Roles & People
EIR
Entrepreneur in Residence — an experienced operator or founder who joins a VC firm temporarily to explore new startup ideas, evaluate investments, or eventually spin out a new company.
An Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) is typically a former founder or senior operator who joins a venture capital firm for a defined period — usually 6 to 18 months — with mutual optionality: the EIR gets office space, resources, and access to the firm's network; the firm gets access to a talented potential founder and deal flow.
EIRs typically do one of three things: (1) incubate a new startup idea with the expectation the firm will be the first investor, (2) help evaluate investment opportunities in domains where the EIR has deep expertise, or (3) both, while exploring what they want to build next after a recent exit.
Not all EIR arrangements result in a funded company. Some EIRs join full-time at portfolio companies as operators. The arrangement is a low-risk way for both parties to build a relationship before committing.
In Practice
A founder who sold her logistics startup for $40M joins Benchmark as an EIR. Over 9 months, she explores the supply chain software space, meets with operators and potential co-founders, and ultimately pitches the firm on a new B2B freight-matching platform. Benchmark leads the $3M seed round.
Why It Matters
The EIR model is a signal about how a VC firm thinks about founder relationships. Firms that run robust EIR programs often see better deal flow because founders trust them enough to incubate ideas there. For founders, an EIR role can be a productive way to decompress after an exit while exploring the next chapter.