Build a Great Startup in 2024 with the FI Chicago 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 Chicago Fall 2024 program!

If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Chicago's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Chicago Fall 2024 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 Chicago, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs:

Chicago Events:

Founder Night Out: In-Person Startup Networking in Chicago: 6:00pm, Jun 20, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/348210

Global or Regional Events:

Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
How to Build a Fundable Start-up Brand: 12:00pm, May 20, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342937
FI Startup Accelerator Graduation with Kelly Perdew (VC at Moonshots Capital): 12:00pm, May 21, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/347503
Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 12:00pm, May 22, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342938
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 7:00pm, May 27, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345084
How to Quickly Establish Safe, Reliable, and Compliant AI Startups: 12:00pm, May 29, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345102
What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 12:00pm, Jun 03, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343404
Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with a Venture Capitalist: 7:00pm, Jun 05, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345126
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 7:00pm, Jun 10, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345611
Startup Success: Mastering the Product Discovery Process (Online Workshop): 12:00pm, Jun 11, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/347375
[Restricted] Venture Trailblazers, featuring James Currier (Founding Partner at NFX): 9:45am, Jun 12, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/349009
Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 12:00pm, Jun 12, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342955
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 12:00pm, Jun 17, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345640
How to Take a Value Proposition to Finding Product Market Fit: 12:00pm, Jun 24, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342956
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 12:00pm, Jun 26, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345132
Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 7:00pm, Jul 01, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345668
How Founders Beat Anxiety for Peak Performance : 12:00pm, Jul 03, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/341915
How to Acquire your First 100 B2C Customers: 12:00pm, Jul 08, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/344366
Adam Robinson’s Journey: Bootstrapping Retention.com to $22M ARR: 11:00am, Jul 12, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/348697
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 7:00pm, Jul 15, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345713
Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 12:00pm, Jul 17, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345734
What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 7:00pm, Jul 22, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343933
How to Build a Personal Brand: The Startup Founders Guide to Thought Leadership: 12:00pm, Jul 24, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343107
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas : 12:00pm, Jul 29, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/341614
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 7:00pm, Aug 05, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/341860
How to Achieve a Product-Market Fit: 12:00pm, Aug 07, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/347106
What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 12:00pm, Aug 12, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/344062
The Startup Founders’ Guide to Building AI Products Quickly & Easily : 12:00pm, Aug 14, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/347906
Pitch Lounge: Practice Pitching Your Business Idea to Startup Experts : 7:00pm, Aug 19, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/341726
Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with a Venture Capitalist: 7:00pm, Aug 26, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/341782
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 7:00pm, Aug 28, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/341841
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 12:00pm, Sep 23, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343510
Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 7:00pm, Oct 14, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342424
Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder : 12:00pm, Nov 04, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343294
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 7:00pm, Nov 18, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/344663
What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 7:00pm, Nov 25, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/345400
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 12:00pm, Dec 02, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342206
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 12:00pm, Dec 09, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/344752
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 12:00pm, Dec 16, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/344871
Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 7:00pm, Dec 23, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342603

See all upcoming events

The Chicago program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Jason Jacobsohn (Managing Partner, Propellant Ventures).

In addition, some of Chicago'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 Chicago Founder Institute includes:

Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Ablorde Ashigbi: CEO, 4Degrees
Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
Aditya Nath: Head of Sales NA, Mobilisights, A Stellantis Company
Aidan Salvi: Founder, Angel Investor, Advisor, Technologist, Multiple
AJ DeLeon: CEO, Innovare
Alex Glenn: Founder, Automated.af
Alex Gorsuch: Co-founder, CTO, Ascent Integrated Tech
Alex Lambert: Venture Capital Manager, mHUB
Andrew Lee: CEO, Esper
Andrew Loulousis: Vice President of Strategy and Venturing, TechNexus Venture Collaborative
Ashish Rangnekar: CEO & Co-Founder, BenchPrep
Aviv Shalgi: CEO, Solar Simplified
Bart Carlson: CEO, Azuba
Blake Allsmith: CEO, Jumpdocs.com
Bob Gillespie: Managing Partner, REACH Commercial
Bob Matteson: CEO, Relivable
Brad Schnitzer: Program Manager, Techstars Chicago
Brad Spirrison: CEO, Grown In
Brian Lee: Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Roamli
Cate Brady: Founding Director, Bulk AG Innovations
Charles Kwon: Managing Partner, Concitor
Chereesca Bejasa: CEO, Zenevate, LLC
Chris Sorensen: Founder & CEO, Lake Forest Venture Management
Chris Foltz: Entrepreneur In Residence, Founder Institute + Responsible Solutions Ltd + IRG 100 CMO's & Change Agents
Christina Holloway: Executive Coach, Compass Enterprises LLC
Cory Warfield: Chief Connection Officer, Coryconnects
Dan Ushman: Founder and CEO, TrendSpider
Daniel Roberts: Founder, Scout Alarm
David Culver: Co-Founder, VentureSHOT
David Douglas: Founder & CEO, Yolobe Inc.
David Rosen: CEO, Acrelic Group
David Zaretsky: CEO, Chief Scientist & Co-Founder, Snips Media
David Hurst: CEO, Orbital Transports
Derick Jiwan: Innovation and Business Development Manager, WinField United at Land O' Lakes
Desiree Vargas Wrigley: Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of TechRise, P33
Don Bora: Principal Technology/Owner and Co-Founder, Eight Bit Studios
Eddie Patzsch: Co-Founder, PartnerPortal.io
Eric Broughton: CEO, OK2Charge
Fernando DeLeon: Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Innovare
Garry Cooper: CEO/ Co-Founder , Rheaply
Gary Gaessler: SaaS Community Builder, Nylas, Co-Founder of CloudElements
Gavenraj Sodhi: Senior Product Manager, Hitach Vantara
Gavin Martin: Founding Partner, onPurpose Growth
Genevieve Thiers: Founder, Sittercity
George Powell: Founder, CEO, Easy Beauty
George Khalife: Vice President, U.S. Capital Formation, Toronto Stock Exchange
Greg Jaros: Founder & CEO, PocketKnock
Heather Holmes: CEO & Founder, Genivity
Jacqueline Kuehl: Managing Director, Digital Marketing Concentration, DePaul University
Jason Randolph: Senior Vice President Marketing & Strategic Growth, Tradier
Jason Jacobsohn: Managing Director, Propellant Ventures
Jed Abernethy: Corporate Innovation and Startup Executive, Entrepreneur / Digital Transformation
Jeff Lyons: Operating Director, City Capital Advisors, LLC
Jeff Hyman: Chief Talent Officer, Strong Suit Executive Search
Jeff Weber: Founder, Chalenj
Jeffrey Coney: Executive Coach and Mentor
Jeremy Baras: Director of Business Development, Startup Space
Jill Miller: CEO, Lunum
Joe Bezdek: Co-founder, DivX, Inc.
Joe Born: CEO, Aiwa Corp.
Joe Lee: CEO, Inverse
John Dallas: CEO, Enclave Academy and Hillview Partners Network LLC
John Ernst: Chief Growth & Technology Officer, Founder, Advisor, Entrepreneur, Executive
June W Choi: Managing Partner, Serval Ventures
Karim Djerboa: Business Development Specialist, MAVENTERSE
Katie Hench: Co-Founder, Infiniteach
Kelly Fitzsimmons: Co-Founder, Custom Reality Services
Kevin Taylor: Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Stetson University
Kim Rubenstein: Cofounder, Chief Research + Product, Compatibility
Kord Kutchins: Principal, Base-K Venture Partners
Laurence Hayward: Partner, Independence Equity
Lavina Ramkissoon: AI Ethics and Technology Policy, African Union
Louis Morales: President, The Catnip Times
Marisa Bryce: CEO, Lightning Snow
Mark Achler: Managing Director, Math Venture Partners
Marsha McVicker: Founder & CEO, Lyla
Marshall Stanton: Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, Catalina Marketing Corporation
Matt Mandell: Principal, PayNerd.com
Matthew Miller: Director, Product Strategy & UX, Digital Intent
Matthew Willis: General Manager Americas, Broadbean Technologies | Green Planet Group
Meghan Hoover: CEO, SceneSave
Michael Carruth: President/Founder, Fiodan Corporation
Michael Kramer: Founder and CEO, ManageHub, Inc.
Michael Kelly: CEO , DeveloperTown
Michael Carney: President, MWC Accounting
Michael Lamb: Co-Founder & President, nativeMSG
Mike Kritzman: Founder & CEO, SkillNet
Mike Anguiano: Founder, SupplyHive
Mindi Knebel: Founder & CEO, Kaizan Health
Mohammad Hossein Tavangar: Director , Founder Institute Germany
Neil Kane: Founder & President, Illinois Partners, LLC
Nicholas Freemen: Co-founder & Chief Growth Officer, Innovare
Nicole Loftus: Founder & CEO, Pop Venture
Parminder Batra: CEO, TraknProtect
Patricia Riskind: Head of Global Healthcare, Qualtrics
Peter Tapling: Managing Director, PTap Advisory, LLC
Phil Leslie: Managing Partner, Workbox Ventures
Pinaki Saha: Founder & CEO, Anshar Labs
Rajesh Voddiraju: Founder & Group President, HealthiPASS Inc
Reva Minkoff: Founder and President, DigitalGroundUp Inc. and Digital4Startups Inc.
Rinku Patel: Independent Consultant, Board Advisor
Ronald Franczyk: CTO & Partner, Red Foundry
Ross Kimbarovsky: Founder and CEO, crowdspring
Ryan Jeffery: MR, gener8tor
Sagar Pande: Co-founder, Blaze Power
Scott Issen: President & CEO, Future Founders
Shaniqua Davis: CEO and Founder, Noirefy
Shawn Park: Founders Team Associate, P33
Stephen Meade: Founder & CEO, MonetaPro
Sukhi Singh: Managing Director, SSS Ventures
Timothy Kelley: CEO, TeleRay
Tom Giles: Founder, Megatron Ventures
Ujjwal Gupta: Cofounder & COO, BenchPrep
William Furlong: Founder & CEO, SquareStack
William Mortimore: CEO, Project Foundry
Yarin Gaon: Strategy & Marketing Specialist, Y.G.
Yemi Oluseun: Founder/ CEO - Fintech, SaaS Business Growth, Automation & Change Management, The Change Hive