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Rethink what's possible in 2022: the world needs more entrepreneurs to lead the way in creating a better future, for everyone.

Whether you have already launched a startup or are still in the idea-phase, this is the time to act. As the global community moves toward a post-pandemic future, today it remains filled with reshuffled industries and new problems in need of solutions. As we continue into 2022 and beyond, each and every entrepreneur has the opportunity to play a part in helping shape that better future.

That's why we are excited to announce applications are now open for the Toronto - Silicon Valley Virtual Spring 2022 program.

If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Toronto's top investors and entrepreneurs to build something meaningful, then apply to the Toronto - Silicon Valley Virtual Spring 2022 Founder Institute today.

We will be hosting several free startup events in Toronto over the coming weeks, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs from the comfort of your home:

  • Turn Your Expertise Into an Audience on LinkedIn: 12:00pm, Apr 27, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394625
  • Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
  • How to Overcome the Fear of Starting Your Own Company: 12:00pm, Apr 28, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394622
  • How to Get Your First 10 Customers Without a Marketing Team or Budget: 12:30pm, May 04, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394943
  • How Anyone Can Become a Solo Founder with AI: 12:00pm, May 05, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396500
  • Stop Guessing: How to Use AI to Validate Your Startup Idea in Days : 12:00pm, May 12, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396663
  • How to Choose the Right Startup Idea Before You Build: 8:00am, May 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394963
  • How to Tell Stories That Win Clients and Investors with Lubna Forzley: 12:00pm, May 19, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396330
  • [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Get Unfiltered Feedback from Global Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, May 26, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395396
  • Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 12:00pm, Jun 02, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394994
  • Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact: 8:30pm, Jun 08, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394654
  • What It Takes to Get Funded: Live Investor Q&A w/ Maayan Teper: 12:00pm, Jun 09, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396166
  • Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 8:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395046
  • Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 8:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395075
  • Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 12:00pm, Jul 20, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395099
  • From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 8:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395131
  • Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 12:00pm, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395157
  • Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 8:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395184
  • What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 12:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395209
  • Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 8:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395232
  • From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 8:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395258
  • From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 12:00pm, Oct 13, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395283
  • From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 12:00pm, Nov 03, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395304
  • From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 8:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395327
  • From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 12:00pm, Dec 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395355

Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200+ cities worldwide, the Founder Institute is designed to help you build an enduring business that can survive and thrive in the “new normal.” We do this by giving you a clear process, combined with constant feedback from a devoted network of international entrepreneurs and investors. Participants in the 4-month core program also get access to a lifetime of support through the Founder Institute's industry-leading free post-programs.

The Toronto accelerator is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Sunil Sharma, Ben Stacey, Bryan DuarteIsabel Starck, and Ryan Micheletti. In addition, some of Toronto's top investors, entrepreneurs, and CEOs will be participating as mentors in the program, providing expert feedback and evaluation. The list of startup mentors for the Toronto Founder Institute includes:

