Great Startup Ideas are 'Built', not 'Born'

Ayhan is Head of Strategic Partnerships & Economic Development at the Founder Institute. He also co-leads the Founder Institute GCC startup accelerator and actually started his journey with Founder Institute as a Founder in the FI Toronto program.

Franklin is the founder and CEO of Vitamin CS Coaching, helping startups and small businesses achieve sustainable growth. With experience in founding startups and mentoring over 500 entrepreneurs, he is also a mentor at FI and the International Finance Corporation.

Levi is the Director of the Founder Institute pre-seed accelerator in Seattle and a Venture Partner at Loyal VC, an early-stage fund based in Toronto investing globally. He has founded bootstrapped, VC-backed, and intrapreneurial companies.

Piotr is a CEE startup scout, mentor, and investor with a background in sociology and an Executive MBA. A former WeWork Labs Manager and ex-Bolt, he is currently writing a Ph.D. on the benefits of coworking spaces.

Megan is an experienced professional with a background in wealth management and financial research. She serves as the Head of Admissions at the Founder Institute, where she also co-founded the Female Founder Initiative.

Vlad has 18+ years of experience in launching and exiting companies, and is passionate about helping founders build international businesses. He supports founders and connecting them with professionals. Vlad also mentors with FI, juries, and speaks at startup events.

Victor has vast experience in building and selling tech companies. A PhD researcher at Bayes Business School, he focuses on micro-entrepreneurial ecosystems and has served on the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge Advisory Board.

Ajuma is the Managing Director at FI Abuja, specializing in business development, technology, and international trade. An award-winning ecosystem builder and venture partner, she holds social entrepreneurship certifications from Wharton and Copenhagen Business School.

Ryan is Head of Global Operations for the Founder Institute, leading the launch of over 8,000 startups across 200 cities with a global mentor network of 35,000+. His portfolio includes 700+ startups that raised $300M+ with over $2B in value.

Sandy is a partner at Arca Análisis Económico, specializing in startup valuations and financial services. She's worked with top companies like Henkel and KPMG and collaborates with FI and IESA to empower entrepreneurs.

Russell is a global EIR, FI top-rated mentor, and the Chief Curriculum Officer at Brainsprays, a voice app for teaching K-12 math and vocabulary. As Founder & CEO of Responsible Solutions, he has 25+ years of experience consulting in IT, security, and applied sciences.

Sameer leads SquareCircle Global and its venture arm, SquareCircle Ventures, offering revenue growth consulting for startups, scaleups, and corporations in the MEA region. He specializes in business model redesign and collaborates with FI, providing advisory services.

Richard leads FI London, guiding hundreds of tech startups. A co-founder of MentorLabs, he specializes in ideation, product development, and go-to-market strategies. Richard is currently on the board of Baumatic Middle East.

Hanan has over 25 years of experience in guiding SMEs and startups. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Maverika, focused on AI-driven enterprise solutions, the CEO of The Business Doctor, and the Host of the Empowered to Grow Podcast.

Oz has over 20 years of experience helping SaaS and e-commerce founders scale by focusing on strategies. As Co-Director of FI NC and a Pitch Coach at NC State's Andrews Accelerator, he mentors founders, helping them master the mindset for long-term growth.

Guillermo is an investor, entrepreneur, and problem-solver with a proven ability to build and scale ventures. A graduate of Y Combinator, Founder Institute, and VC Lab, he has served as a General Partner at Indio VC, advisor at Loyal VC, and board member at Asostartups.

Steve was part of the founding team at eight startups. Over the past 20 years, he has mentored and advised more than 200 companies. He is also an FI mentor, an angel investor, and a limited partner in three VC funds.

Silyana is a Customer Support Manager at Immedis with a strong focus on the startup ecosystem. She is involved in innovation initiatives, collaborating with organizations like FI and Nebula Coworking Space, and supporting women in tech.

