By recently graduating 10 Winter semesters, the Founder Institute has now launched exactly 500 technology companies across 26 cities and five continents on the anniversary of our three years in operation. Our goal, however, is to launch 1,000 companies per year in 35 cities worldwide, so we are looking for the next great emerging startup hubs to launch our program and jumpstart local startup ecosystems.
VentureBeat covered the news here. Leave us notes in their comments - where should we expand to next?
The Founder Institute is now on pace to launch an average of two companies per day worldwide, and our growth is accelerating. The Institute currently has over 400 enrolled entrepreneurs across our 15 currently operating semesters. When these chapters Graduate at the end of the Summer, we expect to surpass 700 companies launched.
Our model for expansion works because, rather than trying to bring entrepreneurs from other markets to Silicon Valley, we "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable, local startup ecosystems in new markets from the ground up. In particular:
- We gather the experienced founders and leaders in the ecosystem to run local chapters, and these Directors provide the next generation of founders with structured training and expert feedback.
- We screen local applicants using a proprietary Predictive Admissions Test, which was developed with leading social scientists and is regularly calibrated to identify personality traits of successful entrepreneurs.
- We leverage a network of over 900 global Mentors, bringing top-rated US Mentors to international markets to share their knowledge and provide a global perspective.
- We emulate the teamwork and pay-it-forward culture of Silicon Valley in local markets through our unique Graduate Liquidity Pool, which shares the equity upside from each graduating class with the local graduates, Mentors, and chapter Directors.
When surveyed, the main motivation for the 42 local Directors is to help the next generation by bringing people together, to build the local ecosystem, to participate in a global network, and to learn from the lessons of others. If you are interested in bringing a chapter to your city, you can apply to be a leader here.
