Build the Future: Applications Now Open to Founder Institute Pittsburgh 2023

Founder First, Founder Always. Join us in 2022: Founder Institute is the #1 place in the world to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses.

Today’s economic 'New Normal' is full of reshuffling industries, and new problems in need of solutions - now is a time for entrepreneurs to act.

Whether you need to test and validate early hypotheses before making a large financial commitment to your startup idea, or you are ready to push your startup to the next level through aggressive weekly growth sprints to refine your vision, improve key metrics, and prepare for investor diligence, Founder Institute has the proven processes and network to help you do it.

If you could use a structured process that tells you what to focus on when, and a lifetime of support from Pittsburgh's top investors and entrepreneurs, then apply to the Pittsburgh 2023 Founder Institute today.

We will be hosting several free startup events in Pittsburgh over the coming weeks, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs all from the comfort of home:

What Startup Ecosystems Get Wrong, and How to Fix Them: 12:30pm, Mar 30, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394267
Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
Solo-Founder 101: How Anyone Can Start a Business Using AI: 12:00pm, Mar 31, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392549
Finding Real Product–Market Fit (Before You Run Out of Runway): 6:00pm, Mar 31, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393633
From Idea to Startup Team: Meet Your Future Co-Founder: 8:00pm, Apr 06, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392189
Fundraising in a More Disciplined Capital Environment: 6:00pm, Apr 07, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393770
Stuck Without a Startup Idea? Build One That Fits You: 8:30pm, Apr 07, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390142
Building the Right Team as a First‑Time CEO: 6:00pm, Apr 09, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393773
How Multiple Pivots positioned Checkbox as the ‘Legal Front Door’ for Corporations: 8:00pm, Apr 13, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/389465
Real Startup Lessons From FI Alumni Across the World: 12:00pm, Apr 14, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390760
Leveraging AI and Technology Without Losing Focus: 6:00pm, Apr 14, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393776
Founder Resilience, Decision‑Making, and Mental Load: 6:00pm, Apr 16, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393779
Turn Your Expertise Into an Audience on LinkedIn: 12:00pm, Apr 27, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392413
How to Overcome the Fear of Starting Your Own Company: 12:00pm, Apr 28, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394047
How to Get Your First 10 Customers Without a Marketing Team or Budget: 12:30pm, May 04, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394548
How to Choose the Right Startup Idea Before You Build: 8:00pm, May 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390316
[Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Get Unfiltered Feedback from Global Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, May 26, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395473
Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 12:00pm, Jun 02, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390492
Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact: 8:30pm, Jun 08, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/388432
Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 8:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393197
Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 8:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392827
Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 12:00pm, Jul 20, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390630
From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 8:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393320
Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 12:00pm, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391182
Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 8:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391270
What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 12:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392937
Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 8:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391549
From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 8:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390906
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 12:00pm, Oct 13, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393450
From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 12:00pm, Nov 03, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393067
From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 8:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391411
From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 12:00pm, Dec 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391050

See all upcoming events

Make better, faster business decisions in 2022 by sharing your latest progress, challenges, and strategies for constant feedback and evaluation from our expert mentors and advisors, every step of the way–scale your team, develop new business opportunities, and recruit an amazing advisory board with the world's largest network of international startup founders, CEOs, advisors, and investors.

The Pittsburgh accelerator is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Bill Rivkin (Business Banking Virtual Relationship Manager VP, Citizens), Daria Duda (Marketing Advisor, Self), Don Samoil (Chapter Leader, FI Keystone), Philly Admin (A, A). In addition, some of Pittsburgh's top entrepreneurs will be participating as mentors in the program, including:

Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Albert Whale: Founder & CEO, IT Security Solutions
Alfred Poor: Keynote speaker and virtual event expert, The Health Tech Futurist
Arcui Usoara: Global Board Advisor and Brand Strategist, Founder, Iaculus
Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills, MSEL, PCC, CPQC®, CELC: Founder & Owner, Purpose-Filled Solutions & Evolutions®
Ben Stacey: CEO, Pitchverk
Bill Rivkin: Virtual Relationship Manager |non-dilutive funding, Citizens Bank
Bobbi Muscara: CEO - Director of Education, Ledger Academy
Chris Morris
Christian Behl: International Business Development, Cognition IP
Daniel Ritterman: CEO & Founder, MainLineDelivery (acquired by Square)
Daria Duda: Product Marketing Strategy Consultant, Outside In Marketing Strategy
David Lasus: CEO, Heart + Paw
David Stengle: CEO & Founder , Board++
Deana Graffeo Weeks
Deka Dike: Founder & CEO, Omatochi
Don Pancoe: Chief Blinker, Blinkenlights Technologies
Dustin Betz: Director of Operations, White Rose Ventures
Elena Mlotok: General Manager, Head of EU Newsstand, Amazon
Frank Jacquette
Franklin Kamnang Ngansop: Co-Founder, Vitamin CS Coaching
Geoffrey Kent: Founder and CEO, I left corporate America 24 years ago, and launched my current venture (Think Big with Geoffrey Kent) 4 years ago.
Greg Mester: President, Idea Communication Networks, Inc.
Heather Lawver: Founder & CEO, Ceemo
Helen De La Rosa: FI Mentor, Founders Institute
Ike Nwabufo
Jeffrey Garwood: VP Architecture Financial Services and Healthcare, Salesforce.com
Jerah Siegal
Joel Ginsparg: Managing Partner, Firelight Partners, LLC
Karen Robinson: Pitch Deck & Data Room Advisor, Karen Robinson Consulting
Lawrence Rich
Mac Goswami: Senior Technical Program Manager, Fiserv Inc
Mario Casabona: Angel Investor, Casabona Ventures
Martina Truche: Healthcare Innovator , Space Medicine Enthusiast
Melissa Li: Managing Partner and Head of Community, Dorm Room Fund
Michelle Peters: Co-Founder & CEO, Supplino
Nadia Al-Banna, PHD, MBA: Innovation Management Expert/Founder, , Value-N-Action Consulting
Nathan Mancine: FI Mentor, LeanTaaS
Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
Owen Occhetti: Consultant, Avant Technology Group
Ozan Sonmez: Co-Founder, Brutally Honest Group
Paul Mosenson: Owner, NuSpark Consulting and NuSpark Media
Pete Biggam: Director / Mentor / Advisor, Founder Institute
Peter Chmiel: Owner, Cutting Edge Consulting
Rajprasath Subramanian: Principal Enterprise architect and Start-up Advisor, SAP
Randy Fisher: CEO, Expand to New Markets
Rich Heckelmann: Mentor and Professional Consultant , Keystone Founders + Forward Vision Consulting
Ronda Siegel: Partner, RSiegel Consulting LLC
Sameer Babbar: Director, SVB Group
Sara Ledterman: General Partner, 3+ Ventures
Scott Wittrock: Fractional CPO, Head for Product
Shaun Gold: Entrepreneur, storyteller, GP at Improve Ventures, Improve Ventures
Sonya Trivedi: Founder and CEO, AIMAR
Stefanie Smith: Founder, Double S Consulting
Stephan Thomas: Managing Partner, Artimon3D
Tovit Neizer: Chief Storyteller, Yellow Bricks
Trevor Longino: Founder & CEO, CrowdTamers
Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive
Zack Light: Software Engineer, High Frequency Trading Company

And many more to be announced.

Since 2009, Founder Institute’s highly-structured accelerator programs have helped over 8,900 entrepreneurs to grow quickly, know what to do next, and make key connections through the largest community of startup advisors in the world.

It all starts with our renowned ‘FI Core’ accelerator, which pushes founders at the idea and pre-seed stages to reach the milestones needed for investment and sustained growth. Alumni of FI Core then receive free access to our advanced ‘Founder Lab’ accelerators for years to come, and can get matched with prospective investors in the FI Venture Network - a collection of global funds actively investing in the earliest rounds of funding.

The results speak for themselves: FI Alumni have raised over 2BN in funding, and are building impactful businesses across 200+ cities and 100+ countries all across the globe. (see the FI 50 Report here).