Build a Great Startup in 2024 with the FI Houston 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 Houston Spring 2025 program!

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

Houston Events:

Founder Legal Fireside Chat: Hear from Top Startup Lawyers, Online: 6:30pm, Jan 14, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343000
Building Bold with Women Innovators: Empowering Startup Ecosystem: 6:30pm, Jan 28, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/343001
[Restricted] Houston Spring 2025 VIP Launch Mixer (In-Person): 8:00pm, Feb 10, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/342984

Global or Regional Events:

Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
Startup Funding AMA & Founder Institute Info Session, with Jonathan Greechan (CEO, Founder Institute): 12:00pm, Dec 30, 2024 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/360265
Startup Funding AMA & Founder Institute Info Session, with Jonathan Greechan (CEO, Founder Institute): 7:00pm, Jan 02, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/360390
How to Go from 0 to 1: Scaling and Exiting Your Startup with Mark Balovnev: 12:00pm, Jan 06, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/363200
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Technical Co-Founder: 12:00pm, Jan 08, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/361643
Startup to Scale-Up: Mastering Sales & Branding with Mark Kosoglow: 12:00pm, Jan 13, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/361333
How to Build, Fundraise, and Exit Your Startup: AMA with Tim Grassin: 4:00am, Jan 15, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/363387
What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 7:00pm, Jan 22, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/362722
How to Align Your Brand Messaging with Your Startup Mission: 12:00pm, Jan 27, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/363102
FI Alumni Panel: Meet Portfolio Companies and Ask Questions: 12:00pm, Jan 29, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/363568
Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Trasition to Startup Founder : 7:00pm, Feb 03, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/363772
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 12:00pm, Feb 05, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/363943
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 12:00pm, Feb 10, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/364120

See all upcoming events

The Houston program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including James Phelan (Investment & Growth, The Cannon), Martín Martinez (Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas), Mery Ramirez (Founding Partner, DataNexum Consulting), Natasha Gorodetsky (Founder & CEO; Head of Product, Product Pursuit).

