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Schedule

Silicon Valley Winter 2016

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 $1.85BN. 

Our core 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 Silicon Valley Winter 2016 program below.

The Final Application Deadline for the Silicon Valley Winter 2016 program is Jan 31, 2016, and you can apply to the program at FI.co/join.

Orientation

Welcome and meet your peers.

Date: Feb 02, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Are you ready to be an entrepreneur? How well do you know your peers in the program? Is there someone that might be your Cofounder from the program? Who will lead your Working Group as President? What do you need to know to be successful in the Founder Institute? Which traits do you have that can help you be successful?

Vision and Ideas

Develop a set of strong ideas.

Date: Feb 03, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Research and Customer Development

Test your ideas with research.

Date: Feb 10, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Revenue Models

Chose an idea and a model.

Date: Feb 17, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Naming and Positioning

Name your business.

Date: Feb 24, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Mentor Idea Review

Present your idea for feedback.

Date: Mar 02, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Are you pursuing a viable business idea? Can you present the idea in a compelling way? Have you done sufficient research on the idea? Is there a viable market? What about about the business is likely to fail? How can the business be improved? Are you a good fit to build this business over the next three, five and ten years?

Startup Legal and IP

Build a legal and IP strategy.

Date: Mar 09, 2016
Starts at: 08:30 pm (America/New_York)

Team and Advisors

Recruit your first team members.

Date: Mar 16, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

Product Development

Plan to build your offering.

Date: Mar 23, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

Mentor Progress Review

Present your progress for feedback.

Date: Apr 06, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

How do you present the business entering the last few weeks of the program? Is the presentation compelling? Can the business scale? How viable is the financial model? Is the plan to build the business realistic? Is the product or offering planned out well? Can the business generate revenue? What needs to be improved for the business to be successful?

Sales and Traction

Start generating traction.

Date: Apr 13, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

Product and User Experience Design

Workshop to cover fundamentals.

Date: Apr 18, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

Agenda: target customer segment, key feature set, differentiated feature set, key wireframes, competitive benchmarking of the features

Branding and Marketing

Establish market credibility.

Date: Apr 20, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

Bootstrapping and Fundraising

Capitalize the business.

Date: May 02, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

Graduation

Graduate from the program.

Date: May 11, 2016
Starts at: 09:30 pm (America/New_York)

How do you ensure success after Graduation? How do you engage with your peers going forward? The Graduation is the beginning of an exciting period for Founders, where an idea becomes reality. Congratulations!

Post Program Resources

The 4 month Core-Program is just the beginning. We have developed extensive support programs and resources for our Alumni that far exceed any other comparable startup program.

Continued Support

FI Alumni
  • Dedicated Alumni Support Team in Silicon Valley
  • Access to the world's largest network of mentors and investors (35,000+)
  • Private Alumni mailing lists
  • $2M+ in partner discounts
  • Invites to FI sessions & network events
  • Potentail introductions to investors

Post-Programs

Founder Lab
  • A series of virtual advisory programs where you work with our Silicon Valley HQ team to reach next milestones
  • Funding Lab helps get your lead investor within 6 months
  • P/M Fit Lab (2023) helps you get to Product Market Fit
  • FI Venture Network helps you get intros to investors
  • 100% customized and FREE for Alumni