Today, the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Romania - Central Eastern Europe Fall 2026 program!
If you could use a structured process and support from Bucharest's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Romania - Central Eastern Europe 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 devoted support network and structured growth process 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 Bucharest, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
- The AI-Native Founder Revolution: Build Your Company Faster Than Ever : 7:00pm, Jul 08, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/401599
- Venture Trailblazers featuring Tim Draper: 6:00pm, Jul 09, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/401996
- Go From Idea to Working App with AI, Featuring Adeo Ressi: 8:00pm, Jul 09, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/402126
- How to Build Without a Team Using AI with Jonathan Greechan: 7:00pm, Jul 14, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/401836
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 7:00pm, Jul 20, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/398675
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 7:00pm, Jul 28, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/401119
- Learn from AI-Native Solo Alumni: How FI Grads Built Without a Co-Founder: 7:00pm, Aug 04, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/398722
- From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 3:30pm, Aug 10, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/398705
- FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 3:00am, Aug 26, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/399851
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 7:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/398794
- How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 7:00pm, Sep 15, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/398262
- From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 7:00pm, Oct 13, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest): https://FI.co/e/399055
The Bucharest program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Alex Dascalu (Lead Director, Founder Institute Bucharest), and Nicoleta Gologan.
In addition, some of Bucharest'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 Bucharest Founder Institute includes:
- Alex M. Dascalu: Lead Director, Founder Institute Central Eastern Europe
- Lukas Korous: CTO & Co-Founder, https://flaerobotics.ai/
- Sam Olawale: Founder, DGL
- Tudor Popp: Founder, Beyond Space
- 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.
Join us in Bucharest to build a great company in 2020.
Apply to the Romania - Central Eastern Europe Fall 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
