Build a Startup with Houston's Top Investors and Advisors. FI Houston 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 Houston Spring 2026 program!

If you could use a structured process and feedback from Houston's top entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Houston Spring 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 build an enduring company. Since 2009, the program has helped over 9,000 Graduates 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 Houston, 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/399309
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/396271
Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 7:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/393241
Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 7:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/392845
Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 11:00am, Jul 07, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/391208
Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 11:00am, Jul 20, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/390656
From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 7:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/393364
Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 7:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/391287
FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 7:00pm, Aug 25, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/399790
What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 11:00am, Sep 01, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/392981
How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 11:00am, Sep 15, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/398366
Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 7:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/391567
From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 7:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/390932
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 11:00am, Oct 13, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/393494
From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 11:00am, Nov 03, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/393118
From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 7:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/391442
From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 11:00am, Dec 01, 2026 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/391068

See all upcoming events

The Houston program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including James Phelan (SVP, Innovation Dir., Founder & CINO, BCV, American Title, Plāsyn), Martin Martinez (Managing Director, Founder Institute Texas), Neal Murthy (Chairman, Haven Holdings), and Tabbie Saenz (Executive Director, Business and Trade Alliance).

In addition, some of Houston's top entrepreneurs, CEOs, advisors and investors will be participating in the program, providing them with expert training, 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
Abe Chu: Co-founder & CMO, NextSeed
Ali Syed: CEO / Founder, Nocodehero
Alice Gong: Founder , Alice G Astra
Alicia Locheed Goodrow: Founder, Goodrow Holmes, PLLC
Allie Danziger: Founder, Integrate
Amina Buric: CEO, Atlas Advisory Collective
Amit Bhanot: Venture Partner, Loyal VC
Amy Tran: B2B AI-Blockchain-Cyber Venture Builder, IMPAVIDUS
Ana Rojas Bastidas: Founder & CEO, Orolait
Ashley DeWalt: Managing Director, DivInc
Atul Patel: CEO and Founder, Orbee
Austin Langley, Cofounder Ventures
Bade Aluko: Managing Partner, White Hibiscus Capital
Brandy Guidry: Executive Director, The Cannon
Byron Mitchell: Associate Attorney, Goodrow Holmes, PLLC
Carliss Chatman: Professor / SME, SMU Dedman School of Law / iLAW
Carolyn Rodz: Founder and CEO, Hello Alice
Cassandra Iku: Community and Operations Coordinator, SheSpace
Christa Clarke: 2x Founder. Coach., Operations Strategist
Christine Galib: Founder, road less traveled enterprises
Christy Cardenas: Managing Partner, Grit Ventures
Curt Olivares: 2x Founder | Startup Advisor | Tech Career Coach, Product Saint
Curt Lockhart: IP Attorney, Lockhart IP
Dana Marruffo: Principal, Buzz Public Relations, LLC
Dana Abramovitz: Founding Team, SXSW
Declan Butler: Founder & CEO, Soundelix Labs Inc.
Denise McGettrick: Managing Attorney, McGettrick Law PLLC
Didar Bekbauov: Founder and CEO, 2xswap
Eduardo Buelna: Director Structured Products, BP Energy
Eric Fishhaut: President, MKB Services