  • Aaron Baer: Partner, Renno & Co
  • Aaron Albert: CEO and Co-Founder, Mine'd
  • Abdel Ali: Investment Analyst, Relay Ventures and Alate Partners
  • Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
  • Alan Trieu: Senior Director, Sales , Cinchy
  • Alexander Mc Isaac: Principal, Strategic Investments and Women in Tech, BDC Venture Capital
  • Alexander Jager: Founding Partner, Amplifier Advisors
  • Ambles Kwok: Head of Engineering (Toronto) / Co-Founder, Thumbtack / Therapia
  • Amir Alikhanzadeh: CEO and Co-Founder, Madlipz
  • Andrei Poliakov: CEO, APX Lending
  • Andrew D'Souza: Founder and CEO, Sfoundation
  • Anna Hu: CEO and Co-Founder, Brizi
  • Aran Hamilton: President & Co-Founder, Vantage
  • Ashley Martis: Co-Founder & CEO, StartupFuel
  • Ashley Hahn: Head of Startup Developer Ecosystem, Canada, Google
  • Aurélio Araújo: CEO, Leadfy
  • Ayhan K. Isaacs: Head of Global Growth, Founder Institute
  • Balaji Gopalan: Independent Product Management Educator, Mentor, Consultant and Advisor, self
  • Ben Sanders: CEO and Co-Founder, Davispier.ca
  • Ben Baldwin: Founder, Upteaming.com
  • Bilal Tariq: Technical Talent Connoisseur , GuruLink
  • Bob Kyryliuk (CEO-P2P): CEO & Founder, CEO-P2P.com
  • Brice Scheschuk: CEO, Globalive Capital
  • Bryan Gold: Co-Founder and CEO, #paid
  • Bryan Smith: Co-Founder & CEO, ThinkData Works Inc.
  • Callum Travaglini: Strategy & Program Manager, Office of the CEO, Wealthsimple
  • Chevonae Walcott: Associate, Relay Ventures
  • Chris Ye: Co-Founder, Uken Games
  • Chris Hobbs: President, TTT Studios
  • Chris Adams: Founder and Managing Partner, Adams Hamilton
  • Christopher Leacock: Founder , Jillionaire LLC
  • Corey Gross: CEO, Sensibill
  • Cory York: CEO and co-Founder, PowerStores
  • Craig Asano: CEO, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
  • Dan De Mers: CEO and Co-Founder, Cinchy
  • Daniel Bishun: Economic Development Officer , City of Brampton
  • David Winterstein: CEO, Velocia
  • David Jorjani: Founder, Qatalyst Labs
  • Derrick Fung: CEO, Drop
  • Dinah Davis: Founder, Code Like A Girl
  • Don Samoil: Managing Partner, Trusted Scale
  • Drew Lindsay: Co-Founder, GuruLink
  • Duncan Brown: Partner, Penrose Partners
  • Dustin Betz: Director of Operations, White Rose Ventures
  • Edmundas Balčikonis: CEO and Co-Founder, Eddy Travels Inc.
  • Erich Ko: CEO, Hop In Technologies
  • Eropa Stein: CEO, Hyre
  • Favour Ori: Founder, CEO, Payday
  • Fion Lee-Madan: Technical Co-Founder, COO and Customer Success, Fairly AI Inc.
  • George Bordianu: Co-founder & CEO, Balance
  • Gilberto Gandra: Founder, Gandra & Co
  • Graeme Millen: Director, Technology Banking, Silicon Valley Bank
  • Hamid Akbari: CEO, BlancLink
  • Hamoun Karami: CEO and Co-Founder, Smartbin.io
  • Haoyang Liang: Director of Product Development, Orbiseed
  • Harsh Pujara: Co-Founder, Actuality
  • Hussam Ayyad: Chief Accelerator Officer , Highline Beta
  • Idowu Akinde: MD/CEO, Impact Hub Lagos
  • Ignacio Castro: Managing Partner, 128vc
  • Ilya Brotzky: Founder and CEO, VanHack
  • Jack Liu: CEO and Co-Founder, Orbiseed (Techstars 2020)
  • Jafar Owainati: Co-Founder, Loopio
  • James Meier: CTO, Synervoz Communications
  • Jason Atkins: General Partner, 360insights
  • Jeff Hohner: President, Tecumseh Capital Ltd.
  • Jelmer Stegink: Program Director, DMZ Innisfil
  • Jennifer Turliuk: CEO and Founder, MakerKids
  • Jeremy Potvin: Founder, World of Angus
  • Jeremy Glassenberg: Product Management, APIs, Developer Experiences, Marketplaces, API Strategist
  • Jeremy Kuo: CEO, Ever
  • Joe Parenteau: CEO and Co-Founder, Fable (Techstars 2020)
  • Jonah Midanik: COO & General Partner, Forum Ventures
  • Jonathan Ip: Founder, Iterative Law
  • Jordan Jocius: Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Founder Institute
  • Joseph Dales: Co-Founder & Director, RHA Partners
  • Juanita Lee Garcia: Executive Director, The Upside Foundation of Canada
  • Kayla Isabelle: Executive Director, Startup Canada
  • Kesem Frank: Founder, Mavennet and AION
  • Kevin Gervais: CTO @ Touchless, Co-Founder @ Auto Genius, Statflo, Touchless
  • Konata Lake: Partner
  • Kristine Beese
  • Kweku Essien
