Today, the Founder Institute, the world's premier pre-seed startup accelerator, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Seattle Spring 2026 program!
If you could use a structured process and feedback from Seattle's top entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Seattle 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 critical support network and structured process needed to build an enduring company. Since 2009, the program has helped over 8,900 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, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Seattle, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
- From Idea to Startup Team: Meet Your Future Co-Founder: 5:00pm, Apr 06, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392195
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- Stuck Without a Startup Idea? Build One That Fits You: 5:30pm, Apr 07, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390128
- How Multiple Pivots positioned Checkbox as the ‘Legal Front Door’ for Corporations: 5:00pm, Apr 13, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/389463
- Real Startup Lessons From FI Alumni Across the World: 9:00am, Apr 14, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390749
- How to Go From Raw Idea to Polished Pitch using AI: 9:30am, Apr 20, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/395777
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 9:00am, Apr 21, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/395608
- Turn Your Expertise Into an Audience on LinkedIn: 9:00am, Apr 27, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392400
- How to Overcome the Fear of Starting Your Own Company: 9:00am, Apr 28, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/394030
- How to Get Your First 10 Customers Without a Marketing Team or Budget: 9:30am, May 04, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/394551
- How to Choose the Right Startup Idea Before You Build: 5:00pm, May 18, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390299
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Get Unfiltered Feedback from Global Investors & Advisors: 9:00am, May 26, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/395464
- Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 9:00am, Jun 02, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390481
- Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact: 5:30pm, Jun 08, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/388431
- Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 5:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393221
- Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 5:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392825
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 9:00am, Jul 20, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390619
- From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 5:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393344
- Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 9:00am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391171
- Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 5:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391256
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 9:00am, Sep 01, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392961
- Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 5:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391540
- From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 5:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390895
- From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 9:00am, Oct 13, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393474
- From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 9:00am, Nov 03, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393075
- From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 5:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391410
- From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 9:00am, Dec 01, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391021
The Seattle program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Jeremy Zaretzky (Co-founder and President, WireSpring) and Robert Le (Senior Analyst, PitchBook).
Some of Seattle's top entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors will be participating in the program, providing them with expert training, feedback, and evaluation. In addition to mentors who are returning from previous FI Seattle cohorts, the new mentors for the Fall 2019 program include:
- Ben Rush: Business, Pioneer Square Labs
- Chris Haberle: Principal Product Marketing Manager, AWS
- Edmond Sanctis: Co-Founder, Sahale Snacks and Partner, REASON Venture Partners
- Glenn Wisegarver: Former CFO, Moz and CEO, Sigma IQ
- Jay Goyal: President, Actively Learn
- Jim Poss: Founder, BigBelly Solar and CEO, Modifi
- John Scrofano: Director of New Initiatives, Remitly
- Joshua Gebhardt: CEO, Metricstory
- Matt Rubright: VP of Early and Growth Stage Tech, Silicon Valley Bank
- Scott Weller: Former President, Cequint
- Simon Yu: CEO, Storm
- 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 Seattle to build a great company in 2019.
Apply to the Seattle Spring 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
