FI San Francisco Spring 2026 Graduation: Meet the New Portfolio Companies

➡️ What does surviving the early months look like after the program ends?

Our keynote, Shaun Gold (OpenVC) gets real about converting early interest into buyers, chasing capital and tackling the daily grind.  Plus, what it takes to turn hard-earned momentum into a business that stands the test of time.

⚡Packed with startup war stories, business triumphs, epic failures and a healthy dose of venture comedy.  He’ll dig into the mindset shifts and breakthroughs that actually matter in shaping what comes next.

🥳🎉We Proudly Announce the Following Graduates!

🔹Oprava (Isaac Mbimi) - AI-powered Organizational Intelligence that identifies execution risk before it becomes financial damage.
🔹Precision Wellness (Shenita-Ann Grymes) - Mobile health platform enabling the everyday person to experience Precision Care through diagnostic lab testing and personalized prevention plans
🔹Proxi AI (Rene Spellman) - Secure executive operations platform automating intake, stakeholder coordination and briefing generation
🔹The Experience Factor (Nicolette Chambers & Tenille Medley) - Culture-driven home for independent fitness instructors. Book classes, get paid and let your people find you
🔹Sondare (Camila Loureiro & Daniel Donnelly) - AI-powered investigative workspace that helps users map relations, synthesize and organize sources, and uncover hidden connections
🔹weRoundUp (Moses Amedonu) - Digitizing rotating savings circles (susu, tanda, ajo, kye) for income-volatile workers, offering zero-interest, zero-debt guaranteed lump-sum savings built on existing community trust

What You'll See:
-- 3-minute debut pitches from selected Graduates
-- Real-world lessons in build a fundable startup
-- Insights into what investors look for at pre-seed

-- Early-stage founders preparing to launch their startup
-- Founders looking to raise pre-seed funding
-- Entrepreneurs validating an idea and seeking real-world benchmarks
-- Aspiring founders considering applying to the next Founder Institute cohort


Keynote Speaker

Shaun Gold – Chief Evangelist @ OpenVC & Co-Founder/GP @ Improve Ventures – He works across venture capital, venture studios and private markets.  He helps firms sharpen their narrative, strengthen deal flow, raise capital and build lasting investor relationships. He's also the creator of Venture Comedy, proving that even venture capital can have a sense of humor. 

Hosted by Founder Institute San Francisco, Oakland, LV & Portland
Meet the Directors!  Jeni & Lucas
Our Fall cohort is coming up!  Learn more about the SF program.  ➡️https://fi.co/san-francisco

Partners
OpenVC: Building the front door into venture capital.  OpenVC provides exceptional access to investors, powerful tools and proven tactics to raise capital faster.
Hanson Bridgett: Strategic legal counsel for emerging-growth companies, supporting founders from formation and venture financing through scaling and everyday business matters.
FI Venture Network An exclusive network of investors actively funding pre-seed and seed-stage startups

About Founder Institute:

The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
Additional Resources:

Explore other Startup Events, learn more about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones, or visit our Insights Blog for more startup tips.