Alex is a Co-Director at FI CEE where he empowers aspiring entrepreneurs with essential skills and knowledge. With a career spanning mathematics, technology leadership, and investing, Ivaylo has applied cutting-edge innovations across 5 continents.

Jonathan is the Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, a global startup accelerator that has helped startups raise nearly $2BN worldwide. He has over 15 years of experience with pre-seed and seed-stage startups, accelerators, angels, funds, and LPs.

Keshni is Managing Director of Founder Institute South Africa, with expertise in business development, M&A, and transformation. She has led 200+ projects worth over $4.5B across Africa, founded four businesses, and now invests in startups.

Janet is Head of Expansion at Founder Institute and previously led the Berlin and Eastern Europe chapters. With over 10 years of experience, she has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs across Europe successfully launch their startups.

Reid leads the Founder Institute New York, supporting early-stage startups. He built venture processes at KPMG and led Verizon's deep tech accelerators focused on 5G, AI, and robotics. Reid advises global innovation initiatives and serves on the NYC Innovation Collective board.

Mohammad is sseasoned venture capitalist, excelling in translating economic insights into high-impact investment decisions. As an FI Germany Director, he helps founders fundraise, grow, and exit.

Anita is a consultant at Input Output specializing in blockchain and AI. With 6+ years in AI and machine learning, she helps organizations optimize business processes. As founder of AI Serbia Network, she promotes responsible use of AI.

Ben is the founder of Pitchverk, where he helps founders refine their pitches for investor readiness. He has guided numerous startups through pitch preparation, including those participating in the Together Mission venture competition.

Trevor is a marketer, writer, speaker, and growth thinker, and the founder of CrowdTamers. He's launched 50 startups, mentored about 200 more, taught thousands, and scaled 12 startups from $0 to $2MM+ in ARR over the last decade.

Ignacio specializes in delivering complex technology projects for global organizations in the US, Spain, and Latin America and is FI's Funding Lab Investor-in-Residence. He has extensive experience leading compliance in regulated industries.

Igor helps founders and executives navigate challenges, refine strategies, and build impactful products. With 8+ years in product management at tech companies, he specializes in product strategy, founder mentoring, and investment evaluation.

Alex leads FI CEE. He has over 17 years of entrepreneurial experience and helped launch 64 new startups, including some of the most gender-diverse portfolios across 180 global programs, earning the Startup Visionary Award in 2018.

Ivan is a serial entrepreneur, Local Director at FI CEE, and Regional Success Manager at FI HQ. He has extensive experience guiding early-stage founders, connecting them with co-founders and investors.

Lara is a Sr. Portfolio Associate at FI and Deal Partner at Ganas Ventures. Formerly, she managed admissions for Latitud Ventures, investing in startups like Pomelo and Stark Bank. Lara has worked with entrepreneurs globally.

Luca is the founder of Creative Motion, a Gen Z-run startup studio, and CEO of ReaktorX, a top CEE accelerator. He helps early-stage founders validate ideas and raise funding. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Luca specializes in ideation, design, and pitching.

Jacob is a multidisciplinary researcher, engineer, and developer specializing in disease modeling software using high-performance computing. He also works on clinical data standardization using machine learning.

Yavor is part of Innovation Capital, a EUR 21.1 million VC in Sofia, Bulgaria, supporting the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. He focuses on pre-seed and seed deals, teaches entrepreneurship at Sofia University, mentors, speaks, and serves as a jury member at startup events.

Serephina is an entrepreneur, investor, and AI enthusiast with a focus on Web3 and impact-driven innovation. At FI LA, she mentors early-stage founders globally. Previously, she was investing in AI and blockchain startups.

Chris is a renowned transformation strategist, startup mentor, and Managing Director of the Silicon Valley-based global strategy firm Responsible Solutions Ltd. As Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence at FI, he advises founders, industry leaders, and policymakers across 6 continents.

Nadine is an innovation strategist specializing in AI, data governance, and human-centered design. As Associate Director of Innovation at DC Water, she develops frameworks to align strategy with long-term goals. Previously, she managed an incubator at Harvard University.