
Igniting the founders of the future

At Floodgate, we talk about how $1B Thunder Lizards are hatched from atomic eggs. Atomic eggs contain all the raw materials needed for a breakthrough business: inflections, insights, and a killer team.
Reactor teaches exceptional undergrad founders to identify inflections, develop insights, and ultimately build amazing businesses that are worthy of their time.
Now accepting applications until October 21, 2022.
Tuesday, Sept 20th @ 4-5pm PT over Zoom
Thursday, Sept 29th @ 5-6pm PT over Zoom
Thursday, October 6th @ 5-6pm PT over Zoom
As a Reactor, you must loosely hold strong opinions. We are seeking Reactors who can’t imagine doing anything other than building a business - but with the mental flexibility to iterate and pivot in search of insights.
Take a listen to Twitch founder, Emmet Shear, describe his process with his co-founders in finding the right idea (21:15 - 22:28).
Take a listen to Applied Intuition founder, Qasar Younis and Peter Ludwig, describe how they designed their company (17:41 - 21:39).
"Reactor isn’t about WHAT you work on, it’s about HOW you do it. Reactor takes your skills, whatever they are, however they are, and upgrades all of them. You don’t need an idea, you just need to come in ready to hustle."
Shreyas Parab & Ryan Cao (Modulus Labs)
In Reactor, you will:
At the conclusion of Reactor, Floodgate is committed to helping every team fundraise when they are ready - whether that's 6 days or 6 months after the program ends.
We’re committed to taking the absolute best people for the Reactor. So yes, you can apply as an individual. However, we will be giving a strong preference to fully formed teams of two or three. Having the right co-founder(s) is incredibly valuable in building a venture - you cannot think and build at the same time as a team of one! Given this, even if you are accepted as an individual, we will require all Reactor participants to have a co-founder by the summer.
No! You do not need an idea to apply. All you need is an entrepreneurial drive and a passion for exploration and building. If you’re already working on something, that’s great! Expect to come into Reactor, ready to continue testing your idea and ensuring that it is the right venture that is worthy of your time, efforts, and talent. As a reminder, 100% of the first Reactor cohort ended up building something different than what they came into the program working on!
We will be giving preferences to teams with at least one undergraduate, but are open to teams of graduate students or recent graduates. These will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If you are accepted, we will require that you are not engaged in any employment opportunities that could create legal issues with IP ownership in the new company.
Applications are due on Friday, 10/21/22 @ 11:59 p.m. PT
After applying to Reactor, all applicants will receive an email indicating whether they’ve received an interview. The final cohort will be selected by November 10th, 2022.
Remote instruction will begin in January and will continue on a weekly basis through May. Starting in June, Reactor will meet in person for a 10-week where all Reactors are required to be in the Bay Area and will be able to work together in the Floodgate office.
We want teams that are fully committed to pursuing entrepreneurship. At a minimum, you should expect to dedicate 5-10 hours per week in the remote portion and 50+ hours per week over the summer.
The $100k provided by Reactor is an investment, not a grant. Therefore, we must invest the money into a legal corporate entity in exchange for equity. Floodgate will assist in getting all the systems in place to make incorporation efficient and seamless. Along with this, we believe it is critical for young entrepreneurs to learn the ins-and-outs of spinning up and spinning down a company. The better educated you are on these systems, the more time you’ll have to dedicate to building the next great company!
We have a long track record of investing in student teams at Floodgate, and we love working with them! That is one of our primary motivators for running this program. If you find a true insight and validate it with an initial product, Floodgate typically writes pre-seed checks for teams to really go after product-market fit. These checks are generally between $500k and $750k. Because Reactor is about the pursuit of validated insights, we envision writing these checks throughout the program.
At the conclusion of Reactor, Floodgate is committed to helping every team fundraise when they are ready - whether that's 6 days or 6 months after the program ends. 100% of our teams that wanted to fundraise have been able to secure very successful rounds. Reactors are expected to be fully committed to building their venture throughout the program and in many cases, after the program as well.
That being said, we understand that timing and team are essential to any new company’s success. Past Reactors have found amazing insights but ultimately decided now was not the time for that particular team to pursue a breakthrough business. Just know that as a Reactor, you will always have Floodgate in your corner whenever the time is right for you!