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 Fall 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 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 critical support network and structured process 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, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Seattle, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
- The AI-Native Founder Revolution: Build Your Company Faster Than Ever : 9:00am, Jul 08, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/401629
- Venture Trailblazers featuring Tim Draper: 8:00am, Jul 09, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/402034
- How to Use AI to Validate Your Startup Idea in Days: 9:00am, Jul 09, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/401810
- Go From Idea to Working App with AI, Featuring Adeo Ressi: 10:00am, Jul 09, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/402155
- How to Build Without a Team Using AI with Jonathan Greechan: 9:00am, Jul 14, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/401855
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 9:00am, Jul 20, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398678
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 9:00am, Jul 28, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/401150
- Learn from AI-Native Solo Alumni: How FI Grads Built Without a Co-Founder: 9:00am, Aug 04, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398739
- Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 5:30pm, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398646
- Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 5:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398764
- FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 5:00pm, Aug 25, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/399739
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 9:00am, Sep 01, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398797
- How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 9:00am, Sep 15, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398291
- Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 5:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398807
- From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 5:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/398824
- From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 9:00am, Oct 13, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/399059
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 Fall 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
