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Today, the Founder Institute, the world's premier pre-seed startup accelerator, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Western Canada - Toronto Fall 2024 program!

If you could use a structured process and feedback from Vancouver's top entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Western Canada - Toronto Fall 2024 Founder Institute today.

Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200+ cities worldwide, the Founder Institute provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the critical support network and structured process needed to get to traction and funding. Since 2009, the program has helped over 7,500 Graduates raise over $1.85BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more.

To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Vancouver, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:

  • How Startup Founders Improve their Hiring Strategies With AI-Driven Solutions: 10:00am, Oct 07, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/356378
  • Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
  • Zoom Meet & Greet with Western Canada Directors & Alumni: 3:00pm, Oct 10, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/357465
  • Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with J. Skyler Fernandes: 5:00pm, Oct 14, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351274
  • How Startup Founders Can Prepare For Fundraising Due Diligence: 10:00am, Oct 21, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/357325
  • How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 5:00pm, Oct 23, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351277
  • What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 10:00am, Oct 30, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351281
  • Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder : 10:00am, Nov 04, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351336
  • Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 5:00pm, Nov 06, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351341
  • $100,000 Veteran Pitch Competition, featuring Jason Calacanis (Angel Investor and Host of All-In Podcast): 3:00pm, Nov 14, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/357697
  • How to Adopt an Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5:00pm, Nov 14, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/356818
  • Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 5:00pm, Nov 18, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351345
  • What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 5:00pm, Nov 25, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351350
  • Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 10:00am, Nov 27, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351353
  • Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, Dec 02, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351414
  • What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 10:00am, Dec 04, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351417
  • Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 10:00am, Dec 09, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351420
  • How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 10:00am, Dec 16, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/351424
  • Founder Showcase: Startup Pitch & Networking Event: 10:00am, Dec 18, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/356139

The Vancouver program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Ali Khadjavi, Ignacio Castro (MD, Founder Institute Boston), Jai Mansukhani, Jai Mansukhani (Co-founder of Lumos, Co-Director of Programs, Founder Institute), Sunil Sharma (Canada Director, Founder Institute ).

In addition, some of Vancouver's top entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors will be participating in the program, providing them with expert training, feedback, and evaluation. The list of mentors for the Vancouver Founder Institute includes:

