The Startup Card Game · Shipping Q1 2027

Build the next unicorn.
Or lose it all.

A strategic card game about building startups, managing capital, and outmaneuvering your rivals. 2 to 6 players. One winner. Every decision matters.

Become a Founding Player How it plays

Every founder thinks they'd survive.
Most don't.

Across six card types, risk dice, and global market events, you'll build startups, trade assets, deploy attacks, and decide when to grow aggressively or protect what you've built. Designed by a founder. Built to feel like the real thing.

Three forces. One table.

A game built on the three things that really decide who wins.

01

Build startups

Collect sector cards across AI, FinTech, Longevity, ClimateTech, Web3 and Community. Complete sets. Declare exits. Cash out - if you survive long enough.

02

Manage capital

Trade stocks, crypto, and real estate. Move cash into your Foundation for long-term protection. Every turn: grow, protect, or gamble.

03

Outmaneuver rivals

Attack portfolios. Defend with Karma. Trigger global market events. The table is your market - and everyone at it wants your seat.

Limited to the first 500

Become a Founding Player

The first 500 people on the waitlist don't just get the game. They get written into it.

01

Signed deck

Every Founding Player copy is signed by the creator. One by one, by hand.

02

Your own Founder Card

A named Founder Card - yours - printed in every copy of the game. Forever part of the deck.

03

Lifetime Founding status

A title that never expires. Future editions, tournaments, private games: you're on the list.

04

Early access to expansions

First in line for every new deck, expansion pack, and limited release we ship.

Founding Player Pricing
€35 €29
One-time price. Locked in for Founding Players only.
FOUNDING PLAYERS CLAIMED — / 500
Once 500 Founding Player slots are taken, pricing returns to €35 and the bonuses close.
The plan

From waitlist to your doorstep.

Founders & Unicorns ships only when we're sure enough people want it. Here's exactly how that works.

01
We are here
Waitlist open
Founding Player signups begin. No payment. No commitment. Just your seat.
03
Q4 2026
Printed & signed
Cards printed, boxes assembled, every Founding copy signed by hand.
04
Q1 2027
Ships worldwide
Global delivery. Your copy at your table. Game night is on.
A Card Game
FOUNDERS
& Unicorns
&
2-6 Players · 167 Cards
◆
₿
⚔
In the box

Everything you need to build an empire at your table.

  • Full card deck Startups, money, attacks, defense, special cards and global events.
    167 cards
  • Dice For exits, sells, and the one roll that decides everything.
    2 dice
  • Custom coins Cash markers for each path: stocks, crypto, real estate, foundation.
    4 types
  • Karma tokens Your tactical reserve. Reroll dice, block attacks, bend fate.
    Set
  • Player accounting sheets Track cash, assets, foundation, and cashflow across every turn.
    Included
  • The Manual Rules, strategy, and commentary. Written like the game plays.
    Printed
Early feedback

What players are saying after the first round.

The first card game that actually feels like running a startup. Including the part where someone steals your idea mid-round.
—
[Early Player]
Founder, [Company]
Played it with my co-founders on a Friday. By Sunday we were texting about which of us would really survive the next round.
—
[Early Player]
Operator, [Company]
We use it to close every team offsite. It surfaces more about how people think than any personality test I've tried.
—
[Early Player]
Investor, [Firm]
Playtested in
Berlin Lisbon London Your city next
A founder's game

Built by someone who's actually played the game.

Founders & Unicorns wasn't designed in a room full of game theorists. It was designed by a founder who spent years raising capital, shipping products, and watching startups rise and fall in real time.

The mechanics are borrowed from the life. Karma is real. So are hostile takeovers, global market events, and the founder who decides to protect their foundation instead of betting everything on one more round.

The goal wasn't to make another card game. The goal was to make the only card game founders, investors, and operators would want to play twice. And then keep playing.

Thomas Weidlich
Creator · Founder of Noesis
Who it's for

A game for people who live this - and those who want to understand it.

Play it at a startup dinner, a strategy offsite, a Friday at the accelerator, or a Tuesday on the couch with your co-founder.

Founders
current & future
Investors
angels to VCs
Operators
early-stage teams
Business schools
entrepreneurship courses
Accelerators
cohort icebreakers
Anyone
with a pitch deck in drafts
For universities, accelerators & VC funds

Ordering for a team, a cohort, or a portfolio?

Bulk pricing available for business schools, accelerators, co-working spaces, and investment firms. Teaching guides and facilitation notes included. Perfect for onboarding days, portfolio gifts, or entrepreneurship modules.

Request bulk pricing
Questions

Things you're probably wondering.

When does it ship?
Founding Player copies are scheduled to ship Q1 2027. We'll confirm exact dates once the production run is locked in, which happens when the waitlist hits critical mass.
Do I pay anything now?
No. The waitlist is free. You only pay when your copy is ready to ship, and only if you choose to buy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Why isn't this on Kickstarter?
Kickstarter may come later. For now, we're building the list directly with the people we want to play with first: founders, investors, and people who get it. Direct-to-community, no middlemen.
How does the Founder Card actually work?
When you join as a Founding Player, you'll be invited to submit your name (or alias) and a short bio line. That becomes a printed Founder Card in your deck, and future print runs will include a selection of Founding Player names immortalized in the game.
What's the difference between Founding Player and regular pricing?
Founding Player: €29, signed deck, your own Founder Card, lifetime status, early access to expansions. Limited to the first 500 signups. After that, the price is €35 and the bonuses close.
I want to order 20+ copies for my team / school / cohort.
Request bulk pricing here. We offer discounted rates for 20+, 50+, and 100+ unit orders, and we can include teaching guides or facilitation notes.
Who made this?
Thomas Weidlich, founder of Noesis and a long-time operator and investor in the startup world. Designed, written, tested, and hand-signed.
500 Founding Players. No more.

The game is being built.
Your seat is being saved.

Join the waitlist. Become a Founding Player. Get your name printed in the deck.