The Founder Institute's four-month curriculum covers everthing you would expect from an early-stage startup program, including topics like "Startup Legal and IP” towards the beginning, to “Fundraising” near the end. What makes the curriculum special is the Mentors that teach it, whose passion, feedback and support helps our companies avoid rookie mistakes and set the foundation for a meaningful and enduring company.
The Founder Institute carefully recruits approximately 25 Mentors per Semester, who are normally the CEO or founder of a successful startup. Rather than specialists or consultants, we prefer Founders and CEOs to give our companies "the entrepreneur's perspective." The mentors share their experiences, best practices, and mistakes, while also providing specific guidance and feedback on the Founder companies.
In addition, the Founder Institute's unique Graduate Liquidity Pool allows our mentors to share in the equity of companies formed in each program - and, their share is based solely on the anonymous ratings they receive from the Founders both during, and after the program. In this way, the Founder Institute incentivizes mentors to take a special interest in our startups, and provide as much assistance as possible after the program.
We have a great lineup of Mentors confirmed for the Autumn 2012 LA Founder Institute, including many from out of town. See the full list below.
Aaron Ross
Founder, PebbleStorm
Aaron Ross is the founder of PebbleStorm, which is helping 100 million people “make money through enjoyment”, by helping them enjoy discovering their purpose and turning it into a business they love. Aaron was an EIR (Entrepreneur-in-Residence) at Alloy Ventures, a $1 billion venture capital firm. Prior to Alloy, at Salesforce.com where he created a revolutionary Cold Calling 2.0 inside sales process and team that helped increase Salesforce.com’s revenues by $100 million. In his spare time, he is an Ironman triathlete, graduate of the Boulder Outdoor Survival School and volunteer mentor at SCORE, “Counselors to America’s Small Business”, and an avid motorcycle rider. Aaron graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Environmental Civil Engineering.
Alex Lightman
CTO, Fortune Nest Corporation
Alex Lightman is the CTO of Fortune Nest Corporation, Manama, and Bahrain and one of the highest rated Founder Institute Mentors. He was previously CEO and founder of IPv6 Summit, Innofone.com, Charmed Technology, Light Intertainment, and Hollyworlds. He is also the First recipient of The Economist magazine "Reader's Choice" award for Innovation that will radically change the world over the world over the next decade 2011 to 2020; winner of SGI Internet Virtual Reality contest, and winner of Entertainment category and Grand Prize. Alex was able to take a company from start up to public offering and $280 million market cap in two years, funding it entirely via sales to governments and companies in the US, EU, and Japan.
Alex Deighton
Serial Entrepreneur
I was trilingual at 10 years old, started university at 16, triple majored in Business Administration, French Language & Literature and German Language & Literature. I became fluent in Japanese at 17 and later attended university in Tokyo. After graduating, I worked for Dentsu and became Account Exec for Honda Motorcars. I started first company aged 20, and was multi-millionaire serial entrepreneur by 25. Some of my recent start-ups include a company that makes custom furniture for the world’s top boutique hotels and started a food company that sells coast-to-coast in various retailers including Walmart. I currently consult Private Equity funds on large acquisitions. I am also an award winning designer and author, and have ridden across India for charity on a kick-start Enfield motorcycle, the final 1,000 miles of which I completed with a knee shattered into 6 pieces.
Anthony Mazzarella
CEO, PatentVest, Inc
Anthony (Andy) Mazzarella is an active angel investor, serial entrepreneur, and retired Kleiner Perkins CEO. In addition to his investing, advisory and board responsibilities, he also serves as an IP expert for technology investors, most recently serving as CEO of PatentVest, Inc. Andy was previously founding CEO of AOptix Technologies; now the world leader in adaptive optics laser communications. Andy was also founding investor and/or director of numerous technology startups, including iMALL, Inc., Mustang Software, GreatDomains.com, SuperNation, Reunion.com, eForce Media and RealtyTracker. Andy’s early career included work in investment banking, media/entertainment, management consulting, and engineering. Andy holds a BA in Physics from Pomona College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Brian Liu
Chairman & Co-Founder, LegalZoom.com
Brian Liu is Chairman and Co-founder of LegalZoom.com, the leading online legal document service. Brian bootstrapped the company in 2000 and served as CEO until 2007, when the company was recapitalized with funding from Polaris Venture Partners. Prior to LegalZoom, Brian was a corporate attorney with Sullivan & Cromwell, a prominent "Wall Street" law firm where he specialized in corporate securities and M&A. Brian graduated from U.C. Berkeley with honors in Biochemistry. He received his Law Degree from UCLA School of Law.
