Reef is a 5-month, full-time program, made for people who are ready to take the leap and build a startup from scratch.
One cohort a year, 40 brilliant individuals find their team, a problem worth solving, build a solution, get funded and scale their startup. Next cohort starts January 2026.
applicants per cohort
participants per cohort
cohorts up to date
Startups born in Reef
Raised by startups
Forty people arrive as individuals, spend five months close to each other, find their co-founders, explore markets until a real problem emerges, then build, test, pivot and rebuild at a pace we deliberately keep uncomfortable. The strongest teams get our investment and keep building with us toward the final stage.
The application process is designed to help us identify exceptional founder potential.
Applications closing on October 18th.
Commitment
FULLTIME
Relocate to Turin. This will be your company, so we expect full agency and dedication from day one. The density only works if everyone is in the room.
Grant
Each selected participant receives a grant to fully commit during the early, high-uncertainty stage of building, before getting the chance to receive the investment, midway through the program.
Investment
Midway through the program, the most promising teams are reviewed by our Investment Committee (composed by Investment Team plus external guests) and receive €150,000 via convertible note, converting into 10% equity.
SUPPORT
MENTORSHIP
They're founders currently scaling their own companies, investors, or sector experts. They help you identify the right challenge: the market to address, a problem worth solving, and then stay close as you build, mentoring you throughout the journey.
Partnerships
Perks, discounts & benefits
Possible thanks to the partnerships we build. They give the cohort credits, discounts or benefits on the tools founders need to build, from the companies we work with and from our own portfolio.
SOME OF OUR PARTNERS
PARTNERS FROM OUR PORTFOLIO
We're looking for people who are serious about building a company and ready to commit to the journey. We select people pre-team and pre-idea.
You might be:
an experienced operator ready to take the leap into a founder role
a technical builder eager to create from scratch.
a domain expert with a sharp eye for business opportunities.
a second-time founder who knows the hardest part isn't the idea.
someone brilliant from a completely different background
What unites the people we select isn't where they come from, but their talent, drive, clarity of thought, ambition, and ability to execute. We look for those who don't just want to be founders, they need to be. If you already have a startup idea, we'd love to hear it, but our structure is built around people first: we start from problem spaces, not polished ideas, and we ask everyone to stay open to new problems they didn't initially consider.
Applications open · Cohort 6
Apply.
Deadline: October 18 · Program begins January in Turin