Lossfunk Gradient

If you want to launch an ambitious startup from India for the world, I'm happy to support you.

We're running a 3 month program in Bangalore for builders to attempt launching their ambitious AI startup from India for the world.

Who is this for

• Highly technical builders (must know coding, and have a deep understanding of ML/AI)
• Pre-MVP stage (you just have an idea, or an initial prototype)
• Aim for global scale, with markets outside India as your target
• Isn't afraid to rethink how the world works

Join solo or as a team of 2 people. Any AI-related idea is welcome. But, for inspiration, here's an (ever-growing) open list of ideas that I maintain.

What you get

• 3 months of full-time immersion with other builders in Lossfunk's office in Bangalore
• Compute credits from partners (depending on availability)
• On request, upto Rs 50k/mo to spend on your project (compute, ad spend, design, incorporation, etc)
• On request, upto Rs 50k/mo stipend per person for living expenses in Bangalore
• Access to Lossfunk community where you can discuss and find collaborations or co-founders
• Exposure on socials (200k+ followers) when you launch your project
• One-to-one introductions to my investor network across India and US (if you decide to raise funds)

Who will mentor you

During the program, you'll be mentored by me (Paras Chopra, founder of Lossfunk). Here's why you should work with me:

• I know the ins-and-outs of building a business, having seen the journey of a startup from the first git commit to an eventual significant exit
  • Bootstrapped Wingify from 0 to $50mn ARR and sold it to private equity for $200mn [Hacker News thread]
• I'm highly technical and understand AI/deep learning in depth
  • Writes code regularly. Recently, wrote a transformer architecture from scratch in PyTorch and trained a language model for proteins [Github profile]
  • Pursues active research [Google Scholar] [AI explorations]
• I know what it takes to build from India for the world
  • 98% of revenue of Wingify came outside of India (50% from US itself, rest from Europe, Australia, Japan)

What I get

• 1 to 1.5% advisor equity in your startup (depending on the stage of your startup)
• If you're at idea or prototype stage (with 0 or few users), I'll take 1.5% advisor equity
• If you already have some traction, I'll take 1% advisor equity

How to apply

• Go through these slides to understand my philosophy on building startups
• Finish this pre-application self-guided program to shape your ideas and develop a clear hypothesis about their potential as a startup
  • This could take approximately a month, but could finish faster
  • This will mostly require you to get outside your comfort zone as a builder and talk to potential customers/users to validate the need
  • We look at outputs from this program to make selection decisions (but even if you don't get selected, you'll still get a lot of value from this program)
  • Once you get selected, because of all this pre-work, you'll be ready to make the most of the 3 months and launch your startup
• Once you've finished the pre-application program, apply to the program. (We have rolling admissions, so you can apply anytime)

FAQs

Why are you doing this?

It bothers me that there aren't more ambitious startups from India for the world. This is my attempt to change that.

Are 3 months enough to build an ambitious startup?

Startups have two kinds of risks: market-risk (does the market exist?) and technical-risk (can we build it?). Ambitious startups should solve for technical risk (i.e. we know the market exists, but can we build it?)

Before the program begins, the pre-work requires you to validate the market need for your startup, hence removing market-risk to a large extent.

So, during the 3 month program, you'll be laser-focused on eliminating technical risk by building and iterating on your product. I've seen many startups go from 0 to 1 in 3 months, once they know the market exists for their product.

Also, a shorter deadline gives clarity and urgency, making founders prioritize core of the product, making them more likely to succeed.

How does the advisor equity work?

If I support you during the early stages, I ask for 1-1.5% equity—not as a transaction, but as a symbolic gesture of alignment. This is granted either:

• At incorporation: added as part of the founding cap table, or
• From the ESOP: granted via advisor shares, if your company is already set up.

You can see here the standard advisor agreement template that I use.

What does advisory look like?

I do not allocate a specific amount of time for advising or make specific promises. I thrive on async communication, so you will be able to ping me anytime on Slack DMs for advice.

In addition to async interactions, during the three months, you'll get to do in-person interactions with me roughly once every week or two in a group setting with other startup builders. This ensures you get personalized advice not just from me, but from other builders as well.

After three months, you can continue to interact with me as you need help or advice. I'm always just a tweet, email or slack DM away.

If you don't like the format, you can leave the program within the first 2 weeks and we will cancel the advisor agreement (so you don't owe me anything).

Do you also invest in the startups you support?

No. I don't see myself as an investor. I'm a builder who supports other ambitious builders. My value add isn't capital (which is fungible) but my knowlege, network and experience (which is unique).

The way I see it, investing is best left to VCs (who I'll introduce you to). My personal capital is limited, and will go into weird, crazy, ambitious projects that typically nobody funds.

Why take any equity?

It gives me skin in the game in your future. I'll think about your startup long after the program ends.

What if you don't start a company?

That's completely fine. You won't owe anything to me.

What if you don’t want to raise VC at all?

That's completely fine. Gradient is not a launchpad for fundraising. It's a launchpad for clarity, speed, and ambition. (But I'll help you with investor connects, whenever you're fundraising)

Do you need a prototype to apply?

No. You can join with an idea, but it needs to validate the market need for it. (Application process will help you validate the need)

Can you join solo?

Yes. In fact, we encourage solo builders—many great companies start with one obsessed person. (When I started Wingify, I was also a solo founder)

Can you apply if you already have a company?

Yes. But the application process remains the same, and you'd be expected to give the same advisor equity in your company.

Is this an accelerator?

Not really. It’s more like an immersive, fun 3-month long game of making a startup. During this time, you'll stretch your ambition, collapse your iteration cycles, and sharpen your conviction.

What kind of startups do I back?

Startups solving hard problems at the edge of AI, especially those that:

• Have deep technical grounding
• Aim for global scale
• Aren’t afraid to rethink how the world works

What happens at the end of 3 months?

You either:

• Iterate your way to product-market fit and get traction, or
• Decide it’s not worth it and move on fast

There’s no demo day. No pressure. Only momentum.

PS: earlier Lossfunk was called Turing's Dream