Build a Great Startup in 2023 with the FI San Diego Startup Accelerator

The Founder Institute, the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the San Diego program!

If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from San Diego's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the San Diego Founder Institute today.

Since 2009, our highly-structured accelerator programs have helped entrepreneurs at the earliest stages grow quickly, know what to do next, and make connections with the largest community of startup advisors.

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.

To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free online startup events in San Diego, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs:

How to Grow Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn as a Startup Founder: 10:00am, Oct 11, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330581
Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
Build Your Brand on a Budget: The Founder’s Starter Pack: 10:00am, Oct 16, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330586
Venture Trailblazers, featuring Scott Belsky (Chief Strategy Officer & EVP, Adobe): 6:45am, Oct 17, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330592
Goal Setting for Startups – Intro to OKRs: 10:00am, Oct 18, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330118
Co-Founders Matchmaking: Online Networking Event: 10:00am, Oct 23, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330596
One-to-One with a Venture Builder : 10:00am, Oct 25, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330839
Unlock over $500K Monthly Sales with LinkedIn: A Proven Roadmap: 10:00am, Oct 30, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330599
Pitch Lounge: Practice Pitching Your Business Idea to Startup Experts: 10:00am, Nov 01, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330602
The Pitch Deck Toolbox: How to Influence Your Audience: 10:00am, Nov 06, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330605
3 Things Investors Hate About Online Pitches: 10:00am, Nov 08, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330780
How to Budget Your Next Round of Funding: 10:00am, Nov 20, 2023 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/330924

See all upcoming events

The San Diego program is led by one of the region's top startup leaders, Mike Sherbakov (General Partner, The Veteran Fund).

In addition, some of San Diego's top investors, entrepreneurs, and CEOs will be participating in the program, providing them with expert feedback and evaluation. The list of startup mentors for the San Diego Founder Institute includes:

