# Sidekick > Sidekick matches AI-native technology builders with successful growth-stage+ leaders, executives, and investors who need an AI advantage. A match is about 90 days, half-time, flexible in-person or remote. Contact: hello@sidekick.builders. Wordmark: **Sidekick**. Status: Matching soon. Applications are not open; join the waitlist. ## Product Headline: "Vetted AI builders, forward deployed with industry leaders." Support: "Sidekick matches AI-native technology builders with successful growth-stage+ leaders, executives, and investors who need an AI advantage." Hero facts: - 90 days · Half-time - $30k runway · to the builder - Flexible · In-Person/Remote CTAs: About · Join waitlist. ## About ### Matching Leaders are guaranteed a match. The first 10 matches are invite and referral only. After that, applications stay open. Leaders get a guaranteed match. Builders do not. That selectivity is the product. - **Leaders:** Every Leader is guaranteed a match to a Builder. The Sidekick team makes each match personally, weighing not just skill and drive but chemistry. The ambition is to facilitate long-lasting and rewarding working relationships. - **Builders:** Custom AI pre-screens every application. Finalists are chosen by the Sidekick team by hand, not by an algorithm. Builders who are accepted are matched on many dimensions, not just experience and skill. ### Format In-person or remote, Sidekick accommodates your preference. Living in or near San Francisco is suggested to connect with the Sidekick community. 90 days, half-time for the Builder. Half-time lets the Builder keep the other half for their startup, projects, or other work unrelated to Sidekick. The Builder embeds with the Leader to build a long-lasting working relationship. ### Roles Who qualifies as a Leader: usually founders who have raised at least $20M, angels or partners at established firms, or C-suite operators at a scaleup or larger. Larger-company executives are considered case by case. Real working hours matter more than prestige. Who qualifies as a Builder: most often early-stage, typically pre-raise founders who have shipped work people can try, bring frontier AI fluency, and need runway, mentorship, and network. Bay Area builders get priority because most matches happen in or around San Francisco. **Leaders – what we'd like to see** You are one of the following: - An established founder with at least $20M+ raised - An angel investor or partner at a VC firm - A C-suite executive at a scaleup or larger You are all of the following: - Excited to mentor your Builder on being a founder - Eager to learn agentic engineering principles - Available for weekly sessions with your Builder **Builders – what we'd like to see** Your work speaks to your exceptional talent: - Bright green GitHub contribution graph - Projects you've built are live with real users - You're building and using your own harness You're starting/started a company, and: - Have not yet raised venture capital funds - Need $30k of runway for your company - Available for weekly sessions with your Leader ### Compensation Leaders pay $30,000 to the Builder for twelve weeks and a $10,000 placement fee to Sidekick. Builders grant Sidekick 0.1% in any company they found within twelve months of the first day of the match. Neither Sidekick nor the Builder are entitled to equity in any Leader's pre-existing company. - $30k – Straight to the builder for the twelve weeks. - $10k – Placement fee for leaders. - 0.1% – In any company the builder founds within twelve months of the first day of the match. ### Benefits Beyond the match itself, Leaders and Builders get into the Sidekick community, plus exclusive access to credits and resources from venture-backed startups that partner with Sidekick. Sponsors will be announced on or around when applications open. ## FAQ Full FAQ: https://sidekick.builders/faq Common questions from Leaders and Builders before they apply: ### When are applications due? Applications are rolling, there are no batches, and there is no deadline to submit. Join the waitlist (https://sidekick.builders/waitlist) to stay in the loop. Sidekick will contact you when applications open. ### Does Sidekick do cohorts or bootcamps? No, and we believe both are an anti-pattern. We don't run cohorts because one-size-fits-all programs are antithetical to our matching process, which is designed for highly custom, tailor-made experiences for each Leader and Builder match. The future of software is highly personalized, not cookie cutter. ### What does it cost, and who pays whom? Leaders pay $30,000 to the Builder for twelve weeks and a $10,000 placement fee to Sidekick. Builders grant Sidekick 0.1% in any company they found within twelve months of the first day of the match. Neither Sidekick nor the Builder are entitled to equity in any Leader's pre-existing company. ### Do I need to be based in San Francisco? No. Matches can be in person or remote, though living near San Francisco makes it easier to participate in the Sidekick community. You must reside in the United States to participate. ### Is Sidekick a