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 Germany program!
If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Germany's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Germany 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.
To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Germany, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs, many will be virtual, but a few also physical in Berlin:
Germany Events:
- Meet & Greet & Cofounder search Early Summer Edition: 7:00pm, Jun 04, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/397980
- FI Germany Spring 2026 Graduation: Meet the New Portfolio Companies: 7:00pm, Jun 12, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/398181
Global or Regional Events:
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- Vibecoding 101 for Startups: Build Your First App w/ Mark Montalban: 6:30pm, Jun 01, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/398065
- Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 6:00pm, Jun 02, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/394983
- How to Launch an AI-Powered Company With a Day Job Featuring Adeo Ressi: 8:00pm, Jun 08, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/399242
- Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact (POSTPONED): 2:30am, Jun 09, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395026
- What It Takes to Get Funded: Live Investor Q&A w/ Maayan Teper: 6:00pm, Jun 09, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/396146
- Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 2:00am, Jun 16, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395059
- Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 6:00pm, Jul 07, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395142
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 6:00pm, Jul 20, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395084
- From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 2:30pm, Aug 10, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395112
- FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 2:00am, Aug 26, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/399819
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 6:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395197
- How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 6:00pm, Sep 15, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/398297
- From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 6:00pm, Oct 13, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395271
- From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 6:00pm, Nov 03, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395293
- From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 6:00pm, Dec 01, 2026 (Europe/Berlin): https://FI.co/e/395340
The Germany program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Amanda Fornal (Director, Startup Advisor, Women in STEM advocate), Dirk Lehmann (Innovation Advisor & Pitch Coach, Dirk Lehmann & Partners), Ferdinand Muehlhaeuser (Lead Director Germany), Kai Malkwitz (Serial Entrepreneur, sustainability evangelist and Impact Director), Rikke Klitskov (CMO, Founder Institute), Mohammad Tavangar (Director, Partner Management), Eva Dimitrova (Director, Community Management), Nathan Evans (Director, Startup Advisor) and Sara Maki (Director, Startup Advisor).
We are very happy to have Unicorn Workspaces at our side as our FI Berlin location partner, being a core supporter for the Berlin startup scene, providing invaluable event spaces, coworking opportunities, and startup offices of all sizes.
In addition, a selection of more than 50 mentors out of our 800+ Germany mentor network will be actively participating as mentors in the program and you will be able to tap into our entire Berlin and worldwide mentor network as a graduate of the program. Please find an overview of our German mentor network below!
* Alisa Reznik * Andreas Rickert * Carolin Sandfort * Darrena Mamm * Dirk Freise * Dmitry Kharchenko * Don Samoil * Elyar Akhi * Fabian Geyrhalter * Fabrizio Gramuglio * Felix Hofmann * Franklin Kamnang Ngansop * Georg Meuser * Hansjörg Bausch * Inbal Cohen * Kai Buehler * Manoj Ranaweera * Martin Giese * Michael Burkhardt * Nicola Filzmoser * Ovi Negrean * Pamela Wolf * Philip Semmelroth * Regine Harr * Robert Kitson * Roman Fernandez * Samuel Ayvazyan * Sara Kolata * Scott Ford * Yann Lelong
- And many more to be announced.
Join us in Germany to build a great company in 2024.
Apply to the Germany Fall 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