Erin McClarty: Principal, Erin McClarty, PLLC
Fareed Zein: Founder and CEO, Unytag
Farell Duclair: CEO, Starborn Solutions LLC
Fernando Moguel: Creator, The Syneverse
Gary Katz: Patent Attorney & Managing Attorney, Katz Law Group
Grace Rodriguez: CEO, Impact Hub Houston
Gustavo Sanchez: Founder, Pandata Tech
Guy Parker: Chief Strategy & Creative Officer, Ambient Way
Harini Bhamidipati: Founder & CEO, Bearable
Haris Ali: Founder and CEO, Vertechx Technologies
Harvin Moore, Frontera Technology Ventures
Heath Butler: Founder/Managing Partner, Gestalt Growth Advisors
Huan Le: General Counsel, DiCentral
Indrajit Datta: Co-founder & President, Equipt Innovation, Inc.
Ivelin Ivanov: Venture Advisor, Founder Institute
Jag Singh: Managing Director, A.R.M. Consulting
James Phelan: Co-founder and CEO / Shareholder, ZPTTLR Inc. / The Cannon
James Adams: Director of Operations, Gallant
Jason Assir: Principal Consultant, Opex Digital Consulting
Jason Trahan
Jeff Scott: CoFounder/ CEO, Workflow Logic AI
Jeff Murphy: Founder and Managing Member, Murphy Advisory Solutions ·
Jian Ruan: CTO, Orbbit
John Ngo: DBA, John&Partners Global
Johnathan Ashe: Founder, Ashe Advisory Group
Jon Lambert: CEO, The Cannon
Jorvik Tazeen: Founder & CEO, AI Bleak
Joshua Wang: CEO, Jōsh Foods
Joy Hutton: Founder and CEO, Joy of Consulting
Juliana Garaizar: Lead Investor, Portfolia
Julie Hartman: Founder/President, J. Hartman
Kate McGinley: Scaling Health Tech Startups with Buyer-Aligned Growth | Fractional CGO/CRO, 210 Healthcare
Katerina Zhukova: Director of Business Development, JohnDuttonLaw PLLC
Kelsey Ruger: Chief Product & Technology Officer, Hello Alice
Kenley Clark: Founder and CEO, TC Energy
Kennie Matthews: Chairman & CEO, M Infrastructure, Inc.
Krishna Vattipalli: Founder and CEO, Imaginnovate Techsolutions
LaGina R Harris: CEO / Founder, LaRae Infinity LLC
Laketta Brooks: Founder, TraceWrap
Lina Mateus: Founder and CEO, Digi-Clicks
Lindsay Eulenfeld: Senior Director of Operations, MassChallenge
Lori Freese: Principal, FreeseMediaGroup
Mariana Muntean: Founder & CEO, Cinevva
Mario Soave: Founder, CleverFi
Martín Martinez: Founding & Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas
Mehrab Momin: Human-Centered AI Architect & Advisor, aiCTO Services
Mery Ramirez: Founding Partner, DataNexum Consulting
Miao Yan: Global Product Manager-Alternate Energy, Xylem
Michael Umansky: Co-Founder & CEO, Edgy Labs
Mitra Miller: President & Board Member, Houston Angel Network
Muriel Foster: Chief Operations Strategist, Intentionally BLCK
Naeem Vehvaria: Director of Information Technology, Meticul Solutions
Natasha Gorodetsky: Founder&Head of Product, Product Pursuits
Neal Murthy: Chairman, Haven Holdings
Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
Noah Fons: Coordinator, Greater Houston Partnership
Olayinka James: President/CEO, CYBEROPS INC.
Oleg Lysiak: Partner Success Manager, Honeycomb Software
Paul O'Brien: Author, Startup Ecosystems
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
Rajneesh Dwivedi: Co-Founder and CEO, Second Medic
Ram Prasad: Fractional CPO/CTO, Delence
Richard Jones: Partner, Healthseers
Richard Seline: Cofounder, Resilience Innovation Hub
Riley Knox: CEO & Co-Founder, Leviathan Air
Robert Pieroni: Managing Director, Strategic Partnerships & Business Development, Advisor, gener8tor, Ecliptic Capital
Saima Siddiqui: Director of Product Management, Joyride.com
Salvatore Grignano: Marketing Officer, Italian Trade Agency (ITA) - Houston
Sarah Hein: CEO, March Biosciences
Scott Ferguson: Founder & Chief AI Officer, Ferguson Analytics
Sebastien Long: Founder & CEO, Lodgeur
Shlomi Podgaetz: Director/CEO, Rizasmart Consulting
Sloan Foster: Principal , Envisage Associates
Sophia Clark: Founder & Creative Director, Galiatea
Steve Jennis: Founder and CEO, Jennis Consulting Group
Tabbie Saenz: Founder, Business and Trade Alliance
Talha Bin Shuja: Startup and Business Consultant, High Hope International
Taneallea Feddis: Co-Director Jamaica, Founder Institute
TC Lien: Mentor, Founders Institute
Telha Ghanchi: Managing Director, Valhalla Investment Group
Tiana Laurence: GP, Laurence Innovation
Tim De Silva: Founder & CEO, Culture Pilot
Tosin Ojo: Founder and Fractional CISO, CITSAP
Tracy De Jarnett: Founder and CMO, The Brandsoup Agency
Ty Audronis: Founder/ ceo, Tempest Droneworx
Wade Pinder: Founder, Product Houston
WAEL DOUKMAK: CEO, AHLAN, Inc.
Willy Verbrugghe, SCORE & Vehoco
Yared Akalou: CEO/Founder, Alcove Group
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.