Chas Rampenthal
General Counsel, LegalZoom.com
Chas Rampenthal has served as the General Counsel of LegalZoom.com since October of 2003. Chas has a wide range of legal experience in general corporate, venture capital and securities law. His responsibilities at LegalZoom include corporate legal and risk management, legal product quality, government affairs and legal public relations. In addition to these duties, Chas manages the Company’s Legal Advisory Council and serves as the Company’s resident legal expert for public relations. Before joining LegalZoom, he was an associate attorney at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP and Thelen Reid & Priest LLP. Prior to that, Chas served as an officer and aviator in the United States Navy. He received his B.S. in Economics and Math Studies, summa cum laude, from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and his J.D. from the University of Southern California.Chas is admitted to practice law in both California and Massachusetts, and has completed qualifications as a Solicitor in the United Kingdom.
Chris Studer
Founder & Former CEO, ScholarPoint Financial
Chris is an entrepreneur with a successful track record of starting and building two financial services companies specializing in student loans. Most recently, Chris was founder and CEO of ScholarPoint Financial, where he led the development and launch of a web-based technology platform for 100% paper-free sourcing and origination – funding over $300 million e-loans in the first three years. Prior to ScholarPoint, Chris was part of the founding team at College Loan Corporation, reaching $120 million in revenue and 400 employees in just three years. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University. A native of Minnesota, Chris and his wife Melissa currently reside in La Jolla, CA.
Dale Fox
Co-Founder and CEO, Tribogenics
Seasoned startup entrepreneur with a proven record of turning ideas into revenue generating businesses. Successfully launched over two dozen consumer products, executing at all phases from conception through to distribution. An early adopter and passionate market expert in gadgets, gizmos and anything electronic. Lifelong enthusiasm for mobile technology, medical technology, automotive, green tech, electronic design, physics, optics. Broad experience in all areas of business formation including: financial modeling, operations, strategy, intellectual property and licensing, creation of business plans and presentation materials, product design, advertising, brand identity and general consumer marketing.
Dan Shapiro
Board of Directors, Photobucket
Dan Shapiro sold his most recent company, Sparkbuy, to Google where he is CEO of the Google Comparison subsidary. Previously he founded Ontela (now Photobucket) and worked at RealNetworks, Microsoft, and Wildseed (acquired by AOL). His companies have been named Dow Jones Top 10 in Wireless, CTIA Best Social Networking Application, WTIA Breakthrough Startup of the Year, and Shapiro himself has been named CEO of the Year by MobileBeat. Shapiro's articles have been published in publications including The Washington Post, Wireless Week, and the Seattle PI, and he is a frequent speaker at conferences and events. He blogs at www.danshapiro.com and tweets at @danshapiro.
Dan Dato
Co Founder, CrossCampus
Dan Dato is an experienced entrepreneur and veteran senior executive of several venture-backed digital businesses. His passion has always been working with startups. It’s something that started as a CPA for Arthur Andersen where he served as an advisor to the earliest internet companies, including Auto-by-Tel and Yahoo’s first ad sales agency, and where he was involved in several M&A and IPO deals. His expertise in digital business has taken him around the globe, living in China & Europe, and includes leading The Motley Fool’s European operations (internet content, community & advertising) and founding a digital marketing strategy firm. Dan has helped his companies raise more than $50 million in venture and corporate financing. Dan has his BS in Accounting from Rutgers University.
Dimitri Villard
CEO, Peer Media Technologies
Dimitri Villard is CEO of Peer Media Technologies, Inc., which provides anti-piracy and business intelligence services to the entertainment industry. He began his career in entertainment as a founder of the memorable R&B label Jet Set Records, later becoming an investment banker and entrepreneur in media, pioneering the pay TV industry. He also co-founded and is CEO of Pivotal BioSciences, a spinout of the USC Keck School of Medicine that is developing a novel immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer. Dimitri is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Business School Angels and the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Network of the Tech Coast Angels where he has originated, led, and mentored early stage high technology ventures. Dimitri graduated with a B.A. from Harvard University and has a M.S. from China International Medical University.
