Today we have some very exciting news - we are officially launching our newest chapter in San Jose, Costa Rica!
Although the Founder Institute operates across over 65 cities and six continents, the new Costa Rica Autumn 2014 Semester will actually be our first in Central America.
Applications to the program are open now, and anyone interested in launching a technology company is welcome to apply to the Costa Rica Founder Institute at http://fi.co/apply/san_jose.
In order to celebrate the launch, the Costa Rica Founder Institute will host a “Pre-Curriculum” of free startup events in San Jose for the general public. To see the full list of upcoming events, visit http://fi.co/curriculum/san_jose.
The Founder Institute decided to officially launch in Costa Rica after a successful trial period in July and August that attracted over 220 potential applicants.
Costa Rica has established itself as a technology and innovation hub in Latin America. The country has an abundance of technical talent -- but building technology is very different from building a technology business.
The Founder Institute can help the country’s highly skilled workforce gain the knowledge, network, and globally-minded training needed to build meaningful companies of their own.” - Adeo Ressi, Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute
Through the Founder Institute’s four-month program, promising entrepreneurs “learn by doing” and launch a company with structured training, expert feedback, and support from experienced startup CEOs. Since the program is part-time, it is also a great opportunity for full-time professionals to test and build their ideas before making “the leap” from employee to entrepreneur and quitting their jobs. Founder Institute Graduate companies include fast-rising startups across 6 continents like Udemy, Realty Mogul, Itembase, goplaceit, Appota, and many more.
Leading the Founder Institute’s efforts in Columbus are Ignacio Castro, Vivian Arias, and Randall Trejos. Ignacio Castro is a passionate entrepreneur and tech executive who is living abroad but working hard to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Costa Rica. Vivian Arias is a member of the founding team of Yo Emprendedor, and is actively involved in the startup ecosystem as a lead organizer of events like Startup Weekend, Bootcamps and others. Randall Trejos is an entrepreneur and business development consultant -- someone that has walked the path of starting businesses from scratch, a combination of street smarts and book smarts.
Many successful entrepreneurs have also pledged their support to mentor new entrepreneurs in the Costa Rica program, including;
- Adeo Ressi: Founder/CEO, Founder Institute
- Adrian Garcia: Co-Founder, Carao Ventures
- Alejandro Vega: CEO, Huli
- Alejandro Brenes: Founder and CEO, Enertiva Costa Rica
- Andres Chavarria: Consultor en Desarrollo Empresarial, Diseño y Ejecución Estratégica, Emprendedurismo y fortalecimiento de Pymes
- Arnoldo Madrigal: Presidente, Brainware S.A.
- Claudio Pinto: CEO & Founder, Fair Play Labs
- Diego May: CEO, Junar
- Jose Coto: Managing Director, Prodigious
- Manfred Perez: Founder, Metodus
- Paul Fervoy: Co-founder, InterNexo
- Ryan Frazee: Director of Marketing / Former entrepreneur, INCAE Business School
- Steve Aronson: Founder of Cafe Britt
- And many more to be announced.
Anybody who is interested in launching a technology company is welcome to apply. The Final Application Deadline is on September 28th, but those who apply by the Early Application Deadline on September 14th are eligible for a variety of scholarships - including the Female Founder Fellowship, which is offered to the best overall female applicant.
In only 15 years of operation, over 7,500 graduate companies across 200 cities have used the Founder Institute to validate their idea, develop their plans, refine their product, build an advisory board, prepare for seed funding, and more.
