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Portugal Fall 2026

At the Founder Institute, you won't "learn" how to build a business. Rather, you will build your business alongside top startup experts using a proven, structured process that has helped some of the world's fastest growing companies raise over 2BN. 

The FI Agentic Program includes a series of challenging growth sprints, in addition to Weekly Feedback Sessions where you will receive constant feedback on your progress from experienced Mentors and Investors. 

See the schedule for the Portugal Fall 2026 program below.

The Final Application Deadline for the Portugal Fall 2026 program is Oct 06, 2026, and you can apply to the program at FI.co/join.

Kickoff

Analyze your customer feedback

Date: Oct 08, 2026
Starts at: 10:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll get familiar with the program, set up your AI toolkit, prove your AI proficiency, and prepare to introduce yourself to the cohort.

The $1B Solo Founder: Build Your Startup With AI Agents

Learn how to build a team of Ai Agents to start creating revenue tomorrow & automate your growth.

Date: Oct 13, 2026
Starts at: 10:30 am (America/Los_Angeles)

What if you could build a $1B company without building a 40-person team? AI is changing how startups are built. The rise of "solo corns" — companies built by a single founder using AI — means founders can now build teams of AI agents that work 24/7 across sales, marketing, operations, research and more. In this hands-on workshop in Lisbon, we'll show early-stage founders how to build their own AI team, automate growth and ship faster than ever. Come with your startup. Leave with an AI-powered team. Learn how to build a team of AI agents that can start creating revenue and automating your growth. AI is changing the way startups are built. For the first time, founders can do things that were previously impossible: build “solo corns” — companies with the potential to become unicorns, built by a single founder. The founders who understand this new way of building will have a massive advantage. Instead of hiring a team of 40+ people to handle sales, marketing, operations, research, customer support and more, founders can now build teams of AI agents that work 24/7 and take on tasks that previously required entire teams of senior talent. Companies are already shipping products, launching GTM motions and experimenting faster than ever. In this session, we'll show early-stage founders how to do it themselves. You'll learn how to:

From MVP to Growth: What VCs Actually Look For

In this workshop, we’ll shift the focus from building features to building growth.

Date: Oct 14, 2026
Starts at: 10:30 am (America/Los_Angeles)

Building an MVP is only the beginning. Too many early-stage founders focus on what to build and how to code it, without thinking about the numbers that will ultimately determine whether the startup can grow into a venture-scale company. In this workshop, we’ll shift the focus from building features to building growth. You’ll learn which metrics actually matter after launching an MVP, how to think about Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Lifetime Value (LTV), retention, conversion, growth rate and revenue, and how these numbers tell the story of whether your startup has the potential to scale. We’ll also look at how VCs evaluate early-stage startups—and what founders should be measuring before they start fundraising, rather than trying to figure it out when they need the money. The goal isn't to teach you how to build an MVP. It's to teach you what needs to happen after you build it. You’ll learn:

Vision

Validate a scalable revenue model

Date: Oct 15, 2026
Starts at: 10:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll explore the biggest possible idea to pursue, validate real customer problems, define your personal purpose, and draft your first pitches.

Validation

Learn about the Founder Institute

Date: Oct 22, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll select one business to focus on, validate it deeply through customer development, and build an initial mockup of your product.

Model

Learn how to build a great pitch

Date: Oct 29, 2026
Starts at: 03:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll test pricing with real customers, build a revenue model that can scale, and map out the human and agent roles needed to run your business.

Development

Meet the Cohort

Date: Nov 05, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll turn your mockup into a working prototype that customers can use, co-develop with a lead customer, and prepare for your first major review.

Idea Review

Test the core business on a mentor panel

Date: Nov 12, 2026
Starts at: 03:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This is your first major milestone. You'll present your business and product to a panel of mentors who will rate you on idea viability, presentation skill, and research thoroughness.

Formation

Review your legal infrastructure

Date: Nov 19, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll incorporate your company, set up the legal foundation, protect your intellectual property, and start building your advisory board.

Launch

Improve your strategy to launch or scale

Date: Nov 26, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll launch your go-to-market engine, get your product into the hands of paying customers, and set your victory conditions for the rest of the program.

Traction

Get feedback on your product roadmap

Date: Dec 03, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll push for 10% weekly growth, track both your business and AI performance metrics, and discuss growth strategies.

Fundraising

Test your progress on a mentor panel

Date: Dec 10, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This week, you'll prepare for fundraising by organizing your materials, building your investor pipeline, and deciding on your funding strategy ahead of Demo Day.

Demo Day

Improve your team and hiring

Date: Dec 17, 2026
Starts at: 02:00 am (America/Los_Angeles)

This is your final milestone. You'll pitch a panel of angel investors and VCs with a five-minute pitch and a live demo for ratings, feedback, and potential investment.

Applications are now open

Build your startup with AI agents doing the work

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