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

Aaron Chavez: Managing Partner, (un)conventional ventures
Aaron Hines: Co-founder, Darbe
Aaron Gathmann: Executive Director, North Texas Angel Network
Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Abe Chu: Co-founder & CMO, NextSeed
Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
Adrianne Stone: Principal Product Manager, Big Cartel
Akeel Bernard: Community Development Manager , Impact Hub Houston
Ali Syed: CEO / Founder, Emerald Labs
Allie Danziger: Founder, Integrate
Amina Buric: CEO, Aeolus Group
Amy Tran: Investor, Early Stage Investments, IMPAVIDUS
Ana Rojas Bastidas: Founder & CEO, Orolait
Andrea Sager: CEO, Legalpreneur
Anh Mai: Founder, Company of Nomads
Armando Mualumene: Founder and Project Developer & Team Leader, The iDEASLab
Ashley Connell: CEO & Founder, Prowess Project
Ashley DeWalt: Managing Director, DivInc
Atul Patel: CEO and Founder, Orbee
Austin Langley, ASL Consulting
Bade Aluko: Managing Partner, White Hibiscus Capital
Ben Stacey: CEO, Pitchverk
Ben Ghazi: Co-founder and CTO, Codiac
Brandy Guidry: Executive Director, The Cannon
Brianna Flemings, Jem
Carolyn Rodz: Founder and CEO, Hello Alice
Cassandra Iku: Community and Operations Coordinator, SheSpace
Chantell Preston: Co-founder/CEO, Facilities Management Group
Christa Clarke, Speakhaus
Christine Galib: Founder, road less traveled enterprises
Christy Cardenas: Managing Partner, Grit Ventures
Creig Graham: VP Partnerships, Budapop Bottling Co.
Curt Olivares: 2x Founder | Startup Advisor | Tech Career Coach, Product Saint
Dana Marruffo: Principal, Buzz Public Relations, LLC
Dana Abramovitz: Founding Team, SXSW
Didar Bekbauov: Founder and CEO, Xive Inc
Eduardo Buelna: Director Structured Products, BP Energy
Elisa Sepulveda: FI Mentor, Mentor
Elizabeth Gore: President, Hello Alice
Eric Fishhaut: President, Gelber & Associates
Erin McClarty: Principal, Erin McClarty, PLLC
Erin Fitzpatrick: President, MendIt, Inc.
Fareed Zein: Founder and CEO, Unytag
Farell Duclair: CEO, Starborn Solutions LLC
Fernando Moguel: Creator, The Syneverse
Gabe Zichermann: CEO, Failosophy
Gary Katz: Patent Attorney & Managing Attorney, Katz Law Group
Gina Morales: Founder & CEO, a Mana Project
Giselle Bisson: Managing Director, Chain Reaction PR
Grace Rodriguez: CEO, Impact Hub Houston
Graciela Perez: Founder & Lean Start Up Coach, Lean Sigma Tech, LLC
Guillermo Barrera: Founder and President , CliniCore International
Gustavo Sanchez: Founder, Pandata Tech
Guy Parker: Chief Strategy & Creative Officer, Ambient Way
Harini Bhamidipati: Founder & CEO, Bearable
Haris Ali: Chief Executive Officer, Vertechx Technologies Private Limited
Harvin Moore, Frontera Technology Ventures
Heath Butler: Founder/Managing Partner, Gestalt Growth Advisors
Heather Harde: Former CEO, TechCrunch
Heather Mezher: Sr. People Business Partner, Code42
Huan Le: General Counsel, DiCentral
Ivelin Ivanov: Mentor, Founder Institute
Jag Singh: Managing Director, A.R.M. Consulting
James Kaskade: CEO, Conversica
James Phelan: Investment & Growth, The Cannon
James Adams: Director of Operations, Gallant
Jasmine Victoria: Founder & CEO, The Cathexis Project
Jason Assir: Principal Consultant, Opex Digital Consulting
Jason Trahan
Javier Fadul: Chief Innovation Officer, HTX Labs
Javy Martinez: Managing Director | Startup Advisor | Event Host, Founder Institute North Texas
Jay Jamison: Founder & President
Jay Patel: Co-Founder & CEO, Enlight
Jc Garrett: Chief Executive Officer, Dashfire
Jeff Scott: Founder/CEO, iDOMOCILIO
Jessica Reitmeier: Co-Founder, Pandata Tech
Jo Clark: Founder and CEO, Circle.ooo
Joe Betts Lacroix: CTO, Vium
Joey Jones: Co-Founder/Chief Revenue & Compliance Officer, CurveBlock Ltd
John Young: principal, Alkimie Pte. Ltd.
John Ngo: DBA, John&Partners Global
Jonathan Abrams: Founder and CEO, Nuzzel
Joshua Wang: Software Engineering Career Coach, Over the Shoulder Coding
Joy Hutton: Founder and CEO, Joy of Consulting
Juan Felipe Campos: Partner, Manos Accelerator via Google Launchpad
Juliana Garaizar: Lead Investor, Portfolia
Julie Hartman: Founder/President, J. Hartman
Justin Moore: CEO, Axcient, Inc.
Kate McGinley: Scaling Health Tech Startups with Buyer-Aligned Growth | Fractional CGO/CRO, 210 Healthcare
Katerina Zhukova, JohnDuttonLaw PLLC
Kelsey Ruger: Chief Product & Technology Officer, Hello Alice
Ken Cohen: Managing Principal, Grow Associates, LLC
