Joe Falter

Co-founder @ Zapp & Jumia. Now bringing together a group of talented ex founders to go again, backed by EF

[James Richards @jamesrichards2]

Too many exceptional people are building trivial things that have little chance of becoming important companies.

We’re living through an unusually consequential moment. It demands thoughtful audacity, not opportunism.

After working with @matthewclifford building defensive technology companies, I want to spend my time helping builders who feel this discomfort too.

In April, I’m putting together a small group of founders who reject “find some customers, raise a seed, and we’ll figure it out later.”

If you're one of these people, I'd like to talk.

Full memo in thread.

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

Good stuff as always from @VinIyengar 👏🙏

[Vinay Iyengar @VinIyengar]

Did a deep dive on playbooks for post-acquisition value creation in AI-enabled rollups. Excited to hear feedback and thoughts from builders in the space!

https://t.co/BA30FVkiPC

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

Ex-founding CEO and VP of Engineering at Sequoia-backed startup. Looking at roll-up opportunities across services industries.

Exited founder/CEO who raised from a16z and Local Globe. Looking at hyper-verticalised AI-enabled software leveraging a deep market edge.

Ex-founder turned multi-time COO and Head of Growth from $0-200m at elite healthcare ventures. Looking at healthcare roll-up opportunities.

Ex-Palantir FDE and elite founding engineer at a high-growth AI SDR venture. Working on Voice AI deployment, primarily in services industries.

Founding CEO that raised from tier 1 EU and US investors. In the original team that launched Google Home across 10+ countries. Interested in the value capture of enterprise and consumer AI assistants.

2x technical founder having raised Series A from tier 1 investors. Interested in disrupting legacy services industries.

EPFL machine learning engineer turned exited founding CTO, turned technical CEO. Looking to deploy AI in legacy services industries.

University dropout and founding CEO of a healthcare venture doing $3m+ ARR. Interested in disrupting the industries supporting the healthcare market.

Double exited founding CEO turned COO of $500m+ valued applied AI company. Interested in AI-native operating systems.

Elite full-stack Security and ML engineer. Former founding engineer from Seed to Series B+ venture.

Elite applied AI engineering leader and ML researcher across multiple enterprise verticals. Interested in AI-enabled services disruption.

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

In one month, a group of elite experienced founders will come together to build their next company with us.

Deep scars and the ambition to take another huge swing.

Below are anon profiles for a handful of the founders who will be joining XF in September. If you want to join them, now is the time to decide.

[Torsten Reil @torstenreil]

Europe's great founders must unretire

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

@sahilpatwa 🙏✨

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

Check out the full list here: https://t.co/75zGvtndh5

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

There’s been a surge of content on AI-enabled services and rollups — some of it visionary, some more speculative.

After two years of investing in this space and doing practical work with teams, I’ve pulled together a shortlist of resources that are actually helpful.

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

These are pieces I repeatedly share with builders — grounded, practical, and relevant to founders trying to execute in this space.

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

Lesgo! 🚀

[Freddie Filz @fredfilz]

first general contractor invited us to a solar farm to automate material staging! going to colorado in 3 weeks. going to see if we can do some other processes in civil construction as well. also great chat with @joefalter today about the feasibility potential roll up play

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

@jonnyclifford See if you can maintain 0 would be the most impressive

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

@KieranO Thanks man

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

We just made our first investment at XF 💪✨

It's earlier than we’d anticipated, but there’s a bunch of exited founders who didn’t want to wait a moment to take their next big swing - and have started working with us already.

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

If you’re an elite CEO feeling the itch again, or exceptional engineering leader, join us: https://t.co/gHxV1rSSUN

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

We’re gearing up for the wider cohort in September, bringing together founders who’ve built high quality companies before, and helping them build deep conviction in their next bet - in 6-9 weeks, not 6-9 months. We’ll help them pair up with a world-class cofounder along the way

[Matt Clifford @matthewclifford]

Few people in Europe better equipped than Joe to pursue this thesis. Really excited to see what emerges from it. If you’re an experienced founder excited about this space, highly recommend getting in touch with Joe👇

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

Event details here: https://t.co/eCjIewg5WX

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

When I first invested in AI-enabled services two years ago, it was a niche thesis. Now, with several billion in capital committed, it’s time to hear more from founders and funds executing on it.

So I’m hosting an exclusive founders-only event on 9th June with the west-coast fund that pioneered the thesis. Joining us are Ilia Drozdov and Dan Lifshits, co-founders of Dwelly, a leader in the services-led approach and a company I’m proud to have backed.

After speaking with over 200 experienced founders for our XF program starting in September, I'm more convinced than ever: for founders with operating scars and deal-making experience, AI-enabled services represents the single most compelling opportunity for their next big swing.

To request to join, and read more about the thesis, follow the link in the thread

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

Apply here: https://t.co/6SreqlPSkw

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

I’m looking for 10 experienced engineers and researchers to join a group of 30+ proven founders I’m building with.

Over the last month I’ve built deep conviction in our Experienced Founder thesis — by working with commercial and technical CEOs who want to leverage their scars from executing and raising capital to go again this year.

I’m now inviting inbound applications from experienced technical individuals to join them. If you’re a builder who started a high-velocity venture, or joined one early and scaled with it, I want to hear from you. Extreme ambition and intensity are essential.

Application link is in the comments.

[Joe Falter @joefalter]

A handful of companies built in the next 3 years will define the trajectory of our largest industries for the next 50