Even though a typical Founder Institute cohort contains roughly 40% teams, a very common question we receive is: "Do I have to be a solo-founder to apply?"
The answer to that question is definitely no.
We have always encouraged passionate teams to apply to the program, and today we are rolling out a new reduced pricing policy to allow even more teams to join.
Accepted teams are now able to enroll in the program for a discounted Course Fee per-founder:
- Teams of 2-3 are invited to enroll for 1.5x the Course Fee
- Teams of 4-5 for 2x the Course Fee
As always, when it comes to teams joining the Founder Institute:
- When a team joins the Founder Institute, the 4% pledge to the Shared Liquidity Pool remains the same (it is 2.5% per company, not Founder).
- Founding teams can decide to send one Co-Founder, multiple Co-Founders, or all Co-Founders to participate in the program, but each Co-Founder must apply separately (noting the name of your company in your application, in the “Company Name” section).
- Each Co-Founder’s application will be evaluated independently by our Admissions Team (one Co-Founder gaining acceptance does not mean that their entire team is accepted). However, even if one Co-Founder is rejected, any accepted Co-Founders are still invited to participate.
- Each enrolled Founder will be responsible for completing assignments and participating in working groups, and 1-2 team members will be responsible for pitching during program sessions.
- Non-participating Co-Founders are not permitted to attend the FI program sessions, but are welcome to participate in program Office Hours and company-building assignments, as well as many perks post-Graduation.
The Founder Institute still welcomes solo-founders, aspiring founders who are still employed full-time, and founders of established companies (generally less than two years old, and before significant funding, revenue, or traction) building tech or tech-enabled businesses.
We define tech or tech-enabled businesses as any businesses that leverages and can scale through technology. In addition to traditional "tech" businesses (software, hardware, biotech, etc), this also includes businesses selling physical products via e-commerce. We are not vertical-specific, and have Graduated successful businesses building software, hardware, bio-tech, greentech, fashion, food, non-profits, and more. Service-related businesses (ex. a marketing consultancy or web development shop) are not a good fit for our program.
Who Should Not Apply?
- If your company has significant funding, traction, or revenue, then you are probably too advanced for the Founder Institute. We recommend these founders apply to a “seed-accelerator” such as Techstars.
- If you are building a service-related business, like a marketing agency.
- If you are not committed and ready to perform the hard work required to build an enduring company.
- If you are just trying to "flip" a company or "get rich quick"
Read more about the Founder Institute's Admissions Process, or Apply to the Founder Institute as a Team Today.
