FAQ

What we are

Startup Embassy is a hacker house located in Palo Alto. We provide a soft landing for international tech entrepreneurs that arrive to Silicon Valley. We are a community of like-minded founders and provide collaboration, living and workspace for them. We only accept entrepreneurs working in their startups, so you get the benefit of sharing your time with like-minded individuals.

What we are not

We are neither an incubator nor an accelerator. There are plenty of them in Silicon Valley and we encourage you to apply to them if you think you can benefit from it. Many of our ambassadors are or have been in 500 Startups, YCombinator or Singularity University, as they are really near Startup Embassy.

What else we are not

Startup Embassy is not a hotel. We expect our guests to understand that we’re a community and only accept people who are willing to be a part of it.

Do you accept international entrepreneurs?

Of course! That’s precisely what our ambassadors are, international tech entrepreneurs.

What are the main reasons entrepreneurs that stay in SE come to Silicon Valley?

Many! To name a few:

They come to get inspiration. There’s nothing like SV, we breathe startups, business models, growth hacking and go to market strategies. We just talk about that. Our ambassadors are freaks where they live, but here we are ALL like them.
They have an amazing startup and come to get funded: Careful, you won’t raise in a month and you need to be in the right stage to get funded, but if you are, SV is full of VC’s.
They are seed funded and come to scale.
They are already funded; they come to meet their VC’s, partners, or customers.
They are moving their team to SV and need time to find a nice home: Housing in SV is crazy! Really, really, expensive. And it takes at least a month (or more) to find the right spot even if you have the funds. Why not stay at an affordable place where you can still work and be part of a like-minded family?
They had an exit in their country: And now they want to get inspired again and see if they can do it again…this time where the big players are!
They are part of a startup program: They know the best place to stay is with us.

Do you host events at SE?

We do organize events every week that boost networking amongst our guests and other entrepreneur tech friends in SV. Activities such as workshops, roundtables, BBQ’s and any activity that we organize in common. It’s important to note though that most of the magic in SV happens organically. We provide the platform, but it’s up to you how you take advantage of it.

Will you connect me with a VC

Short answer: NO.

Long answer: As we’ve previously stated, we’re neither a program nor an accelerator nor an incubator. We do have our contacts in SV but things don’t work that way. You first need to build trust, and that takes time. As VC Brad Feld states:

Networking is incredibly important as an entrepreneur. For someone starting off fresh, what are the best ways to start building a quality network?
“Give before you get. If you follow that principle, you will build a great network. Make sure you are providing real value to the people you are trying to meet and network with.”

How long can I stay at Startup Embassy?

We set limits on how long we allow our guests to stay with us. Overall principle – the more progress your startup makes, the longer you may stay. The maximum stay is 6 months at a time.

If you want to know more, please read our Length of Stay protocol.

Do you take equity from my startup

No. We’re not in the risk business.

Live with us!