The Founder Institute Methodology (2024)

Overview

Since 2009, the Founder Institute's highly-structured accelerator programs, innovative 'Equity Collective', and global network of advisors have been proven to significantly increase a startup's chances of success - across 100+ countries and in any economic environment.

The Problem

One of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face is knowing what to focus on, and when - especially if you want to raise funding. Meanwhile, every minute you waste brings you closer to running out of time or money.

Our Solution

Our accelerator programs provide unparalleled structure to simplify the startup building process - and we combine it with feedback from the world's largest network of advisors, every step of the way.

Direction from Idea to Exit

Structured programs designed to provide targeted support across your startup journey.

The Founder Institute Methodology (1)

FI Core Program

It all starts with our renowned Founder Institute 'Core Program', which combines aggressive growth sprints and constant feedback to help idea and pre-seed founders reach the milestones needed for investment and sustained growth.

  • Make years of progress in just a few months through our proven, business-building Growth Sprints. No theoretical 'homework' here.

  • Receive constant feedback and advice from experts through our live Weekly Feedback Sessions, Office Hours, and Working Groups.

  • Get the push and accountability you need through weekly ratings, 360 degree reviews, and aggressive milestones.

  • Expand your network and connect with entrepreneurs, advisors, and investors - both locally, and globally.

Apply to FI CoreLearn more

The Founder Institute Methodology (2)

Founder Lab

After completing FI Core, Alumni get FREE access to our additional 'Founder Lab' virtual advisory programs run by our Silicon Valley Headquarters team.The goal of these programs is to continue to providing direction and feedback long after the Core Program ends.

  • 'Product/ Market Fit Lab' (re-launching in 2023) helps pre-product and early-product startups optimize their offering and finalize a sustainable engine for growth.

  • 'Funding Lab' (Live) helps startups ready to raise funding build an investor pipeline, manage their fundraising progress, negotiate terms, and secure a lead investor.

  • Access private networking events, and get feedback from the world's largest network of mentors and investors (35,000+)

  • Take advantage of over $2M in partner discounts, from services like Dell, AWS, Google, Stripe, and more.

Apply after FI Core

Learn more

The Founder Institute Methodology (3)

FI Venture Network

When ready, Alumni can get featured on events and have their deals syndicated to a diverse pool of investors in the FI Venture Network - an exclusive network of investors actively funding pre-seed and seed-stage startups before anyone else.

  • Get access to angels, accelerators, micro-funds, and syndicates that actually invest in startups at the earliest stages.

  • Connect to the newest funds and emerging managers coming out of our sister company, VC Lab - an accelerator to launch venture funds.

  • Pitch on FI Demo Days and the Founder Showcase, as well as partner pitch competitions and conferences.

  • Share advice and see private ratings and reviews of investors across the globe (coming in 2024).

Apply after Founder Lab

Learn more

Featured Portfolio Companies

FI Alumni have raised over $1.75BN in funding and have an estimated value over $30BN+.

The Founder Institute Methodology (7)

The Founder Institute Methodology (8)

Peerby

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Peerby is a leading application in the 'sharing economy', enabling people to borrow the things they need from others in their neighborhood. They have raised more than $4.7M in funding.

Website

Founder(s)

Daan Weddepohl

The Founder Institute Methodology (9)IPO'd

The Founder Institute Methodology (10)

Udemy

Silicon Valley, US

Udemy is the global leader in online learning, with nearly 200,000 courses. The company went public on the NASDAQ in October 2021 (UDMY), raising $421 million.

Website

Founder(s)

Gagan Biyani, Eren Bali

The Founder Institute Methodology (11)

The Founder Institute Methodology (12)

FightCamp

Montreal, Canada

FightCamp is the market-leading at home connected fitness device for boxing, kickboxing, and martial arts sports. They announced its $90M Series B in June 2021 from top investors.

Website

Founder(s)

Khalil Zahar

The Founder Institute Methodology (13)

The Founder Institute Methodology (14)

Esusu

San Francisco, US

Esusu reports on-time rent payments to credit bureaus, helping renters boost their credit scores. They became a unicorn in January 2022 with SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $130M Series B.

Website

Founder(s)

Rob Henning

The Founder Institute Methodology (15)

The Founder Institute Methodology (16)

Fund That Flip

New York, US

Fund That Flip is a market-leading loans and first-class service for fix-and-flip, new construction, and rental properties. The company announced a $20M Series B round in November 2021.

Website

Founder(s)

Matt Rodak

The Founder Institute Methodology (17)

The Founder Institute Methodology (18)

Unito

Montreal, Canada

Unito is a no-code integration solution that allows you to connect your apps and automate your workflows in minutes. After raising $10.5M in 2020, the company scaled up quickly in 2021.

Website

Founder(s)

Marc Boscher

The Founder Institute Methodology (19)

The Founder Institute Methodology (20)

Involve.ai

San Diego, US

Involve AI helps prevent customer churn and grow revenue through customer intelligence to help companies proactively reach their goals. They closed a $16M Series A in August 2021.

Website

Founder(s)

Gautam Bhattacharya, Gaurav Bhattacharya, Saumya Bhatnagar

The Founder Institute Methodology (21)

The Founder Institute Methodology (22)

Xcapit

Cordoba, Argentina

Xcapit is a Smart Wallet and fosters a culture of cryptocurrency savings among young people. They announced an ETH 43.7821 investment from UNICEF Innovation Fund in June 2021.

Website

Founder(s)

Fernando Boiero, José Ignacio Trajtenberg

The Founder Institute Methodology (23)Acquired

The Founder Institute Methodology (24)

VOA educação

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

VOA Educação helps educators to monitor socio-emotional development in students. The EdTech was acquired by Vivadí in Nov 2021 in a bet on consolidation of the Brazilian soft skills market.

