The Surface Fellowship
A two-week San Francisco residency for ambitious outliers ready to take their biggest leap.
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The San Francisco Residency
In most places, finding someone who understands your technical constraints takes weeks. In San Francisco, the right researcher, customer, or investor is often just a few miles away.
Surface gives you two weeks in that density - a structured program with real space to explore. You’ll meet founders, operators, and investors from Y Combinator, a16z, and beyond.
You’ll build alongside ambitious peers, share unfinished work, and pressure-test your assumptions.
You’ll leave with sharper conviction, stronger relationships, and the situational awareness to build at the frontier.
01 Fireside Chats
Learn how founders win customers, recruit key people and raise capital - and how investors decide what they back.
02 Office Hours
Discuss your work with domain experts, investors and operators. Work through technical bottlenecks and get feedback on your next steps.
03 Build & Explore
Stress-test your ideas, challenge your assumptions, and turn new insights into momentum. Build, test, and refine alongside peers.
Program Details
16–30 October 2026Up to 12 fellows
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You do not need a company, co-founder or fully formed idea.
You do need a direction: a specific problem, technical domain or body of work you are already engaged with, and a reasoned view of why it matters. Come with assumptions you want to test, not a finished plan.
Individuals and teams are both eligible to apply. However, each team member must submit a separate application.
Surface is intended primarily for technical builders based in the UK and Europe who would benefit from deeper exposure to the San Francisco ecosystem.
Applicants based elsewhere may be considered in exceptional circumstances where there is a particularly strong fit.
Anyone aged 18 or over is eligible to apply. We expect most fellows to be relatively early in their careers.
We are structuring the residency so that cost is not a barrier to participation. Accommodation will be arranged during the official residency dates, and we expect to provide travel support as well for fellows.
Final support arrangements will be confirmed with selected participants before travel is booked. Where a participant contribution is required, this will be a fixed contribution towards the cost of travel and accommodation.
You can indicate your willingness to self-fund in your application.
Yes. If you need to arrange annual leave or give your employer advance notice, please let us know in your application.
We will prioritise interview scheduling for applicants who require additional notice.
Participants are responsible for securing the appropriate authorisation to enter the United States.
We’re unable to sponsor or manage visa applications. For the upcoming residency cohort, applicants must already have valid US travel authorisation, such as an ESTA where eligible.
No. We take no equity or intellectual property, and there is no obligation to start a company. You retain full ownership of everything you create.
The residency will run for two weeks, from 16–30 October 2026.*
Arrive Friday 16 October and depart Friday 30 October 2026. Core programming begins on Monday 19 October.
Final travel arrangements will be agreed with each selected participant.
Accommodation is arranged for all participants during the official residency dates and covered for fully funded fellows.
*Dates may shift slightly to accommodate final program scheduling. Any changes will be shared with selected participants before travel is booked.
Surface is designed around its own programming and each fellow’s individual goals. It also coincides with several independently organised events across the Bay Area:
- SF Tech Week — 5–11 October
- TechCrunch Disrupt — 13–15 October
- Vercel Ship — 15 October
- Visual Intelligence Summit — 22 October
The Surface Program remains the centre of the residency; these events are simply additional context when planning your travel dates.
They are not organised or funded by Surface. Some require a separate application or paid ticket, and access is not guaranteed. With prior agreement, we may be able to arrange your flights for an earlier arrival or later departure, but you will be responsible for accommodation and other costs outside the official residency dates.
The first Surface residency will bring together up to 12 fellows. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the final deadline, so we encourage you to apply as soon as you are ready.
If you need to arrange annual leave or give your employer advance notice, please let us know in your application so that we can aim to schedule your interview earlier.
Final deadline: midnight GMT on 27 September 2026
Surface is a nonprofit initiative supported by philanthropic donations. Interested in learning more? Get in touch.
If you have any questions, or would like to host a cohort in San Francisco, offer your time for office hours, or support our work, we'd love to hear from you.
Get in touch at hello@joinsurface.co.