Ed Fu
Associate, Rustic Canyon
As an Associate at Rustic Canyon, Ed works with seed and early stage consumer web and clean technology companies. Prior to joining Rustic Canyon in 2010, Ed was an investor at Technology Crossover Ventures, where he focused on investments in the Internet and software sectors. Before TCV, Ed advised technology start-ups at Jefferies & Company, helping several grow from single digit revenue companies to successful, publicly-listed industry leaders. Ed earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, his MS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and his BS in Computer Science from Cornell University.
Eric Pulier
Founder & CEO, ServiceMesh, Inc.
Entrepreneur, writer, public speaker, and founder of over fifteen companies, primarily concerned with the application of information technology to enterprise infrastructure or business solutions. Pulier has raised over 700 Million dollars for ventures he has founded or co-founded. Goal: to have a significant and positive impact in the world by innovating solutions for education, health care, government, and business. Eric is a graduate of Harvard University where he received his BA, Magna Cum Laude, Several: English & American Literature, Computer Science,
Fred Joyal
CEO & Co-Founder, Futuredontics
Fred is CEO and co-Founder of Futuredontics, better known to the public as 1-800-DENTIST. Fred's experience proved to be instrumental in the company's ascent to the top of the dental practice marketing services industry. Fred has written, produced and appeared in more than 100 of the company's television and radio commercials, which air more than 5,000 times each month on major networks nationwide. The company also has evolved to the point where 50% of their referrals come through the Internet. Fred recently published a book, "Everything Is Marketing: the Ultimate Strategy for Dental Practice Growth", written for dentists and dental office managers, which is already in its third printing. He is exceptionally proud of his corporate culture, with 250 contagiously positive employees, five of which have hit their 20-year mark with the company.
Gioia Messinger
Founder & Chairman , Avaak
Gioia Messinger is currently the Founder and Chairman of Avaak, Inc. and until recently served as its founding CEO where she raised over $32M in capital from venture investors and government agencies and lead Avaak into wide-scale consumer adoption of its Vue video networking products. Prior to Avaak, she founded SUMMIT Design Technologies, Inc. an engineering services firm with Fortune 500 clients such as Motorola, Lockheed Martin and Texas Instruments. Gioia received her MBA from the University of California-Irvine and bachelor and master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California-San Diego. She has 3 patents granted and 8 pending.
Gregg Spiridellis
CEO, JibJab
JibJab is a digital entertainment studio based in Venice, California. Founded in 1999 by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, the company achieved international acclaim during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing "This Land is Your Land" became one of the biggest viral video hits in history. Since the election, the Spiridellis Brothers have built JibJab into an online entertainment studio with 35 employees creating, producing and distributing original content. From comedy videos to Sendables eCards, the company's mission is to "help more people share more laughs than any other company in the history of the world".
Jason Nazar
CEO, Docstoc
Jason Nazar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Docstoc.com, the premier online community to find and share professional documents. Before starting Docstoc, he was a partner in a venture consulting firm in Los Angeles where he worked with dozens of startups. He holds have a BA from UCSB and his JD/MBA from Pepperdine University, where he was the Student Body President of both Universities.
Jason Calacanis
CEO, Mahalo.com
Jason Calacanis is the CEO of Mahalo.com, a human powered search engine. He has an extensive history as both an investor and founder, and was previously the co-founder of Weblogs, Inc. with Brian Alvey, and the GM of Netscape. Jason serves on the board of ThisNext, is a partner on TechCrunch50, and has had previous involvement with Sequoia Capital and ThisWeekIn. Jason holds a B.A. in psychology from Fordham University.
Jay Samit
Former CEO, SocialVibe
From 2009-2012, Samit was the CEO of SocialVibe, a digital advertising technology company that powers engagement advertising for some of the world’s top brands. Samit managed the company during a time of rapid growth from 4,000 users to a monthly reach of 660 million. During his tenure, SocialVibe developed partnerships with major sites like Facebook, Zynga, Pandora, The Huffington Post, IMVU, Zinio and Causes.Jay Alan Samit, CEO of Long Beach Studios, has held senior management positions at Universal, Capitol, EMI, and Sony/BMG. Samit is also an active philanthropist whose charity work ranges from the first Internet Charity Auction to Tsunami Aid (with NBC) and Concert for Hurricane Relief on MTV, to getting the Internet into America’s public schools for the Clinton White House.
