The Founder Institute, the world’s premier pre-seed startup accelerator, and Patriot Boot Camp, a leading technology accelerator program that helps members of the military community innovate and build impactful businesses, are announcing the launch of the “Veteran Founder Initiative,” a global initiative to help build 100 enduring veteran-led technology companies each year.
The Veteran Founder Initiative will leverage the resources of these two organizations to offer talented veterans and active service members a wide variety of free training, fellowship opportunities, mentorship from startup experts, and a global network of entrepreneurs to build a startup. Any active service member or veteran with an idea or early-stage company can learn more and apply to the program at http://fi.co/join/patriotbootcamp.
According to Josh Carter, Interim CEO of Patriot Boot Camp:
This partnership just makes sense. As we’ve looked to provide more thoughtful programming for our community, we approached the Founder Institute about helping bridge the divide that exists for military spouse and veteran entrepreneurs looking to take their ideas to the next level. The Founder Institute has a tremendous track record of success and this partnership allows us to provide an outlet for our community that enables them to scale and grow their technology startups.
Through the Veteran Founder Initiative, any U.S. veteran or service member who wants to start a technology company can apply to any of the 20+ U.S. Founder Institute chapters for free ($50 value), and the best overall applicants will be selected to receive a Patriot Boot Camp Fellowship to participate in the Founder Institute's pre-seed accelerator program for free.
In addition, Veteran alumni of both the Founder Institute and Patriot Boot Camp programs will have opportunities to easily access the benefits of each other's programs and vast networks. For example, Veteran FI Alumni will be invited to participate in Patriot Boot Camp programs, which helps bring together the leading resources and support for Veteran-led startups; and top Patriot Boot Camp alumni will receive Fellowships and special access to the Founder Institute’s Startup Fundraising Program, “Founder Lab”.
According to Ryan Micheletti, Director of Global Operations at the Founder Institute:
When you talk about the best entrepreneurs, you always mention strengths like leadership, fortitude, and perseverance. Veterans and active service members are one of the most concentrated audiences that contain these traits, and we believe that veterans are the next “greatest generation” of world and business leaders. By partnering with Patriot Boot Camp, we have a unique opportunity to combine our expertise and resources to empower veterans to build companies that can positively impact the world.
In the Founder Institute’s pre-accelerator program, aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs can build a company alongside a support network of startup experts invested in their success, and through a structured and challenging business-building process that has helped program alumni raise over $700M.
Veterans who want to leverage two of the leading entrepreneurship organizations in the world to help build their startups can find out more information here: http://fi.co/join/patriotbootcamp
About the Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is the world's premier pre-seed startup accelerator. In the Founder Institute, you can build a company alongside a critical support network of local startup experts that are invested in your success, and through a structured and challenging business-building process that has helped our alumni raise over $700M. Leaders of the world’s fastest-growing startups have used the Founder Institute to raise funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200 cities and 60 countries, the Founder Institute’s mission is to Globalize Silicon Valley and empower talented and motivated entrepreneurs to build companies that will create one million new jobs. The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan. It is operated out of Palo Alto, California.
About Patriot Boot Camp
Patriot Boot Camp (PBC), a Techstars affiliated not-for-profit, was founded in 2012 to provide active duty service members, veterans, and their spouses with access to mentors, educational programming, and a robust community of experts and peers to help them innovate and build impactful technology businesses. PBC’s mission is to assemble and activate an inclusive community that advances veterans and military spouses in their mission to become creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs leading the new economy.
