Lead a Founder Institute Chapter
Help ambitious entrepreneurs build AI-native companies — and grow your city's startup ecosystem in the process.
Fully VirtualProgram Dates
Deadline
Apr 26, 2026
Lead the AI Founder Revolution in Your City
Accelerator Lab is FI's official onboarding program for new chapter leaders — giving you everything you need to launch an AI-native company builder that takes founders from idea to funded.
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Get Trained with a World-Class Onboarding Program
- FI's proven 17-year methodology, playbooks, and leadership frameworks — updated for the AI era — get you running from day one.
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Tap Into a Global Network of 40,000+ Mentors & Investors
- Instantly connect your founders to mentors, investors, and ecosystem partners across 100+ countries and 6 continents.
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Give Founders the World's Leading AI Startup Platform
- Your founders get FounderGen — FI's AI platform of startup agents and purpose-built tools to go from zero to funded.
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Put Your City on the Global Startup Map
- Become your city's go-to startup ecosystem builder — backed by FI's globally recognized program.
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Earn Equity While Making an Impact
- Through FI's Equity Collective, you earn a stake in every company you help create — like an early angel investor.
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Get Ongoing Support from FI's Global HQ Team
- FI's HQ team is behind you with operational support, co-marketing, and strategic guidance at every stage.
Who Should Apply to Accelerator Lab?
We're looking for community-driven leaders who see the AI moment as the biggest opportunity for new company creation in a generation — and want to bring it to their city. Apply if you are:
- An entrepreneur, investor, or ecosystem builder ready to invest your expertise in the next generation of founders.
- A natural community builder and event organizer, ready to put that network to work for founders.
- Well-connected locally, with the credibility and drive to attract aspiring founders.
- Ready to lead a proven, structured program backed by 17 years of methodology and 8,900+ portfolio companies.
Apply to Accelerator Lab
Apply now to join the next cohort of FI Local Leaders.
Program Mentors
Meet the FI HQ leaders who will support you through your training in Accelerator Lab and beyond.
Accelerator Lab Schedule
Below are the upcoming Accelerator Lab program dates for new Local Leaders
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Running FI Toronto helps me build and access deal flow of high quality early-stage stage startups.
Sunil SharmaFI Canada -
Founder Institute’s structured weekly sprints keep founders focused, while hands-on support and mentor feedback help them refine their ideas. FI equips AI-native founders to launch AI-powered startups.
Janet TodorovaFI Central Eastern Europe -
The feedback from our partners and the founders themselves has been overwhelmingly positive, with founders praising the quality of the FI platform and curriculum.
Levi ReedFI Seattle & Startup425 -
Founder Institute delivered world-class acceleration experiences tailored for Pakistani founders. The training, structure, and network provided by FI empowered NIC to support startups more effectively and sustainably.
Sayyed Ahmad MasudFI Pakistan & National Incubation Center -
Founder Institute is consistently developing new tactics to run a startup accelerator and defining best practices for the industry!
Eva Dimitrova WorstFI Germany
FI Partners
Local Leaders gain instant access to FI's global partner network — connecting your community to top investors, ecosystem organizations, and industry experts worldwide.
Events
Join us for an upcoming event — local or global — to meet other Local Leaders, founders, and ecosystem builders. Stay ahead of the AI-native entrepreneurship wave and learn what it takes to run a world-class chapter.
Powered by the Founder Institute
Based in Silicon Valley, the Founder Institute is the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, FI's accelerators have helped launch thousands of fast-growing, funded technology companies across nearly every geography, industry, and sector.
8,900+
Portfolio Companies
2BN+
Portfolio Company Funding
200+
Chapter Cities
100+
Chapter Countries
6
Continents
40,000+
Global Mentors & Advisors
Delivered via World Class Tools
Local Leaders in training get access to the Founder Institute's 'FounderGen Platform' - the world's leading LMS for startup creation.
- Experiential learning and structured, action-oriented sprints
- Embedded videos, templates, and resources to help with every step of the chapter-building process
- State of the art AI tools to help participants augment their capabilities and speed up progress
Frequently Asked Questions
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Accelerator Lab is Founder Institute's official training and onboarding program for new Local Leaders. It gives you the methodology, tools, operational playbooks, and support you need to successfully launch and run an FI chapter in your city.
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Local Leaders run FI chapter programs in their city — recruiting and supporting aspiring AI-native founders, running community events, facilitating sessions, connecting participants with their local and FI's global mentor and investor network, and building a thriving local startup ecosystem.
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No prior accelerator experience is required. Accelerator Lab is specifically designed to train and onboard new leaders from scratch, using FI's 17-year proven methodology and comprehensive operational playbooks.
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Becoming a Local Leader is free. Instead of a financial commitment, we're looking for something more valuable — an established presence in your local startup ecosystem and a genuine drive to help the next generation of founders succeed. That might mean you're a former founder, an active community builder, or someone with deep relationships across the local ecosystem: angels, advisors, universities, government, and corporate partners.
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FI's Equity Collective means that Local Leaders participate in a shared equity structure — so when the founders you help build succeed, you and the mentors in your chapter benefits too.
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Local Leaders are not compensated with a salary. They earn a percentage of the entrance fees paid by founders who join their chapter, and through FI's Equity Collective, they receive equity in the companies they help build — similar to the position of an early advisor or angel investor. In some cases, leaders secure sponsorships for their chapters.
Apply to Accelerator Lab
Complete your application today and take the first step toward leading an FI chapter in your city
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The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 8,900 entrepreneurs raise over 2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