  • Aaron Baer: Partner, Renno & Co
  • Aaron Albert: CEO and Co-Founder, Mine'd
  • Abdel Ali: Investment Analyst, Relay Ventures and Alate Partners
  • Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
  • Adam Spector: CEO & Founder, levy
  • Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
  • Alan Trieu: Senior Director, Sales , Cinchy
  • Alexander Jager: Founding Partner, Amplifier Advisors
  • Alexander Morsink: Managing Director, Equivesto
  • Alexander Rink: CEO, Rink Ventures
  • Alexander Mc Isaac: Principal, Strategic Investments and Women in Tech, BDC Venture Capital
  • Ali Abbas: Founder & CEO , SEO Button
  • Ali Ghassemi: CEO, Weaver and Loom
  • Ali Nawab: Founder and CEO, Kiwi Wearables
  • Amber Mac: President, Konnekt
  • Ambles Kwok: Head of Engineering (Toronto) / Co-Founder, Thumbtack / Therapia
  • Amir Alikhanzadeh: CEO and Co-Founder, Madlipz
  • Andrei Poliakov: CEO, APX Lending
  • Andrew D'Souza: Founder and CEO, Sfoundation
  • Andrew Hendry: Co-Founder, REALQualified
  • Anes Rachid: Manager, Innovation , City of Brampton
  • Anik Ghosh: CPO, Phaze
  • Anna Hu: CEO and Co-Founder, Brizi
  • Aran Hamilton: President & Co-Founder, Vantage
  • Arcui Usoara: Founder/CEO, Iaculus
  • Ashley Hahn: Head of Startup Developer Ecosystem, Canada, Google
  • Ashley Martis: Co-Founder & CEO, StartupFuel
  • Ashok Prabhu Masilamani: CTO & Founder, Stratuscent
  • Aurelie Guerrieri: CMO, Open Systems
  • Aurélio Araújo: CEO, Leadfy
  • Axel Villamil: CEO, StageKeep
  • Ayhan K. Isaacs: Head of Global Growth, Founder Institute
  • Balaji Gopalan: Co-Founder and CEO, MedStack
  • Barnabe Geis: Executive Director, Centre for Social Innovation, Climate Ventures
  • Barry Hillier: Founder & CEO, eQuo/ DOS
  • Ben Sanders: CEO and Co-Founder, Davispier.ca
  • Ben Stacey: CEO, Pitchverk
  • Ben Baldwin: Founder, Upteaming.com
  • Ben Zion Benkhin: CEO, WOMBO.ai
  • Bernie Li: Board Member and Investor, Antler
  • Bilal Tariq: Technical Talent Connoisseur , GuruLink
  • Bill Jouni: Partner, NGO
  • Bob Embleton: CEO, Perigee Convergent Solutions Inc
  • Bob Kyryliuk (CEO-P2P): CEO & Founder, CEO-P2P.com
  • Brad Poulos: Mr., Ryerson University
  • Braedon Hinde: Co-Founder, Purpose Equities
  • Brett Reed: Director, Global Talent and People, Localised
  • Brice Scheschuk: CEO, Globalive Capital
  • Bruce Hodges: Founder & CEO, Parachute (White Hat Financial)
  • Bryan Smith: Co-Founder & CEO, ThinkData Works Inc.
  • Bryan Gold: Co-Founder and CEO, #paid
  • Bryan Duarte: Managing Partner, BlackTech Capital
  • Callum Travaglini: Strategy & Program Manager, Office of the CEO, Wealthsimple
  • Cameron Rowe: CEO, Hover
  • Caren Carrasco: Managing Partner, Benjamin David Group
  • Casey Lau: Co-Host, Rise Conference (Web Summit)
  • Cerys Goodall: COO, Vetster
  • Chad Ford: Vice President Innovation, Communica and Partner, Pactech Ventures, Director, Western Canada Founder Institute
  • Chevonae Walcott: Associate, Relay Ventures
  • Chintan Oza: Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
  • Chris Adams: Founder and Managing Partner, Adams Hamilton
  • Chris Ye: Co-Founder, Uken Games
  • Chris Hobbs: President, TTT Studios
  • Chris Anderson: General Partner, A2Z Ventures
  • Christopher Leacock: Founder , Jillionaire LLC
  • Corey Gross: CEO, Sensibill
  • Cory York: CEO and co-Founder, PowerStores
  • Craig Asano: CEO, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
  • Dan De Mers: CEO and Co-Founder, Cinchy
  • Daniel Bishun: Economic Development Officer , City of Brampton
  • Danielle Brewin Graham: Co-Founder, The Firehood
  • David Jorjani: VP of Product and Engineering, Sayge
  • David Winterstein: CEO, Velocia
  • Denise Mc Clure: Senior Manage of Economic Development, City of Brampton
  • Derrick Fung: CEO, Drop
