For successful applicants, the process is as follows:

• Fill in the application form
• Introduction call to get to know you more and answer any questions you might have
• An interview focused on your technical skill set and fit with our Opportunity Areas
• An interview focused on your founder potential
• Case study assigned with a session to discuss
• Offer made
• Start!

You can apply in advance of you being available to start the programme.

Yes. The programme is a full time and you are expected to give up any other employment or activity before entering the programme.

No. If you have one, great. But even if you do, it’s likely that idea will change as we work together. We’ll look at many ideas and technologies together and we may work on something completely different in the end.

What we’re looking for are people who have both: deep technical skills or domain expertise that can be applied to a high impact climate problem. And, the individual traits that it takes to become a startup founder.

Read more about the specific areas we're interested in building in at the moment.

We do not work with existing startups at the moment. We define existing startups as having a registered company that has received investment, or a predefined team that you want to bring on the programme.

We have worked with some Founders who have a specific idea or technology that they're trying to bring to market, but typically we prefer working with individuals who are not tied to one specific invention and want to explore the best possible use of their skills.

Our Explore phase requires a lot of technical research and analysis. As such, we tend to hire technical founders first and look to add commercial founders based on need in Create. If you’re interested in potentially joining one of our projects as a commercial co-founder, please register your profile below.

We onboard new Founders 3 times per year.

Yes. We will not share your application or materials outside of our network. In some instances, we may ask trusted experts to review information you’ve provided, ensuring no conflict of interest could occur beforehand.

A venture studio is a company that builds other companies. By focusing on the process of creating startups, we can bring together the right support and resources that founders need at the start of their journey. Venture studios are proven to increases the success rate of companies they build when compared to startups built outside of the studio model.

Startups created in studios are 44% more likely to raise funding when compared to non-studio companies and go on to raise their Seed round 3X as quickly.

We’ve taken the venture studio model and optimised it for our goal of building deep tech startups in climate.

We have many insights into what could make compelling new climate companies, but we don’t pretend to know all the best ideas. That’s why, during your first 3 months with us, we’ll be working to co-create the best possible idea we can find that sits at the intersection of your skills, climate impact and market need.

You’ll be conducting deep technical dives on key areas, having calls with academic and industry experts and refining your ideas during the Explore phase.

In this journey, we’re here to help feed and refine your thinking, point you in the right direction and enable connections with the people who have the answers you need.

At the end of the Explore phase, we’ll have a Go/No-go checkpoint where you’ll present your thinking around the best idea you’ve developed over this period across key areas like technology, market, customers and climate impact.

We focus on ideas that can have at least a 1% impact potential.

This means 1% of emissions (0.5Gt) at scale either directly (removal, abatement), indirectly (ex: unlocking the necessary mineral supply for it) or 1% of the population adapted to the worst impacts of climate change.

These solutions should have a deep technical or scientific advantage and the potential to reshape large B2B markets towards their net zero goals.

For a more detailed view of what we're looking to build next you can read all Opportunities here.

If your skillset or idea isn't listed, we still want to hear from you!

In our process, we start with you. Together, we’ll explore many ideas relevant to your skills and you’ll work with us to identify problems that you could find new ways to solve.

By starting with your skills, you can explore many different approaches to solving problems in a new and different way. It gives you the maximum latitude possible in the areas you choose to explore and the solutions you come up with.

Find a super wicked idea, but you need a strong chemistry co-founder to make it happen? Or a game changing approach that needs cutting edge AI? In our model, we source the right co-founders for you after we’ve found the best possible idea, giving you more space to explore.

Every startup we build needs at least 2 co-founders. If you successfully pass the Explore phase, we’ll work with you to identify who you need to add as co-founders to make your idea into a startup. We’ll then manage the entire search process, working with you to find your perfect future co-founders.

Equity will be split equally amongst the co-founders.

Please check our careers page for open roles on the programme here.

Paris, France. We have a preference for you being based in Paris or able to meet here on a regular basis.

We can sponsor visas for those looking to relocate permanently to France.

And no, you don’t need to speak French! We run the programme in English.

We do! You'll receive 24/7 access to our office space as part of the programme.

We invite founders in for face to face work-sessions, host regular in person meetups, and off-sites.

Most of the work you’re doing in programme will be paper based. Towards the end of the programme, we may need to secure lab space to conduct specific activities to de-risk your tech.

In the event that you need to secure lab access, we have a budget allocation and the contacts to do so.

We do not place any ownership on existing IP that you arrive with into the programme, that stays as yours. IP that’s created during the programme is temporarily assigned to Marble, until the company is created.

At this point, all relevant IP will be the property of your new company. In the event that you leave the programme before the end, we typically allow joint rights over any IP that you’ve developed.

There are a number of things that can happen in this case, depending on why you didn’t manage to create a company and when in the programme that happened.

Ending after Explore

If your journey ends after Explore, you will have gained a paid training experience into the methods and frameworks needed to explore startup ideas. You will have developed a much deeper insight into the commercial side of technology and can transfer these skills with you whatever you decide to do next.

It may happen that your skill-set is very valuable for another one of our founders project, who successfully graduated Explore and is looking for co-founders or first hires.

In some cases, if we’ve worked well together but not managed to find something within the Explore phase, we can choose to repeat the Explore phase together to give us more time to find the right idea.

In other cases, we can support you in your next step, using our network to try and help find you your next opportunity.

Ending after Create

If during or at the end of Create, Marble decides not to pursue or invest the project, then you are free to continue working on that project with your new co-founders outside of the studio.

Yes. You will be supported with a €2,500 monthly stipend during Explore and a €3,000 monthly stipend during Create. And, if you’re successful, we will also be your first investors.

You will be working as a freelance contractor and will invoice us from an associated legal structure.

We invest €250k pre-seed for 20%. This is in addition to the payments on the programme. If you choose to incorporate your company in France, then you can benefit from substantial access to non-dilutive finance and tax breaks, which can easily double our investment.

We’re proud to be backed by leading climate tech investors from Europe and the US. Collectively, they have billions under management and have invested in hundreds of climate tech projects globally. Read more about our investors here.

No. If you decide to leave the programme, any payments made up until that point will not be required to be repaid.

No. We do not have any mandate on where the final company you create will be based or legally registered. There are many advantages to building deep tech in France (which is why we’re here!) but we’ll discuss the best location for you and the company at that stage.