Joe Bezdek
Co-Founder and Former Brand Director, DivX, Inc.
Joe Bezdek is a co-founder of DivX, Inc., the creator of the popular DivX video format and technology. While there, he filled a variety of roles in product management, marketing, and brand management, most recently as brand director. He left DivX in late 2007 to spend time with his wife and three young daughters, road tripping across the country in a variety of vehicles, including a 38-foot motorhome. He has BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M and The University of Texas - Austin, respectively, but he's terribly mechanically disinclined so don't ask him to fix anything. Currently he is the co-founder of Cloudtop, a company building mobile and web applications for pilots. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Rady Children's Hospital Foundation in San Diego.
John Morris
Group Chair, Vistage International
John is a former venture capitalist and brings over 40 years of diverse experience to his role as Group Chair for Vistage International. He draws on a career in venture capital, investment banking, financial management and public accounting. John has also been an active member of the Los Angeles business community. He is Chairman Emeritus (Tech Coast Angels) as well as co-founder and a past president of TCA Los Angeles. He is a co-founder of several well-known networking groups, including a monthly venture capital roundtable known as the VC Alliance, the So Cal Tech Network, Tech CEO Network and Launchpad LA. John has his MBA in Finance from Dartmouth College - The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Jon Funk
Founder & President, Ocean Road Partners
Jon is the President of Ocean Road Partners and a veteran Los Angeles venture capitalist. Prior to the founding of Ocean Road Partners, he was a professional venture capitalist for 20 years, and directed first-round investments in numerous start-ups, including LA-area successes Sandpiper Networks (acquired for $630 million in 2000), Rent.com (acquired for $430m 2004) and Shopzilla (acquired for $560M in 2005). Jon is an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Pepperdine University, serves on several academic and community Boards, and was inducted into the Los Angeles Venture Association Hall of Fame in 2012. He's a devoted Cal alum, proud Georgetown, Michigan and Penn parent, and a student of surfing, math, history and guitar, with continual need for improvement in all.
Kelly Perdew
CEO, RotoHog.com
Kelly Perdew is the CEO of RotoHog.com - a venture-backed gaming platform company that provides Games as a Service for major brands. Kelly has been a founder or senior executive of 8 companies including eteamz, MotorPride, CoreObjects, ProElite, K-12 Productions and served in the US Army as an Airborne/Ranger Military Intelligence Officer. Kelly graduated from the United States Military Academy - West Point, and earned a JD from the UCLA School of Law and an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA. Kelly also won Season 2 of The Apprentice and worked with Donald Trump in NY for a year.
Mark Landay
Managing Director, Dynamic Synergy
Mark J. Landay is managing director of Dynamic Synergy and has spent nearly two decades providing start up and growth companies with retained executive recruitment. Approximately 33% of the companies he has consulted to have gone IPO or been acquired by public companies creating a liquidity opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors. Mr. Landay is also an active angel investor, leading the Harvard Business School Angels software & digital media investments, and has prior experience in private equity.
Nadav Wilf 
Founder & CEO, ENLTND
Nadav is Founder and Chief Life Stylist at ENLTND. ENLTND is a platform that makes it easy to give back through lifestyle spending. His previous positions include CEO at Site Capitalist Inc; President of DiscoverSD.com; and CEO of www.matrixmt.com. Nadav graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science (BS), in Psychology. His specialties include Scaling Companies, Product Development, Leadership, Branding, Sales, and Marketing.
Reichart Von Wolfsheild
Chief Software Architect, CTO & Co-Founder, Qtask
Reichart Von Wolfsheild is a technologist, inventor, artist and futurist. Starting in his teens, he designed and built his own computer CPU. Blending his talents from several fields he made history conceiving one of the first multi-player modem video games, kicking off a franchise. He has designed more than 120 products for companies such as Boeing, Disney and Mattel, and is always looking for his next opportunity. He has worked on almost 100 Video Slot systems for Bally Alliance, Shufflemaster, and Konami. He has also developed ground breaking training software used by law enforcement, hyper-realistic modeling systems for aerospace, and co-developed the worlds first consumer CD-ROM set-top box (CDTV).