Kenley Clark: Founder and CEO, TC Energy
Kennie Matthews: Chairman & CEO, M Infrastructure, Inc.
Kerry Rupp: General Partner , True Wealth Ventures
Kian Gohar: Founder & CEO, Geolab
Krishna Vattipalli: Founder and CEO, Imaginnovate Techsolutions
LaGina R Harris: CEO / Visionary / Founder, The Us Space
Landi Spearman: Founder, iSHIFTx
Levi Baer: Co-Founder, Second Shift
Levi Velez Reed: Venture Partner, Loyal VC
Lina Mateus: Founder and CEO, Digi-Clicks
Lindsay Eulenfeld: Senior Director of Operations, MassChallenge
Lori Freese: Principal, FreeseMediaGroup
Marco Antonio Morales: Co-Founder, SOPLIX
Marcos Polanco: CEO, Deedit
Maria Fernanda Burgos: Founder & CEO, Startup Advisor
Mariana Muntean: Founder & CEO, Cinevva
Mark Friedman: Mentor, retired
Martín Martinez: Founding & Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas
Matt Mandell: Principal, PayNerd.com
Meghan Hendley Lopez: Co-Founder; Director of Corporate Engagement , SUNN and TekRevol
Mery Ramirez: Founding Partner, DataNexum Consulting
Miao Yan: Global Product Manager-Alternate Energy, Xylem
Michael Umansky: Co-Founder & CEO, Edgy Labs
Michael Girdley: Investor and Entrepreneur, Geekdom Fund
Mike Breck: Principal, Acuity Thinking
Mike Francis: CEO, Nanotech
Munjal Shah: CEO, Like.com
Muriel Foster: Chief Operations Strategist, Intentionally BLCK
Natasha Gorodetsky: Founder&Head of Product, Product Pursuits
Neal Murthy: Chairman, Haven Holdings
Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
Noah Fons: Coordinator, Greater Houston Partnership
Oleg Lysiak: Partner Success Manager, Honeycomb Software
Parag Jain: Dr, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas
Paul O'Brien: CEO, MediaTech Ventures
Paul Kwiatkowski: Co-Founder and CTO, GroupRaise
Payal Patel: Principal, Softeq Ventures
Phil Libin: Founder & CEO, All Turtles
Rahul Agarwal: Principal Technical Product Manager, Hasura
Rahul Brahmbhatt: Investor / Mentor, Day One
Raja Mawad: Founder, Thrv.health
Rajesh Setty: Rajesh Setty - Serial Entrepreneur and Author, WittyParrot
Rajneesh Dwivedi: Co-Founder and CEO, Second Medic
Ram Prasad: Fractional CPO/CTO, Delence
Rebecca Councill: Chief Social Officer, CLR Digital Media Services
Richard Jones: Partner, Healthseers
Richard Munassi: Co-founder, Blackfin Technology Partners
Richard Seline: Cofounder, Resilience Innovation Hub
Riley Knox: CEO & Co-Founder, Accelerate3D
Robert Tucci: Managing Director, HALO
Robert Pieroni: Director of Economic Development, Central Houston Inc.
Roberto Moctezuma: Founder and CEO, Fractal River
Russ Fradin: Chairman & CEO, Dynamic Signal
Ryan Micheletti: Fouder, Illuminate Nootropics
Salvatore Grignano: Marketing Officer, Italian Trade Agency (ITA) - Houston
Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
Santiago Sanchez: Founder & CEO, Etailers Ecommerce
Sarah Hein: CEO, March Biosciences
Sarah Vega: Former Product Owner, Innowatts
Sarika Tyagi: Product Leader, ScarletFreshShoe | Amazon
Sebastien Long: Founder & CEO, Lodgeur
Shlomi Podgaetz: Director/CEO, Rizasmart Consulting
Sloan Foster: Principal , Envisage Associates
Sneha Lundia Agrawal: Founder & CEO, Step2Growth
Sophia Clark: Founder & Creative Director, Galiatea
Stephen Meade: Founder & CEO, MonetaPro
Steve Jennis: Founder and CEO, Jennis Consulting Group
Stewart Pisecco: Director of Innovation (Ret.), Pearson
Tabbie Saenz: Founder, Business and Trade Alliance
Talha Bin Shuja: Startup and Business Consultant, High Hope International
Telha Ghanchi: Managing Director, Valhalla Investment Group
Tiana Laurence: GP, Laurence Innovation
Tim De Silva: Founder & CEO, Culture Pilot
Travis Baldwin: Managing Partner, J. Galt Finance Suite
Ty Audronis: Founder/ ceo, Tempest Droneworx
Vern Chan: Certified Startup Coach, Your Pivot
Vijay Sekhara: Director Of Strategic Partnerships, MassChallenge
Vladimir Pletyukhin: Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
Wade Pinder: Founder, Product Houston
WAEL DOUKMAK: CEO, AHLAN, Inc.
Wenceslao Casares: CEO, Bling Nation
Will Bunker: Entrepreneur, Co-Founder of One-and-Only (became Match.com)
Will Moore: Principal, MoreThan Capital Advisors
Willy Verbrugghe, SCORE & Vehoco
Winston Choe: Founder/CEO, Innoscape
Yared Akalou: CEO/Founder, Alcove Group
Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive
Yj Lin: Senior Program Manager, Dell
Yogesh Kondaskar: CEO, Bizteon
Ziv Gillat: Co-Founder, Recogni Inc.`