Build a Great Startup in 2024 with the FI Columbus 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 Columbus program!

If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Columbus's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Columbus - Chicago Winter 2025 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 Columbus, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs:

Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with Stavros Pavlidis: 1:00pm, Apr 02, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/367967
Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
Why Leveraging Your Unique Life Proposition Is Crucial for Startup Success: 1:00pm, Apr 03, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/369082
Inside the Mind of VCs: Backing Immigrant Founders: 6:00pm, Apr 03, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/369747
Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder : 1:00pm, Apr 07, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/365675
How to Choose the Right Fundraising Path for Your Startup: 1:00pm, Apr 09, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/367491
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 8:00pm, Apr 16, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/366058
FI Alumni Panel: Meet Portfolio Companies and Ask Questions: 8:00pm, Apr 23, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/367731
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 8:00pm, Apr 28, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/366130
What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 8:00pm, May 07, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/366296
Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with Nathan Beckord: 1:00pm, May 12, 2025 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/366378

See all upcoming events

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

In addition, some of Columbus'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 Columbus 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
Ben Stacey: CEO, Pitchverk
Benjamin Seidman: Co-Founder, Mella Pet Care
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: Global Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Founder Institute
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
Franklin Kamnang Ngansop: Cofounder , Vitamin C&S Coaching
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: Venture 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
Mark Phinick: Founder, Let's Make It Rain
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: COO Americas & General Counsel, 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: CxO Executive Business Partner and Advisor, OSKMG LLC
Ronald Franczyk: CTO & Partner, Red Foundry
Ross Kimbarovsky: Founder and CEO, crowdspring
Ryan Jeffery: MR, gener8tor
Sagar Pande: Co-founder, Blaze Power
Sanjaykumar Patel: Founder & Principal IP Attorney, EXCELON IP - Patent & Trademark Attorneys
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
Ted Greene: Partner, Old Willow Partners
Timothy Kelley: CEO, TeleRay
Tokiah Kennedy: Head of Platform (S4P), Spotify
Tom Giles: Founder, Megatron Ventures
Ujjwal Gupta: Cofounder & COO, BenchPrep
Vern Chan: Certified Startup Coach, Your Pivot
Vladimir Pletyukhin: Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
William Furlong: Founder & CEO, SquareStack
William Mortimore: CEO, Project Foundry
Yarin Gaon: Strategy & Marketing Specialist, Y.G.
Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive