A founder taking a first check often hears that an investor's accelerator was free. That tells you something useful about how the manager was trained, and almost nothing about who pays to run the fund after you sign.
VC Lab is free training: no tuition, no application fee and no equity in the management company. Decile Hub is the software managers use to run the firm. Paid work starts only if a manager chooses infrastructure such as Start Fund or Decile Partners to launch and operate the fund. Finishing the training doesn't require buying either one.
For founders, the useful split is simple. Ask what the program taught the manager, then ask separately how the fund handles capital calls, reporting and compliance. Free education and paid fund operations are different line items, and a manager who can explain both is easier to diligence than one who says everything was free.
For the company's own explanation of the model, read how VC Lab stays free. VC Lab is a community of 1,000+ investors in over 88 countries. This article is for educational purposes only and isn't investment advice.
