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 Washington DC - Philadelphia Fall 2026 program!
If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Washington DC's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Washington DC - Philadelphia Fall 2026 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 online startup events in Washington DC, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs:
- From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Brian Bell: 12:00pm, Nov 03, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/407612
The Washington DC program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Bill Rivkin (Business Banking Corporate Payments VP, Citizens), Don Samoil (Chapter Leader, FI Keystone), Philly Admin (Asst. Director, FI Keystone Chapter, A).
In addition, some of Washington DC'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 Washington DC Founder Institute includes:
- Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
- Alan Ocana: Founder & CEO, Consolhub and BBC CARGO
- Allan Wilson: Founder & Managing Director, Flat Rock Solutions
- Andres Jordan: Founder & CMO (Mentor), Factor6 Innovation Strategies, LLC
- Anthony Millin: Founder & Chair, Next by Shulman Rogers
- Arcui Usoara: Global Board Advisor and Brand Strategist, Founder, Iaculus
- Ario Keshani: Investor and Advisor, AWS
- Ben Stacey: CEO, Pitchverk
- Beulah Toth: Strategist, Obvious
- Brandon Wang: Managing Director, Eyrie Networks
- Brant Cooper: Author | CEO | Founder, Moves the Needle
- Cameron Powell: Partner, IonIdea + Gregor Wynne Arney PLLC
- Chris Haug: Founder and CEO, 360° Venture Management Group
- Chris Foltz: Global Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Founder Institute
- Craig Snodgrass: Venture Partner, Valor Ventures
- Daniel Shires: Managing Director, Founder Institute
- Dave Hall: CEO, DLH Technology Advisors
- Debra Cancro: SVP Data Products, Bigtincan
- Dilara Rustamzada: Founder, Passion Technologies
- Don Samoil: Managing Partner, Trusted Scale
- Eric Koefoot: Founder & CEO, PublicRelay, Inc.
- Franklin Kamnang Ngansop: Co-Founder, Vitamin CS Coaching
- Geneviève Nixon-Weems: Founder and CEO, Geneviève Global
- Guc Ozenci: Program Director, FI Washington DC
- Jeb Ory: Startup Advisory (exited founder), N/A
- Joe Daniels: Partner, Co-Chair - Emerging Companies, Partner & Co-Chair, Emerging Companies Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Jonathan Greechan: Co-Founder & CIO, Founder Institute, GP Founder Capital
- Jonathan Chashper: CEO, Product Savvy Consulting
- Joshua Frankel: President, Startcase
- June W Choi: Managing Partner, Serval Ventures
- Kassym Kabylgali: Investment Director, Klever Asset Management
- Ken Gordon: Co-founder and CEO, VALR
- Kuzeyhan Ozdemir: Lean Startup Mentor, Founder Institute
- Leena Palav: Board Member, Strategy Advisor, Interim COO/CFO, -med devices, health tech, consumer products, robotics
- Lisa Friedlander: Founder Board Member, Citrine Angels
- Mali Phonpadith: CEO/Founder, SOAR Community Network
- Marc Trost: Founder, M&T CPA PLLC
- Mark Phinick: B2B Deal Coach, Let's Make It Rain
- Max Kryzhanovskiy: President, MOS
- Michael O'brien: Managing Partner, Siol Venture Capital
- Nadine Zerrini: Director, Founder Institute Boston
- Natcha Thawesaengskulthai: Strategic Advisor, The Founder Institute (Washington D.C.)
- Nina Archie: Fellow, Black Venture Institute
- Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
- Pierre Gomez: Program Manager, Systems and Technology Research (STR)
- Rafael Kartaszynski: CEO, TechEdge Dynamics
- Rajesh Rai: Partner, Montane Ventures
- Rajiv Madhok: Founder, Oorja
- Randy Reade: Co-founder, Washington ArchAngels
- Sammy Popat: Innovation & Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Catalyst, University of Maryland
- Sean Makulowich: Founder & CEO, IdeaFire™
- Şirin Köprücü: Principal, Certified Executive Co-Active Coach, StrategicStraits, Inc.
- Smriti Bagry: Senior Product Manager, ByteDance (TikTok)
- Sriram Gollapalli: Managing Director, Long Angle
- Steven A. Rodriguez: Venture Catalyst, OrangeUP
- Tovit Neizer: Chief Storyteller and communication strategist, Yellow Bricks
- Ufuk Demirci: Global Head, Venture Funds, IFC
- Vikram Dhawan: Founder & CEO, KnoetiK Solutions Inc.,
- Vladimir Pletyukhin: Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
- YouMon Tsang: Founder and CEO, ChurnZero
- And many more to be announced.
Join us in Washington DC to build a great company in 2024.
Apply to the Washington DC - Philadelphia Fall 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
