Build a Startup with Chicago's Top Pre-Seed Accelerator. Applications Open Now

Today, the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Midwest Fall 2026 program!

If you could use a structured process and feedback from Chicago's top entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Midwest Fall 2026 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 support network and structure needed to get to traction and funding. Since 2009, the program has helped over 9,000 Alumni raise over 2BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more.

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

How to Launch an AI-Powered Company With a Day Job Featuring Adeo Ressi: 1:00pm, Jun 08, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/399221
Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
What It Takes to Get Funded: Live Investor Q&A w/ Maayan Teper: 11:00am, Jun 09, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398605
How to Think Like a Founder and Take Action: 7:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398626
How to Get Your First 10 Customers Without a Marketing Team or Budget: 11:30am, Jun 22, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/400782
Economic Development: How to Build Entrepreneurial Communities: 10:00am, Jun 23, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/400941
[Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 11:00am, Jun 30, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/401137
Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 7:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398638
Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 11:00am, Jul 07, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398730
Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 11:00am, Jul 20, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398664
From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 7:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398703
Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 7:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398757
FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 7:00pm, Aug 25, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/399727
What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 11:00am, Sep 01, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398781
How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 11:00am, Sep 15, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398272
Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 7:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398804
From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 7:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398817
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 11:00am, Oct 13, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/399044

See all upcoming events

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

In addition, some of Chicago'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 Chicago 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
Amit Bhanot: Venture Partner, Loyal VC
Andrew Lee: CEO, Esper
Andrew Loulousis: Vice President of Strategy and Venturing, TechNexus Venture Collaborative
Andy Cwik: Co-Founder & CEO, hubub
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
Craig Zingerline: Founder and CEO , Growth Minded
Dan Ushman: Founder and CEO, TrendSpider
Dan Bauer: President, Bauer & Associates, Inc.
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
David Kirshenbaum: Founder/Connector in CHief, www.MeadeConnect.com
Derick Jiwan: Founder, Upbound Partners LLC
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: Co-Founder, Vitamin CS 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
Gigi Kizhakkechethipuzha: Founder, ImpelHub
Greg Jaros: Founder & CEO, PocketKnock
Heather Holmes: CEO & Founder, Genivity
Jacqueline Kuehl: Managing Director, Digital Marketing Concentration, DePaul University
James Napier
Jason Randolph: Head of Marketing, JuiceX
Jason Jacobsohn: Managing Director, Propellant Ventures
Jean Bordelon: Vice President of Data Management, Bounteous
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: Development Advisor, ESO HUB
Laurence Hayward: Venture Partner, Independence Equity
Lavina Ramkissoon: AI Ethics and Technology Policy, African Union
Louis Morales: President, The Catnip Times
Maaike Doyer: Founder, Epic Angels
Marisa Bryce: CEO, Lightning Snow
Mark Achler: Managing Director, Math Venture Partners
Mark Phinick: B2B Deal Coach, 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, PayCard.com
Matthew Miller: Director, Product Strategy & UX, Digital Intent
Matthew Willis: CRO, MedTechnologies
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
Mike Moyer: Founder, Fair and Square Ventures, LLC
Mindi Knebel: Founder & CEO, Kaizan Health
Miriam Odabe: Founding Principal, reThink Strategy
Mohammad Hossein Tavangar: Director , Founder Institute Germany
Moshe Mikanovsky: Product Director, Rootquotient
Neil Kane: Founder & President, Illinois Partners, LLC
Nicholas Freeman: Co-founder & Chief Growth Officer, Innovare
Nick Farina: Co-Founder & CEO, EeroQ
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: Founder, Golden Tassel Group
Pinaki Saha: Founder & CEO, Anshar Labs
Prateek Mathur: CEO, Activated Scale
Raakesh Premkumar: Machine Learning Scientist III, Chewy Inc
Rajanish Karki: Founder, Beats Bazar
Rajesh Voddiraju: Founder & Group President, HealthiPASS Inc
Reva Minkoff: Founder and President, Digital4Startups Inc. and DigitalGroundUp Inc.
Rinku Patel: Co-Founder & CEO, Polysight
Rod Hart: Founder & Principal Advisor, LayLine Innovation Advisors
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 -Patent & Trademark Attorney, EXCELON IP - Patent & Trademark Attorneys
Scott Issen: President & CEO, Future Founders
Shaniqua Davis: CEO and Founder, Noirefy
Shawn Park: Founders Team Associate, P33
Sina Roshan: Cofounder & CPO, Peekage (Techstars 2020)
Stephen Meade: Founder & CEO, MonetaPro
Sukhi Singh: Managing Director, SSS Ventures
Ted Greene: Partner, Old Willow Partners
Timothy Kelley: CEO, TeleRay
Tino Go: Founder & CEO, Baru
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

And many more to be announced.

The Founder Institute focuses on helping tech or tech-enabled businesses at the pre-seed stage, including both solo-founders and teams. This includes established businesses that are pre-funding and traction, MVP and prototype-stage projects, and even part-time founders with just ideas. FI's mission is to create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.