortune 50 enterprise clients have been added, and multiple funding rounds have been closed.

Our Work

Three Mast Group is advising Founders Box on its European strategy as the firm looks to extend its reach beyond the US market. Our work focuses on three areas.

Market Entry and Ecosystem Navigation. We are helping Founders Box understand the European funding landscape, including where capital is available, how government-backed LPs shape the market, and where the most active investor communities are concentrated. Europe is not a single market, and building the right relationships in the right places requires local knowledge and established networks.

LP and Investor Introductions. We are connecting Founders Box with European family offices, institutional investors, and fund-of-funds that are actively looking for differentiated access to high-quality US deal flow. At SuperReturn Berlin, we stress-tested the Founders Box investment thesis with senior LPs and family offices. The reception was strong.

Portfolio Support. For Founders Box portfolio companies seeking to expand into Europe, we provide guidance on market entry strategy, local partnership development, and access to the business and innovation district networks we work with across the continent.

For more information: https://thefounderbox.com/