Founder Institute Joins Forces with Top Organizations in Pittsburgh to Accelerate Startups

Today, the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Pittsburgh - Philadelphia Spring 2026 program!

If you could use a structured process and feedback from Pittsburgh's top entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Pittsburgh - Philadelphia 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 launching the Pittsburgh chapter in 2018, the program has created 14 promising technology companies in the region, like Three10 Solutions, Subtle Beauty, IT Security Solutions, Inc. and many more. For its upcoming program, Founder Institute Pittsburgh is excited to receive the support of Wilke & Associates CPAs, Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, MixyMarketing, Truefit and PNC Bank to support startup growth in Pittsburgh.

To celebrate the launch, we will host several free startup events in Pittsburgh, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:

Founder Resilience, Decision‑Making, and Mental Load: 6:00pm, Apr 16, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393779
Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
How to Go From Raw Idea to Polished Pitch using AI: 12:30pm, Apr 20, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395784
[Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, Apr 21, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395617
Turn Your Expertise Into an Audience on LinkedIn: 12:00pm, Apr 27, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392413
How to Overcome the Fear of Starting Your Own Company: 12:00pm, Apr 28, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394047
How to Get Your First 10 Customers Without a Marketing Team or Budget: 12:30pm, May 04, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/394548
How Anyone Can Become a Solo Founder with AI: 12:00pm, May 05, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396580
Stop Guessing: How to Use AI to Validate Your Startup Idea in Days : 12:00pm, May 12, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396726
How to Choose the Right Startup Idea Before You Build: 8:00am, May 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390316
How to Tell Stories That Win Clients and Investors with Lubna Forzley: 12:00pm, May 19, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396410
[Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Get Unfiltered Feedback from Global Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, May 26, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395473
Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 12:00pm, Jun 02, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390492
Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact: 8:30pm, Jun 08, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/388432
Fundraising Reality Check: Startup Funding Q&A for Founders: 12:00pm, Jun 09, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/396243
Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 8:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393197
Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 8:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392827
Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 12:00pm, Jul 20, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390630
From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 8:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393320
Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 12:00pm, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391182
Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 8:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391270
What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 12:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/392937
Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 8:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391549
From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 8:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/390906
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 12:00pm, Oct 13, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393450
From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 12:00pm, Nov 03, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/393067
From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 8:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391411
From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 12:00pm, Dec 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/391050

See all upcoming events

The Pittsburgh 2020 program will include the Founder Institute’s newest company-building curriculum designed to address the needs of advanced founders and teams, and will once again be led by local startup leaders Randy Eager (Founder & Managing Partner, Aqualibrium LLC) and Greg Coticchia (MS Product Management, Carnegie Mellon University).

In addition, some of Pittsburgh'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 Pittsburgh Founder Institute includes:

Mentors who have expressed interest in helping Pittsburgh Founder Institute participants include:

Adhithi Aji: CEO, Adrich
Afshan Khan: EIR, Innovation Works
Akhil Chaturvedi: Machine Learning Engineer, Philips
Alison Alvarez: CEO & Co-Founder, BlastPoint
Andy Hannah: CEO, Othot
Audrey Russo: President and CEO, Pittsburgh Technology Council
Austin Webb: CEO, RoBotany
Bill Jackson: Co-founder and CEO, Sinovia Technologies
Birpal Sachdev: Leader of Advanced Technologies, Philips
Britta Ulm: Project Director, Discovery Robotics
Chris Moehle: Managing Director, The Robotics Hub
Claye Greene: CEO, TechBlue, Inc.
Cole Wolfson: Senior Program Manager, AlphaLab Gear
Darrin Grove: CEO, Truefit
Don Morrison: Chairman of Deal Flow, Blue Tree Allied Angels
Hank Wilde: CEO, Panacea AG
Henry Thorne: CTO, 4Moms
Ilana Diamond: Managing Director, Hardware, AlphaLab Gear & Riverfront Ventures, Innovation Works
Jason Jones: Director of Entrepreneurship, Idea Foundry
Jeff Schneider: Professor, Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University
Jennifer Wilhelm: Assistant Director, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA)
Jim Gibbs: Co-Founder and CEO, Meter Feeder, Inc.
Joe Ferrara: CEO, Wombat Security Technologies
Kevin Dowling: CEO, Kaarta
Kit Needham: Director and Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Project Olympus, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University
Leah Lizarondo: CEO, 412 Food Rescue
Luke Skurman: CEO, Niche
Mark De Santis: CEO, Roadbotics
Mary Koes: Product Manager, Google Cloud, Google
Mary Beth Green: VP Innovation, Sheets
Mary Del Brady: CEO, Chairman, Board Member
Meghan Skiff: Founder, MixyMarketing
Michael Matesic: CEO & President, Idea Foundry, Inc.
Mike Formica: CEO & Founder, NuCo Tech Group
Ned Renzi: Partner, Birchmere Ventures
Nick Kuhn: CEO, nanoGriptech
Nicki Zevola Benvenuti: CEO, FutureDerm
Noah Snyder: CEO, Interphase Materials
Olga Pogoda: Co-Founder, KRNLS
Parag Batavia: Founder and President, Neya Systems, LLC
Rich Lunak: President & CEO, Innovation Works
Sarjoun Skaff: Founder and CTO, Bosa Nova Robotics
Scot Mac Taggart: Cofounder, KRNLS
Sean Ammirati: Partner, Birchmere Labs & Birchmere Ventures
Ted Teele: CEO, Touchtown
Zach Malone: Principal, Draper Triangle Venture Capital

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.