Hi, I’m Jeff, and I’m a builder. I like building software, hardware, companies, and communities. And now, I’m building a car too. I founded and ran Twilio for 16 years, from zero to $4B revenue and nearly 10,000 employees. Through all that, my favorite part of running Twilio were all the builders I got to engage with – a real community of builders.
The early days of Twilio were driven by the boom in mobile apps. Back then, as the technology of mobile was moving fast, I saw a community of entrepreneurs, developers, builders all figure out that opportunity in real time together. Today, AI is providing that wind at our collective back. And the community opportunity – to learn, figure it all out together – remains. And while the tech is new, the company-building challenges are actually the same.
I want this sense of community to exist again. So I’m partnering with Bessemer Venture Partners (who was one of my first VC partners at Twilio) to help re-create it. I’ll be opening up my SF workshop (creatively called “The Garage”) to a small, select number of early stage startups to work from and collaborate in. Here’s how it will work:
I’m going to offer a “Garage Residency” to a handful of early stage companies at a time. It’s a three month opportunity to work out of The Garage, and be a part of a small community of companies. I’ll be there, building a car, and probably some other stuff… and I’m also there to work with you, advising and mentoring. Bessemer is also going to help by holding regular office hours with their investors and advisors, available to chat about anything that's top of mind. (FYI You can learn more about their AI thinking here.)
There’s no cost - not in cash nor in equity. So what do I get out of it? I want to surround myself with interesting people doing interesting things. I want to learn from you all too. One part of our community is sharing. I want you to be willing to share (non-proprietary) learnings and challenges with the rest of the community. If you like me and I like you, then at your next round, I’d appreciate the option to invest.
I also plan to invite speakers into The Garage for shared learning. Sometimes, we’ll invite folks from outside The Garage community to give talks. Other times, it will be one of us. The point is to build a spirit of shared learning. I envision bringing in domain experts in rapidly evolving technologies (like RAG, new models, etc.), company building (culture, scaling, etc.), and disciplines (like sales, marketing, finance, etc.) – all knowledge that will help you build the companies you’re building.
I’ll be holding two Open House events on November 11th and November 14th where sponsored companies can come, meet me and the Bessemer team and explore The Garage. After that, I’ll invite a select group of those companies to take part in the first Garage Residency, which will start in early December.
To help sort through the many interesting founders & companies who may be interested in The Residency, I'm working with a few organiztions who can sponsor startups for consideration. Currently, Bessemer Venture Partners, OpenAI and Y Combinator can sponsor their early stage companies for The Residency.
Right now is the opportunity to be a part of the founding cohort of companies! If you work with one of our partners and interested in the Garage Residency, talk to Lindsey Li at Bessemer Venture Partners, Marc Manara at OpenAI, or Garry at Y Combinator and let them know you’d like an invitation to the open house. I hope to see you there.
Onward!
Jeff Lawson
November 1, 2024