Website

Founder(s)

Tiago Neves

See Our Alumni

Apply to FI Core

FI Core Programs are accepting applications in 70+ cities and verticals worldwide.

Apply to FI Core

Our Global Network

We live in a global economy, so FI connects you to entrepreneurs, advisors, and investors across 200+ cities and 6 continents.

The Founder Institute Methodology (25)

Making a Global Impact

The Founder Institute's mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build technology businesses that positively impact the world, no matter their location, background, race, age, or sexual orientation.

The Founder Institute Methodology (26)

Female Founder Initiative

The Female Founder Initiative was formed in 2016 to create more opportunities for women to build successful companies through Founder Institute’s global pre-seed accelerator program.

Learn MoreImpact Report

50%

increase of women-founded portfolio companies from the Founder Institute

35%

of U.S.-based Alumni in 2021 were women-founded.

Learn More About Our Impact

The Global FI Ecosystem

Our mission is to empower talented and motivated people to build businesses that matter, no matter their location, gender, or race. This mission requires a strong global community of entrepreneurs, ecosystem leaders, advisors, and investors... and we have built just that.

Building
Startups

The Founder Institute Methodology (27)

Building Ecosystems

The Founder Institute Methodology (28)

Accelerator to empower leaders to build strong ecosystems.

Learn more

Building
Funds

The Founder Institute Methodology (29)

Accelerator to help new fund managers launch venture funds.

Learn more

The Founder Institute Methodology (30)

Apply to FI Core

Join the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator

Apply Now

The Founder Institute Methodology (2024)

FAQs

What is the acceptance rate for the Founders Institute? ›

Graduating from the Founder Institute is challenging. First, only roughly 30% of applicants are admitted to the program. Then, less than 30% of accepted founders generally make it through the program.

Is Founder Institute worth it? ›

The answer is yes. Without FI, Udemy may have never raised any money. Oddbox wouldn't exist without the Founder Institute. FI gave me the structure I needed to take Oddbox from idea to MVP but also pushed, challenged and guided me through the steps, insecurities and excitement of building an impact-led business.

How much is the founder institute worth? ›

In total, Founder Institute Alumni have raised over $1.75BN and are worth an estimated $30BN.

Who owns founder institute? ›

Adeo Ressi

What college has the lowest acceptance rate? ›

The answer to what college has the lowest acceptance rate is the same as what ivy league college has the lowest acceptance rate: Harvard. While all Ivies are known for having some of the lowest college acceptance rates of all colleges, Harvard has generally been the most selective.

What is the difference between Y Combinator and Founder Institute? ›

Founder Institute is ideal for those in the ideation or early development stages, providing a structured curriculum and a global network. In contrast, Y Combinator targets startups that are a bit more developed, offering seed funding and intensive mentorship to rapidly scale businesses.

What are the alternatives to Founder Institute? ›

The best alternatives to Founder Institute are StartupResources.io, AngelList, and BaseTemplates. If these 3 options don't work for you, we've listed over 80 alternatives below.

Is it better to be founder or co founder? ›

Founders provide the initial vision and drive, while co-founders bring complementary skills and expertise. Together, they can create a strong team that is committed to the success of the company.

How does a founder make money? ›

If the company goes public or is acquired, the founders can sell their shares for a substantial profit. Salaries: Some startups do pay their founders a salary, especially as the company grows and begins to generate revenue. The salary for a founder may be lower than that of a CEO, but it can still be substantial.

Who owns the founders card? ›

FoundersCard was founded in 2009 by Eric Kuhn, a new Austin-based venture for a veteran entrepreneur of the 1990s and early-2000s.

Who is the CEO of Seed Startup House LLC? ›

Shmulik Shahar is the CEO & CTO at Seed Startup House, LLC .

How many board seats should a founder have? ›

An effective board size should be small enough to make decisions quickly while also allowing for sufficient diversity of opinion and experience. Generally, a board of three to five members is ideal. Too many members can make decision-making difficult, and too few may not provide the necessary insight and expertise.

What is the female founder program by the Founder Institute? ›

The Female Founder Program helps early-stage women entrepreneurs build innovative businesses in the Silicon Valley-Amsterdam Founder Institute through: Mentorship and feedback from +100 top entrepreneurs and industry experts Access to a local and global support network of mentors, investors, and advisors Introductions ...

Is VC lab free? ›

The VC Lab Accelerator is a free, intensive, worldwide online program that helps talented and motivated venture capitalists to launch ethical venture capital firms.

What is the Founder Institute profile? ›

About us. The Founder Institute is the #1 place in the world to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our series of highly-structured accelerator programs have given founders the direction and global network needed to build a meaningful business.

What is the best school for founders? ›

Stanford boasts 1,435 founders, with $73.5 billion in venture capital, including for the company DoorDash. Sorting by graduate alumni results in Stanford once again topping the list, followed by MIT, Harvard, the University of Cambridge, Berkeley, and the University of Oxford.

What is the acceptance rate for NYU 2028? ›

NYU has released offers of admission to the Class of 2028. Offers of admission to NYU's New York campus were made to just 8% of those submitting 118,000 applications to be members of next fall's entering undergraduate class. Three of NYU's undergraduate colleges offered admission to fewer than 5% of applicants.

What is the acceptance rate for NYU Class of 2028? ›

NYU Admits 8 Percent of Applicants to Class of 2028

NYU announced today that it admitted 8 percent of applicants to its New York campus to the Class of 2028. 118,000 applications were received, up 13 percent year over year.

What is the acceptance rate for University of Michigan 2027? ›

University of Michigan Acceptance Rate – Class of 2027

However, we do know that 87,066 applications were submitted. Based on this figure, we would estimate that the University of Michigan acceptance rate for the Class of 2027 will be around 17%.

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