Schedule

When you enroll in the FI Core Program, you can immediately start onboarding by following a guided process where you will learn how the program works, tips to get the most benefits, and details on the perks of Graduating from the Founder Institute.

During the Accelerator Kickoff, you will meet the Local Leaders and your cohort of Founders, and establish how your startup will use the program to push your business forward.

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In each weekly Feedback Session, Founders will pitch and outline their strategies/ progress to the Mentors for feedback, get tips and insights on the week's topic, and have multiple opportunities to ask questions. This week you'll get tips on how to develop a strong vision for your business.

In this session, the Mentors will give the Inno-Talents insights into ChemTech – the current challenges and untapped potential in the chemical industry sector. Together they will explore the question what differentiates DeepTech and specifically ChemTech startups from the rest? Moreover, they will reflect their technology based on the 12 principles of green chemistry by John Warner and Paul Anastas

In this Feedback Session, Founders will present any customer development progress to the Mentors to examine if they are pursuing a scalable business with a clear and actionable customer problem. The Mentors will also provide tips on how to validate your key assumptions, interview potential customers effectively, and best interpret the feedback you receive.

During Lab Week(s), the Inno-Talents are expected to execute experimental proof-of-concept, validate their chemical technologies in the laboratory and develop it further. Depending on their current level of technology, they may need to adapt their technology to customer requirements and/or take the first steps toward scaling their technology.

This session introduces how chemical innovations can drive meaningful impact across the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and why not all “green” solutions create real value. The Mentors will explore how to design molecules, processes, and materials with sustainability embedded right from the start (sustainable by design). Finally, the session examines market pull trends in sustainable chemistry, clarifying who actually pays for sustainability, under what conditions, and how startups can align impact with commercial success.

In this Feedback Session, Founders will share their pitch and revenue model with Mentors for feedback and continued refinement. You will also get tips on how to sustain your startup before receiving financing or revenue, identifying the most lucrative revenue source for your business, testing different revenue sources with your target customers, and more.

An entrepreneur never stops pitching, so this session focuses 100% on helping you build a great pitch. First, the mentors will share the latest best practices for pitching your startup - whether the pitch is for investors, team members, customers, partners, or otherwise. Then, you'll share your most recent pitch and receive constructive feedback on how to improve.

This is the first big checkpoint in the program to determine your progress. During the Mentor Idea Review, you will present a longer presentation to a panel of FI Mentors for extensive review. You will receive a rating, as well as feedback on the long-term viability of your offering, revenue model, growth strategy, and more.

In this Feedback Session, startup lawyers and CEOs will explain various legal agreements, startup legal components (such as equity), cap tables, how to protect intellectual property, the best practices for managing a law firm, and more. As usual, Mentors will also provide Founders with ratings and feedback on their startup pitch and progress.

This session provides Inno-Talents a practical foundation in intellectual property and regulatory affairs, focusing on how to protect innovation while preserving freedom to operate and future deal flexibility. It covers IP strategy, filing timing and geographical restrictions, university IP negotiations, and collaboration risks. Alongside a high-level overview of key chemical regulations and the data required for compliance. Finally, the Mentors highlight in this session how regulations can create markets, helping founders anticipate regulatory trends and turn compliance into a competitive advantage.

In this Feedback Session, Mentors will provide Founders with feedback on their current go-to-market plans and progress, and cover topics like marketing messaging, unit economics, customer acquisition, and more.

This session explains why scaling chemical reactions from lab to ton scale is fundamentally non-linear, highlighting the key scientific, engineering, and safety challenges that emerge beyond the flask. It covers reaction engineering, reactor and process choices, safety considerations, and major cost drivers that shape scalable processes. The Mentors also explain manufacturing pathways with CMOs, clarifying when and how to involve process engineers and scale-up experts to avoid costly and time-consuming dead ends.

In this Feedback Session, Mentors will provide Founders with feedback on their current product, and/or product roadmap. Expert in product development will also discuss best practices in product management, roadmapping, managing product teams, and more.

During Lab Week(s), the Inno-Talents are expected to execute experimental proof-of-concept, validate their chemical technologies in the laboratory and develop it further. Depending on their current level of technology, they may need to adapt their technology to customer requirements and/or take the first steps toward scaling their technology.

Similar to the Mentor Idea Review, the Investor Progress Review is the second major test in the program. In this session, Founders will focus on give a long presentation their progress and traction to a panel of Investors and Advisors for a detailed review. Founders will be evaluated based on their progress in the program, the company's scalability, and more.

During Lab Week(s), the Inno-Talents are expected to execute experimental proof-of-concept, validate their chemical technologies in the laboratory and develop it further. Depending on their current level of technology, they may need to adapt their technology to customer requirements and/or take the first steps toward scaling their technology.

In this Feedback Session, Founders will receive feedback from Mentors on their team plans and product progress. In addition, Mentors will discuss how to identify the roles needed to build a world-class company, how to develop a strategy to recruit, onboard and retain the best people, and more.

During Lab Week(s), the Inno-Talents are expected to execute experimental proof-of-concept, validate their chemical technologies in the laboratory and develop it further. Depending on their current level of technology, they may need to adapt their technology to customer requirements and/or take the first steps toward scaling their technology.

In this session, Mentors will provide Founders with feedback on their current growth, branding, metrics, and strategy. Mentors will discuss various growth tactics, setting growth goals and milestones, communicating your startup's growth progress and setbacks with stakeholders and advisors, and more.

During Lab Week(s), the Inno-Talents are expected to execute experimental proof-of-concept, validate their chemical technologies in the laboratory and develop it further. Depending on their current level of technology, they may need to adapt their technology to customer requirements and/or take the first steps toward scaling their technology.

In this session, Mentors will give you insider tip and tricks to raise funding for your startup in the current market, and in your locale. Mentors will also cover numerous topics related to fundraising, including different fundraising options, how to raise funding, and more.

During Lab Week(s), the Inno-Talents are expected to execute experimental proof-of-concept, validate their chemical technologies in the laboratory and develop it further. Depending on their current level of technology, they may need to adapt their technology to customer requirements and/or take the first steps toward scaling their technology.

Completing the Founder Institute is an honor. The program is challenging, and the expectations are demanding.In this final session, you will celebrate with your peers, friends and family, as well as select Mentors. Some Founders will also pitch to a live audience, and you will officially onboard to all of the post-program resources and assistance the Founder Institute provides.