  • Devin Ramphal: Innovation and Technology Sector manager-City of Brampton, City of Brampton
  • Devin Tu: Founder and CEO, Map Your Property
  • Diana Goodwin: CEO and Founder, MarketBox & AquaMobile
  • Dickson Nsofor: Founder and CEO, Korapay (Techstars 2019)
  • Dinah Davis: Founder, Code Like A Girl
  • Drew Lindsay: Co-Founder, GuruLink
  • Duncan Brown: Partner, Penrose Partners
  • Dustin Betz: Director of Operations, White Rose Ventures
  • Edmundas Balčikonis: CEO and Co-Founder, Eddy Travels Inc.
  • Eileen Brewer: Director, Takween Accelerator
  • Elaine Ann: Founder/CEO, Kaizor Innovation
  • Erich Ko: CEO, Hop In Technologies
  • Ernest Yap: Carbon Markets and Renewable Energy Lead, SWTCH Energy
  • Eropa Stein: CEO, Hyre
  • Evgeny Lazarenko: Senior Product Manager (L7 / Group PM level), Unity
  • Favour Ori: Founder, CEO, Payday
  • Fion Lee-Madan: Technical Co-Founder, COO and Customer Success, Fairly AI Inc.
  • Francois Le Roux: CEO, Terrene Technologies Inc & BountyBoard
  • Frederic Voyer: Senior Strategy & Execution Advisor, Post-Exit Entrepreneur (multiple: SWAAAP, BVI & HR Inc.)
  • Gabriel Purificati Weedon: National Account Manager, Calculated Hire
  • Gabrielle Rudd: Senior Program/Ops Associate, Techstars Chicago
  • Garth Smith
  • George Bordianu: Co-founder & CEO, Balance
  • Gilberto Gandra
  • Giovanni Gerbolini: Entrepreneur, Board Member, Startup Advisor, Djot, Loyal VC, MaRS Discovery District, Independent, Covenant House
  • Graeme Millen: Director, Technology Banking, Silicon Valley Bank
  • Gurjot Narwal: CEO and Co-Founder, Gini Health
  • Gurpartap Singh Toor: Council Member, City of Brampton
  • Hamid Akbari: CEO, BlancLink
  • Hamoun Karami: CEO and Co-Founder, Smartbin.io
  • Haoyang Liang: Director of Product Development, Orbiseed
  • Harsh Pujara: Co-Founder, Actuality
  • Helen Platis: Managing Director, A Poke in the Brain Consulting
  • Hooman Aksari: CTO and Co-Founder , Artboard Studio (Techstars 2020)
  • Hussam Ayyad: Chief Accelerator Officer , Highline Beta
  • Idowu Akinde: Founder, Boolean Labs
  • Ignacio Castro: Managing Director, Founder Institute Boston
  • Ilya Brotzky: Founder and CEO, VanHack
  • Isabel Starck: Founder/Co-Founder, Starck Coaching, SportsCarBoutique
  • Jack Liu: CEO and Co-Founder, Orbiseed (Techstars 2020)
  • Jaden Pereira
  • Jafar Owainati: Co-Founder, Loopio
  • James Meier: CTO, Synervoz Communications
  • Jason Atkins: General Partner, 360insights
  • Jay Krishnan: CEO, Accelerator Centre
  • Jeff Hohner: President, Tecumseh Capital Ltd.
  • Jeffery Potvin: Founder, Open People Network
  • Jelmer Stegink: Program Director, DMZ Innisfil
  • Jennifer Turliuk: CEO and Founder, MakerKids
  • Jeremy Glassenberg: Product Management, APIs, Developer Experiences, Marketplaces, API Strategist
  • Jeremy Kuo: CEO, Ever
  • Jeremy Bell: CEO and Co-Founder, Mayday (Techstars 2020)
  • Jeremy Potvin
  • Jeremy Potvin: Founder, World of Angus
  • Jesse Shapins: Director of Public Realm, Sidewalk Labs
  • Joe Parenteau: CEO and Co-Founder, Fable (Techstars 2020)
  • Jon Prentice: Investment Director (Canada) , Lighter Capital
  • Jonah Midanik: COO & General Partner, Forum Ventures
  • Jonathan Ip: Founder, Iterative Law
  • Jordan Jocius: Director, Company Founder Institute Waterloo-Toronto
  • Joseph Dales: Co-Founder & Director, RHA Partners
  • Juanita Lee Garcia: Executive Director, The Upside Foundation of Canada
  • June W Choi: Managing Partner, Serval Ventures
  • Jyoti Singh
  • Karanjot Jaswal: CTO and Co-Founder, Cinchy
  • Karen Greve Young: CEO, Futurpreneur Canada
  • Kayla Isabelle: Executive Director, Startup Canada
  • Kesem Frank: Founder, Mavennet and AION
  • Kevin Gervais: CTO @ Touchless, Co-Founder @ Auto Genius, Statflo, Touchless
  • Konata Lake: Partner
  • Kristine Beese
