The Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, announced today that it is officially launching its newest chapter in Pune. While the Silicon-Valley based program has chapters in over 185 cities worldwide, early-stage entrepreneurs in Pune can finally now take advantage of the Founder Institute's renowned structure, mentor support, and network to build an enduring company.
Applications to the first ever Pune Founder Institute are now open, and anyone interested in building a technology company can apply at FI.co/apply/pune.
The Founder Institute provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the support network and structure needed to build an enduring company, from launch to team and funding. Since 2009, the program has helped over 4,000 Graduates raise over $950M 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 Pune, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
The experts that have been critical in bringing the Founder Institute to Pune include local startup leaders Nikhil Bhaskaran (Nikhil Bhaskaran, Shunya Os), Pratap Basutkar (Co-Founder, OppVance), and Sejal Gupta (Entrepreneurship Lead, IoTIoT).
Are you going to be the next Facebook? If so, nobody's going to be taking you to Silicon Valley, so we're bringing the valley to you," says Nikhil Bhaskaran. "Opportunities are flourishing in Pune, and from co-working spaces to available funding, there's never been a better time to launch a company here!
In addition, many of the region's top founders, CEOs, advisors, and investors have signed on to mentor new entrepreneurs in the Pune 2020 Founder Institute program, including:
- Akash Sureka: Ex Entrepreneur with Exits over M&A, Board Advisor, Investor
- Anshu Srivastav: Founder, Multiple Startups
- Chetana Pawar: Founder, Outgo
- Deepti Kasbekar: Chief Marketing Officer, Soilsesoul
- Ishan Talathi: Founder, LeapSwitch
- Mukta Aphale: Founder, Crevise Technologies
- Neeraj Shah: Owner & Director, Silver Bright
- Piyush Bhamare: Founder, Sminq
- Prashant Mane: Director Client Services, FIS
- Sanju Burkule: Founder, 7Targets
- Satish Patil: Founder, Crysagi
- Saurabh Lahoti: General Partner & Investment Lead, Alacrity India
- Sudharshan Mednikar: Agritech, Agribusiness Consultant | Founder | CEO, Mednikar Ventures
- Sudin Baraokar: Founder, AIOTF & BankChainAsset
- 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 organization's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and build sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
Join us in Pune to build a great company in 2019.
Apply to the Pune 2020 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