  • Kyle Collier: Co-founder and CEO, Phaze
  • Lance Cottrell: Founder, Feel the Boot
  • Lucas Porter-Bakker: Head of Product and Design, PDS
  • Luke DeCoste: Entrepreneur in Residence, Davispier.ca
  • Maarij Rehman: CEO, Envoi
  • Majdi Alnabih: CEO, ZipLunch Inc
  • Mara Rada: Chief Operations and Strategy, Loon (loonbio.com)
  • Marat Mukhamedyarov: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
  • Marcello Tommasi: Co-Founder & COO, Envoi
  • Mark Smith: Canada Startup Ecosystem Lead, Amazon AWS
  • Maryam Nabavi: Founder and CEO, Babbly (Techstars 2020)
  • Matt O'Leary: CEO and Co-Founder, Treasure Financial
  • Matt Lee: Investor, Dr. Matt Lee Family Office
  • Mercedes Bankston: Founder, Funderstar LTD
  • Michael Young: CTO, Reuters News and Media
  • Michael Kosic: Founding Partner, Loyal VC
  • Michael Collins: Founder | CEO, Periculum
  • Michele Romanow: Co-Founder, Sfoundation
  • Mike Suprovici: Head of Acceleration, VC Lab
  • Mike Hollinger, Dentons LLP
  • Mike Apted: Principal Solutions Architect - Startups, AWS
  • Milad Zabihi: CEO & Cofounder, Peekage
  • Mohan Markandaier: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
  • Nabil Fahel: Head of Partnerships and Community, Terminal, Inc.
  • Neha Khera: Venture Partner, 500 Startups
  • Nicole Verkindt: Founder and CEO, OMX
  • Noah Dolgoy: CEO, Tread
  • Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
  • Onyeka Akumah: CEO, Treepz
  • Pamela Draper: CEO, Bitvo
  • Paul Parsons: Partner, Metaii
  • Peter Ma: Co-Founder, MixPose
  • Philippe LeBlanc: CEO, Flixel Photos Inc
  • Phillip Gales: CEO, inate.ai
  • Pooja Viswanathan: CEO, Braze Mobility
  • Preet Singh: Founder, Designx
  • Rain Takahashi: Founder and CEO, Jauntin
  • Ravin Shah: Co-CEO & Founder, QuickTapSurvey
  • Raymond Luk: CEO, Hockeystick
  • Reuven Cohen: Managing Director, Alystic Holdings
  • Richard Hyatt: Co-founder, BlueCat Networks
  • Robert Whiteside: Director, Founding Partner, Treemark Capital
  • Ron Gentile: Founder, Moodfit
  • Ron Benegbi: CEO, Uplinq Financial Technologies
  • Roy Pereira: CEO and Founder, Zoom.ai
  • Russell Brand: CEO & Founder, Responsible Solutions Limited
  • Ryan Micheletti: Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
  • Ryan Perera: CEO and Co-Founder
  • Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
  • Sameer Khan: Sameer Ahmed Khan, Social Champ, Inc
  • Sami Dalati: Cofounder, Brizi
  • Sanjay Nediyara: Founder and CEO
  • Sara Bentham: Director, Georgian College Entrepreneurship Centre
  • Saroop Bharwani: CEO and Co-Founder, Senso (Techstars 2018)
  • Sean Yo: Product Management Fellow, ISPMA
  • Sergey Kalnish: CEO, SmartHire
  • Seun Sanni: COO, PayFi
  • Sharoon Thomas: CEO and Founder, Fulfil.io
  • Shibin Muhammed: Portfolio Manager, Techstars Canada
  • Sina Roshan: Cofounder & CPO, Peekage (Techstars 2020)
  • Slawek Potasz: CEO, CarScanner
  • Sodruldeen Mustapha: Co-founder and CTO, Raenest
  • Steve Dixon: SMB Leader (Canada), Apple
  • Sunil Sharma: Managing Director, Founder Institute Toronto
  • Tarun Sachdeva: GM, Wattpad
  • Tauseef Riaz: Cofounder ConsidraCare, Stock Target Advisor and Mashkraft, ConsidraCare.com
  • Thomas Park: Partner, BDC Deep Tech Fund
  • Tom Lowden: Head of Labs, US East and Canada, WeWork Labs
  • Tony Sabeta: Partner / Patent Agent, Aird & McBurney LP
  • Tovit Neizer: Chief Storyteller, Yellow Bricks
  • Tracy Leparulo: Founder, Untraceable
  • Trevor Longino: Founder & CEO, CrowdTamers
  • Tyler Bryden
  • Uchi Uchibeke, Chimoney
  • Vatsal Shah: Co-founder, CTO , Speak Ai
  • Victor Wong: Managing Director, Operations, Flipp
  • Vikas Gupta: CEO, AVARA
  • Will Greenblatt: Co-Founder & Managing Director, OutLoud Speakers School
  • Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive

  • And many more to be announced.

Since 2009, the Founder Institute has helped over  8,900 Alumni raise over 2BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more (see the FI 10 Year Impact Report here).

Join us in Toronto to help build the future. 

Apply to the Toronto - Silicon Valley Virtual Spring 2022 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.  

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