  • Kumar Abhishek: Head of Growth, Happay
  • Kweku Essien
  • Kyle Collier: Co-founder and CEO, Phaze
  • Laith Shukri: Sr. Market Development Manager, Silicon Valley Bank
  • Lance Cottrell: Founder, Feel the Boot
  • Laura Bryce: Co-Founder & CMO, loopt
  • Leandro Faria: CEO, Starbem
  • Leena Dixit: Founder and Mentor, Nativ Chefs and InFED
  • Lidia Bit Yunan: Co-founder, Set Scouter
  • Lorraine Wiseman: Vistage Chair/ President and CEO , Vistage Worldwide, Inc./ Leading the Wise Way Inc.
  • Lucas Porter-Bakker: Head of Product and Design, PDS
  • Luke Vigeant: CEO, Inkblot
  • Luke DeCoste: Entrepreneur in Residence, Davispier.ca
  • Maarij Rehman: CEO, Envoi
  • Majdi Alnabih: CEO, ZipLunch Inc
  • Manny Jassal: Founder, Defiant Regime & Extra Sauce Agency
  • Mara Rada: CEO & Chief of Strategy, Feral (thinkferal.com)
  • Marat Mukhamedyarov: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
  • Marcello Tommasi: Co-Founder & COO, Envoi
  • Marina Tran Vu: Founder & CEO , EQUO
  • Mark Smith: Canada Startup Ecosystem Lead, Amazon AWS
  • Mark Evans: Principle, Marketing Spark
  • Marty Finestone: Lawyer in Residence, Goodlawyer
  • Maryam Nabavi: Founder and CEO, Babbly (Techstars 2020)
  • Matt O'Leary: CEO and Co-Founder, Treasure Financial
  • Matthew Thurston: Chief Arctictect, Arctic Wolf
  • Mercedes Bankston: Founder, Funderstar LTD
  • Michael Kosic: Founding Partner, Loyal VC
  • Michael Collins: Founder | CEO, Periculum
  • Michael Young: CTO, Reuters News and Media
  • Michael Katchen: Founder & CEO, WealthSimple
  • Michele Romanow: Co-Founder, Sfoundation
  • Michelle Pinchev: Founder & Lead Strategist
  • Mike Hollinger, Dentons LLP
  • Mike Suprovici: Head of Acceleration, VC Lab
  • Mike Apted: Principal Solutions Architect - Startups, AWS
  • Milad Zabihi: CEO & Cofounder, Peekage
  • Milanyila Vargas: Economic Diversification Strategist, FMWBEDT
  • Mitt Korot: President & CEO, Toronto Technologies Inc.
  • Mitul Shah: Senior Associate, Vertu Capital
  • Mohan Markandaier: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
  • Monish Sinthala: Mr, PYRAMIDIONS INC
  • Mucahit Gayiran: CEO and Co-Founder, Artboard Studio (Techstars 2020)
  • Muhammad Rashid: Director, Business Development, Finastra
  • Mustafa Saeed: Co-Founder, Stealth / Antler
  • Mustansir Paliwala: Strategy & Business Development, EQUANS Services Inc.
  • Mykyta Ponomarenko: Sales, RealSage
  • Nabil Fahel: Head of Partnerships and Community, Terminal, Inc.
  • Nadia KANOUN: CEO, Senior Adviser, Trainer & Coach, IHSCEN for Startups
  • Natalie Smith: Senior Associate, Whitecap Venture Partners
  • Neerav Sood: CEO, Simple AI
  • Neha Khera: Venture Partner, 500 Startups
  • Nicholas Sopuch: Talent Associate , Entrepreneur First
  • Nicole Verkindt: Founder and CEO, OMX
  • Niket Shah: Co-Founder, Acceler8 Labs
  • Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
  • Noah Dolgoy: CEO, Tread
  • Osamede Arhunmwunde: CEO, GIGX Technologies
  • Pako Tshiamala: Founder & CEO, Blink Equity
  • Pamela Draper: CEO, Bitvo
  • Pardeep Grewal: Fellow, OnDeck
  • Parvinder Shergill: CFO, Trust Bridge Consulting Inc.
  • Paul Parsons: Partner, Metaii
  • Peter Ma: Co-Founder, MixPose
  • Philippe LeBlanc: CEO, Flixel Photos Inc
  • Phillip Gales: CEO, inate.ai
  • Pooja Viswanathan: CEO, Braze Mobility
  • Preet Singh: Founder, Designx
  • Rahul George: Director Delivery, mDrift Technologies
  • Rain Takahashi: Founder and CEO, Jauntin
  • Ramya Pingali: Founder + CEO, The Email Studio Inc
  • Ravin Shah: Co-CEO & Founder, QuickTapSurvey
  • Raymond Luk: CEO, Hockeystick
  • Reuven Cohen: Managing Director, Alystic Holdings
  • Reza Farhani: CEO, Katalyze AI
  • Richard Findlay: Cleantech Specialist Advisor, RFCL Innovations Inc.
  • Richard Hyatt: Co-founder, BlueCat Networks
