The "upper echelon" is a known quantity. We respect it, but it's crowded up there.
Instead, we look to the outer echelon.
That's where we find the obsessive thinkers who drive outlier returns.
We call them aliens 👽
The Alien Community
We've built a community to work on hard problems together, regardless of whether a company comes out of it.
Are you obsessed with a problem but don't have all of the pieces to the solution figured out yet? Just some code you wrote at 2am or the makeshift machine you built in your garage? Perfect, you're on Echelon's frequency.
Echelon written in Marain
Don't yet have that thing you're obsessed with but still want to work with us? Get involved in one of these communities:
Private, curated group of 50+ founders sharing learnings and making connections.
Our Investment Process
We invest once we've developed conviction in founders through our community and they are ready to “jump into the abyss” of company-building
Founder Conviction Framework
👽 Obsession - "What's wrong with this person?"
They are obsessed with a problem no one can solve, but if they could it would change the world
🔑 Unique Fit - "Is this the only person to build it?"
Their unique career assets lead to an "earned secret" that becomes the go-to-market strategy
🪨 Consistency - "Who are they outside of their company?"
Their character is identical in social & professional settings, a proxy for trust in tough times
Standard “Abyss“ Investment
Investment Stage:
Formation/Seed
Initial Investment:
$250k for 5-10%
Up to $1.5M initial investment for 2nd-time founders.
Additional capital reserved for follow-on investment.