Aaron Keith: CEO, Buildify Systems
Adam Montgomery: Fundraising Manager, Wefunder
Al Bsharah: Interlock Capital, Managing Partner
Albert Chow: Co-Founder | Chief Executive Officer, Opti
Alex Bard: Founder & CEO, Assistly
Alex Green: Founder, Kanshi LLC
Amar Harrag: CEO, Allied Green Realty
Amir Emadi: CEO, Skylift Global
Andrew Gottlieb: Founder & CEO, No Typical Moments
Andy White: Startup Operations, Keshif Ventures
Annie Brown: Founder, Lips
Anton Monk: Co-Founder/ VP of Technology , Entropic Communications
Austin Neudecker: Managing Partner, Weave Growth Partners
Aviv Shalgi: CEO, Solar Simplified
Bardia Moayedi: Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Ben Cote: Mentor, Founder Institute
Brian Storms: no title, No company
Brian Ford: Partnership Director, Founder Institute San Diego
Brian Olearczyk: CRO, RevCult
Bryant Walker: Founder, TAVO Media Group
Carl Thomas: Chief Revenue and Business Development Officer, Hookit
Carlo Rivis: CEO & Founder, Innovation Discovery
Caroline Arzoo: Partnerships, TurboSBIR
Cassius Kiani: Founder & Head of Product , Mora.com
Chintan Oza: Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
Chris Capdevila: Founder & Former CEO, LogicalApps
Chris Carter: CEO & Co Founder, VideoFort
Christine "Chrissy" McDannell: Principle, The Magnolia Firm
Cleve Adams: Principal
Courtney Gant: CEO & Co-Founder, Skooltopia
Dan O'neill: VP Engineering, Certona
Dane Drotts: CoFounder, TangoCode
Daniel O'neil: Executive Director, Smart Chicago Collaborative
Daniel Obodovski: Co-founder, Managing Partner, Diosys Technologies LLC
Daniel Arroyo: President & CTO, AstroPrint
Darryl Rettig: Co Founder & CTO, DonationMatch
David Stevens: Founder & CEO, Hydroponic Creations
David Metzler: Managing Director, Serenity Ventures
David Steel: CEO, EveryoneLinked
DC Palter: Angel Investor, Tech Coast Angels
Derren Burrell: Venture Capitalist, Veteran Ventures
Derrick Oien: CEO & Founder
Ed Cleary: Principal, Root Strategy Group
Ellen Chang: Partner, Lightspeed Innovations
Eric Grab: Aspiring Explorer, Technologist, Advisor, and Coach, Formerly: Amazon, Booz Allen, DivX, Jaunt, San Diego State
Eric Weiss: Executive Coach, Full Cycle Executive Coaching
Fabian Geyrhalter: Founder and Principal, FINIEN
Farooq Anjum, Ph D: Co Founder & CEO, Gro Guru
Flossie Hall: Director Of Community Relations, Stella Labs
Frank Peters: Founder & Host, Frank Peters Show
Fred Morrison: CEO, Simplexity
Gaurav Bhattacharya: CEO, Involve.ai
Genevieve Le Marchal: Managing Partner, Suncoast Ventures
George Stepancich, Invisionate
Gina Campbell: Strategy & Demand Gen (Direct to Consumer Group), SONY, Formerly DivX, MP3.com.
Grant Creighton: CEO & Founder, LooperLink - LOOPER Golf
Greg Moser: President & CTO, ShipCalm
Hayley Evans: Co Founder, Women Making Waves
Ian Suttle: Engineering Director, Google
Iva Teixeira: CEO, The Good Face Project
Jacob Sapochnick: CEO, Sapochnick Law Firm
James Schmachtenberger: CEO, Neurohacker Collective
James Hereford: Co-Founder, Launch Factory
Jason Pang: CEO, InvolveHub, Inc.
Jason Liebrecht: VP of Technology, Activbody Inc
Jason Zinn: Partner, Emerged, Inc.
Jeff Smith: CEO, Growth Catalyst
Jenny Rodriguez: CEO & Founder, IVOREEZ
Jess Ewart: Senior Partner, New World Ventures
Jessica Pratt: Senior Vice President of Sales, Pop & Bottle
Jim Carlson: Founder, DFL Technology
Joe Bezdek: Co-founder, DivX, Inc.
John Zdanowski: Co-Founder, Assembled Brands
John Stilo: Head of Finance, Moov
Jon Carder: CEO, Vessel Health
Jonah Peake: CoFounder, Granada Fund
Jose Doval: CEO & Founder , XBand Sports
Juan Toledano: CoFounder, Sundaze
Judy Tsuei: Founder, Wild Hearted Words
Justin Renfro: Director of Partnerships, WeFunder
Justin Nahama: Partner, FisherBroyles, LLP
Kelly Conkright: Founder, The Brand Terminal
Ken Wahlster: Founder & CEO, BikeBandit.com
Ken Davenport: CEO, Mission Edge
Kim Walpole: Co-Founder / CEO, Trials.ai
Lance Cottrell: Founder, Feel the Boot
Larry Kesslin: Chief Connector, Spire
Lauren Rowley: Director of Investor Relations, Stella Impact Capital
Lee Mills: CEO, Pixly
Leo Spiegel: Managing Partner, Mission Ventures
Lucas Root: Founder, CEO, SGIC Consulting
Mara Rada: CEO & Chief of Strategy, Feral (thinkferal.com)
Maria Pope: Community Manager, Republic
Mark How: CEO, NewGrowth & Origins eCommerce
Mark Schmid: CEO, Art Function
Martín Martinez: Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas
Matthew Hedayat: CEO and COO, Stanford Technical Group
Melissa Li: Managing Partner and Head of Community, Dorm Room Fund
Merrin Muxlow: Executive Director, TiE South Coast
Michael Davidovich: Founder, Direct EDI, Inc.
Michael Floyd: Software Engineering and Product Management Leader, Freelance Software Engineering and Product Management Consultant
Michel Kripalani: CEO, Oceanhouse Media
Mike Sherbakov: General Partner, The Veteran Fund
Mike Steadman: CEO, IRONBOUND Media
Mysty Rusk: Executive Director, USD School of Business
Neal Bloom: Managing Partner, Interlock Capital
Neil Senturia: CEO, Blackbird Ventures
Nektar Baziotis: Founder, ICARUS
Nelly Yusupova: Founder, TechSpeak.co
Nerissa Zhang: CEO, Bright App
Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
Pablo A. Fernandez: CEO, Secret Table
Parker Harris: CEO, Junto Global
Pat Walsh: Co-Founder / Chief Impact Officer
Paula Sweis: Principal, SILVERWEISS International
Pete Biggam: Co-Lead FI San Francisco / CEO of, Blacksite Solutions
Peter Shaw: Managing Director , Procopio Business Advisors
Regina Bernal: CEO, Trailblazer
Reid Carr: CEO & Founder, Red Door Interactive
Rhana Pytell Kozak: CEO & Founder , BRIGHTERSTEP
Ricardo Dos Santos: Sr Director of New Business Development , Biological Dynamics
Rick Valencia: Founder, ProfitLine
Rishi Sharma: Venture Partner, Going VC
Rocco Cortese: President, Entrepreneurs Organization (E.O.)
Roger Rappoport: Partner, Procopio
Rupak Doshi: CEO, TurboSBIR
Ryan Tseng: Co Founder, Warehouse Innovations
Ryan Micheletti: Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
Saba Karim: Entrepreneur & Investor, Techstars
Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
Sarah Apsel: Angel Investor, 37 Angels
Scot Chisholm: CEO & Chairman, StayClassy
Scott Davis: Director of Veteran Entrepreneuership, PenFed Foundation
Shahi Ghanem: Managing Director, WI Harper Group
Shahin Enayati: Managing Director, Made Noble Corporation
Shaun Alger: CRO, Volohaus
Stacey Cooper: Partner, Stacey Cooper Law
Steven Morley: Business Advisor, Success4Execs
Stuart Volkow: Program Manager, UCSD
Taj Adhav: Founder, Leasecake
Tarun Gulati: Founder & CEO, Adios
Tay Nguyen: Owner, Gate Consulting
Tirrell Payton: Tirrell Payton - Founder & CEO, Kaliki (San Diego FI), Kaliki
Todd Goldstein: EVP, Global Partnerships & Business Development, Talent Inc.
Trevor Longino: Chief Marketing Officer, Unito
Troy Hazard: Global President, Entrepreneurs Organization
Ty Vachon: CEO, oatmealhealth.com
Tyson Mc Dowell: President, Avadyne Health
Yann Deredec: CEO, Yama Group
Yemi Oluseun: Founder/ CEO - Fintech, SaaS Business Growth, Automation & Change Management, The Change Hive