  • Richard Cristina: Co-founder (MentorLabs), Founder (Bloom), Principal Director (Founder Institute)
  • Robert Whiteside: Director, Founding Partner, Treemark Capital
  • Robin Lindner: Co-Founder, KWFamous
  • Rokham Sadeghnezhadfard: Founder, TheRedPin.com
  • Ron Benegbi: CEO, Uplinq Financial Technologies
  • Ron Gentile: Founder, Moodfit
  • Roy Pereira: CEO and Founder, Zoom.ai
  • Russ Armstrong: Head of Business Development, Boast.AI (Boast Capital)
  • Russell Brand: CEO & Founder, Responsible Solutions Limited
  • Ryan Perera: CEO and Co-Founder
  • Ryan Micheletti: Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
  • Samarth Chandola: Founder and CEO, Founder First Fund
  • Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
  • Sameer Khan: Sameer Ahmed Khan, Social Champ, Inc
  • Sami Dalati: Cofounder, Brizi
  • Sanjay Nediyara: Founder and CEO
  • Sanjit Singh: COO, Various Companies
  • Sara Bingham: Associate Director, Laurier Women Entrepreneurship Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Sara Bentham: Director, Georgian College Entrepreneurship Centre
  • Sarah Stockdale: CEO, Valkerie
  • Saroop Bharwani: CEO and Co-Founder, Senso (Techstars 2018)
  • Sean Yo: Product Management Fellow, ISPMA
  • Sergey Kalnish: CEO, SmartHire
  • Seun Sanni: COO, PayFi
  • Seymur Rasulov: CEO and Co-Founder, Whelp
  • Sharf Zafar: Director, RBC Royal Bank of Canada
  • Sharoon Thomas: CEO and Founder, Fulfil.io
  • Sheetal Jaitly: CEO, TribalScale
  • Shibin Muhammed: Portfolio Manager, Techstars Canada
  • Shiju Radhakrishnan: Founder, CEO, Unremot
  • Shiva Bhardwaj: Founder, CEO, Pitstop
  • Slawek Potasz: CEO, CarScanner
  • Sodruldeen Mustapha: Co-founder and CTO, Raenest
  • Steve Dixon: SMB Leader (Canada), Apple
  • Steve Brovchenko: Growth Lead, Amazon
  • Suhas Ghante: Entrepreneur, SVEthos
  • Sunil Sharma: Managing Director, Founder Institute Toronto
  • Tarun Sachdeva: GM, Wattpad
  • Tasti Zakarie: Head of Engineering, Social Capital
  • Tauseef Riaz: Cofounder ConsidraCare, Stock Target Advisor and Mashkraft, ConsidraCare.com
  • Test Test, City of Brampton
  • Thomas Park: Partner, BDC Deep Tech Fund
  • Todd Finch
  • Tom Lowden: Head of Labs, US East and Canada, WeWork Labs
  • Tony Sabeta: Partner / Patent Agent, Aird & McBurney LP
  • Torrey Smith: Co-Founder & CEO, Endiatx
  • Tovit Neizer: Chief Storyteller, Yellow Bricks
  • Tracy Leparulo: Founder, Untraceable
  • Trevor Longino: Founder & CEO, CrowdTamers
  • Tugi Günes: Programs Lead, DMZ
  • Tyler Bryden
  • Uchi Uchibeke, Chimoney
  • Vasily Nikonov: Founder & CEO, Velvet.Capital
  • Vatsal Shah: Co-founder, CTO , Speak Ai
  • Victor Wong: Managing Director, Operations, Flipp
  • Vikas Gupta: CEO, AVARA
  • Wade Larson: CEO and Co-Founder, EarthDaily Analytics
  • Will Greenblatt: Co-Founder & Managing Director, OutLoud Speakers School
  • Will Moore: Senior Manager, PR and Communications, 1Password
  • William Johnson: Writer and Publisher, Canadian Tech Journal
  • Yang Yu: CEO and Founder, KitchenMate
  • Yatin Jain: Founder & Consulting Partner, Jivaso Technologies
  • Yehia Elkhouly: Founder, Parachute | Director Partnerships and Business Solutions, StackAdapt
  • Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive
  • Zainab Williams: Founder

  • And many more to be announced.

The Founder Institute is designed for founders and teams all throughout the pre-seed stage, including aspiring founders with a full-time job, solo founders, teams, and founders of established companies that are pre-funding. The Founder Institute's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.

Join us in Vancouver to build a great company in 2019. 

Apply to the Western Canada - Toronto Fall 2024 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.  

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