recruiting agency? No, not in the traditional sense. Sidekick creates rolling twelve-week, half-time matches that are designed to benefit both Builders and Leaders, not place Builders full-time at companies. However, Leaders who hire any Builder within twelve months of the match must pay a placement fee of 30% of first-year cash plus equity compensation. ### How can I get involved with Sidekick? Interested in working at Sidekick? Email something interesting to careers@sidekick.builders. ### Can I hire my Builder afterward? Yes. If the fit is real and you want to bring them on, you can definitely hire your Builder. Hiring within twelve months of the match carries a placement fee of 30% of first-year cash plus equity compensation. Plenty of matches end as a clean twelve-week fluency engagement with a relationship that continues with an advisory role, investment into the Builder's startup, or just informally. Convert-to-hire is there when both sides want it and is not the default outcome. ### Who qualifies as a Leader? Leaders are usually founders who have raised at least $20M, angels or partners at established firms, or C-suite operators at a scaleup or larger. Larger-company executives are considered case by case. What matters as much as the title is that you can commit real working hours and leave fluent, not that you collect a prestige match. Join the Leader waitlist: https://sidekick.builders/waitlist?track=leader ### As a Leader, how much time do I need to commit? Plan on weekly working sessions with your Builder, plus async time between sessions to try things in your own stack. You are not expected to clear half your calendar, but real hours matter, including a bit of mentoring on founding and leading. If you only want a name on a roster and occasional coffee, this is the wrong product. ### Who qualifies as a Builder? Builders are most often early-stage, typically pre-raise founders who have shipped work people can try, bring frontier AI fluency, and need runway, mentorship, and network. Bay Area builders get priority because most matches happen in or around San Francisco. Join the Builder waitlist: https://sidekick.builders/waitlist?track=builder ### Does Sidekick take equity from Builders? Builders grant Sidekick 0.1% in any company they found within twelve months of the match. It is how Sidekick stays aligned with the people we place when they go on to build something of their own. It is not equity in the Leader's company, and it is not a surprise claim on work you ship together during the embed. The builder's next company, if they start one in that window, is what the grant covers. Exact instruments and paperwork live in the builder agreement. ### What if I'm somewhere between Builder and Leader? If you feel that you're neither a Builder nor a Leader, such as a seed-stage founder or an angel without a company to embed into, email hello@sidekick.builders. Sidekick will tell you honestly which side (if either) fits. ### What else do Leaders and Builders get? Beyond the match itself, you'll get into the Sidekick community of all Builders and Leaders, as well as exclusive access to credits and resources from venture-backed startups that partner with us. Sponsors will be announced on or around when applications open. ### What if the match goes sideways? Chemistry is the product, and sometimes chemistry is wrong. The $10,000 placement fee is refundable any time before the end of the term, including if you walk away early. Before money moves, you will meet the person we want to match you with. Leaders are guaranteed a match, which means we keep working until we find a Builder we stand behind, not that we force a bad fit for ninety days. If something breaks mid-term, talk to Sidekick immediately. Offboarding, remaining Builder pay, and rematches are handled in the engagement agreements. ## Audiences on the lander - **Leaders:** Successful growth-stage+ leaders, executives, and investors who need an AI advantage. - **Builders:** Technical early-stage founders building at the frontier of AI. ## Waitlist Join the waitlist. We'll contact you when applications open. - Leaders track: "You are a successful growth-stage+ leader, executive, or investor who needs an AI advantage." https://sidekick.builders/waitlist?track=leader - Builders track: "You are a technical early-stage founder building at the frontier of AI." https://sidekick.builders/waitlist?track=builder Closing CTA on the home page: "Join the waitlist." with Leaders and Builders buttons. ## Pages - [Home](https://sidekick.builders/): Hero, Leaders, Builders, About, FAQ preview, waitlist closing - [FAQ](https://sidekick.builders/faq): Full questions and answers for Leaders and Builders before they apply - [Waitlist](https://sidekick.builders/waitlist): Waitlist form for leaders (`?track=leader`) and builders (`?track=builder`) - [Privacy](https://sidekick.builders/privacy): Privacy policy - [llms.txt](https://sidekick.builders/llms.txt): Machine-readable product summary for AI crawlers - Sitemap: https://sidekick.builders/sitemap.xml - Robots: https://sidekick.builders/robots.txt