#526 - VO - Alice Bentinck - Entrepreneurs First - The Founder Matchmaker

#526 - VO - Alice Bentinck - Entrepreneurs First - The Founder Matchmaker

2:20:21 Mar 1, 2026
About this episode
Retrouvez l'épisode en version française ici : https://www.gdiy.fr/podcast/alice-bentinck-vf/ She might be the most underrated founder in Europe.Alice Bentinck has no massive press coverage.Just 15 billion dollars worth of companies built quietly over 10 years.Alice is the co-founder of Entrepreneurs First, the talent investor that finds founders before they have a company, before they have an idea, sometimes before they even know they want to be a founder.The model sounds crazy.VCs have told her it would never work.But Entrepreneurs First has now produced 500 seed-funded companies, counts Reid Hoffman and Patrick Collison among its backers.In this episode, Alice breaks down everything she has learned about co-founders: why breakups kill more startups than bad ideas, how to know in 48 hours if someone is the right partner, why three co-founders is the most expensive mistake you'll make, and why megalomania is not a flaw but a necessity in every great founder.If you've ever struggled to find the right co-founder, or wondered whether the one you have is actually the right one, this episode is for you.You can contact Alice on LinkedIn.If you want to apply to Entrepreneurs First, you can reach Julia and Anastasia at: gdiy@joinef.comTIMELINE:00:00:00 Finding founders before they have a company00:11:37 The co-founder mistake that kills startups00:17:42 The 3-founder trap: The most expensive mistake00:26:22 How to know when to have that hard conversation00:33:23 The Human Algorithm: How Alice spots potential before the idea00:44:26 How to access American capital without losing your European soul00:52:11 Scaling the Unscalable: How EF went from 10 to 100 companies a year01:03:47 The Customer Secret: Why your location defines your speed01:12:05 The 5-Attempt Rule: Why your first company doesn't need to work01:19:53 High Personal Exceptionalism: You must believe you are different to succeed01:35:46 The 996 Reality: Startups are the ultimate negative lifestyle choice01:53:07 Methodical is Slow: Why European founders are focusing on the wrong things02:01:12 The AI Performance Hack: How to manage your health & a $15B portfolio02:08:20 The $1,000-An-Hour Secret: How coaching builds a high-performing teamWe referred to previous GDIY episodes :
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