Robert Tercek
President, General Creativity Consulting
Robert Tercek is the President of General Creativity Consulting, where he provides insight and strategy to media and technology companies. He previously served as President of Digital Media for Oprah Winfrey Network, EVP Marketing at Mforma Group, President of Programming at PacketVideo and SVP Digital Media at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He is a creative executive with experience in the design, development and deployment of entertainment and content services on all digital platforms, including: web, wireless, interactive television, games consoles, and digital satellite & cable TV. Specialties include: Digital entertainment. Design of original interactive media titles. Brand extension into new media. Partnership with major media companies. Preparation, launch and ongoing management of interactive entertainment services. Tercek is the Chairman of the Creative Visions Foundation in Malibu, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts
Ronen Olshansky
Co Founder , CrossCampus
Ronen Olshansky is a seasoned entrepreneur with a finance and technology background. Ronen’s passion is working with early stage entrepreneurs who are passionate and dedicated to growing their business and realizing their vision. He has been a founding member or executive of multiple start-ups in the software, real estate, cleantech and non-profit sectors. Ronen graduated from Yale University with a BA, Economics.
Scott Painter
CEO, Zag
Over the course of his prolific career, Scott Painter, CEO of TrueCar, Inc., has formed over 30 companies – the majority of which bring innovation and advancement to the retail automotive industry. A prolific fundraiser, Painter has risen over one one billion dollars from investors for his numerous entrepreneurial ventures. As the founder of TrueCar, Inc., he has created an intelligent automotive marketplace that benefits both buyers and sellers – revolutionizing the auto retailing industry and creating a “win-win” blueprint that engenders truth and trust between parties and with which both consumer and dealer benefit greatly. Painter has been featured in, or interviewed by, numerous worldwide media outlets, including: Fortune Magazine, CNN.com, FOX News, TechCrunch, The Economic Times, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, Business Week and others. Painter attended West Point Academy and was a Spanish language interrogator for the United States Army. He won a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley where he studied economics.
Shaahin Cheyene
President, Accelerated Intelligence Inc.
Shaahin Cheyene is the President of Accelerated Intelligence Inc. Born in Iran, Shaahin Cheyene is an award winning entrepreneur, writer and filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles, California. In the early 1990's while still in his teens, Cheyene spearheaded the “Smart Drug Movement” by inventing and branding the original Herbal Ecstacy and over 200 other award-winning products. In 2000 Cheyene invented, patented and developed a revolutionary new medicine delivery technology with the Vapir Vaporizer, spearheading the then burgeoning vaporization industry. He also authored the definitive book on the science of Vaporization, “Vapor: The Art and Science of Inhaling Pure Plant Essences”.Cheyene prepared Vapir for the public markets but subsequently sold it to a private investment group in Silicon Valley in 2006. Cheyene is currently the founder of a brain nutrition startup Accelerated Intelligence where he is positioning the company to be the leader in the brain nutrition space.
Steen Strand
Co-Founder & COO, ICON Aircraft
Steen Strand is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of ICON Aircraft, where he has led the company’s design and marketing efforts. ICON has garnered wide attention and numerous awards for leveraging world class design and marketing to make recreational aviation more appealing and more accessible. The company has received over 700 advance orders for its amphibious sport aircraft, the ICON A5, which will start production later this year. Steen received his MS in Product Design from Stanford University and his AB in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard.
Stephen Meade
Founder, BigBamboo
Stephen Meade is an American entrepreneur, executive and strategic adviser who is passionate about growing companies that make a difference in the world. In the past 20 years, he has created and incubated 9 successful technology-based companies. Currently, Stephen serves as chairman and resident rainmaker at BigBamboo LLC, a holding company which incubates start-up companies from innovative idea to market-ready. As chairman and resident rainmaker at Big Bamboo, LLC, Stephen Meade creates and builds successful businesses by knowing how to gather a team with the precise skills, knowledge and expertise to move his ideas to market. After building human capital, he then raises the financial capital necessary to help bring the idea to market. In essence, he is a company architect once he determines an idea is viable.
Thom Kozik
CEO, Context Digital Media
Thom brings 25+ years experience in the Internet and software industries, with particular focus on Gaming. Previous big firms include Atari, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Bigpoint, and Ashton-Tate. Five startups to my credit, two with good exits (MindShare, All-Seeing Eye); two others providing invaluable lessons, the third is stil in mid-flight. Broad experience in; Product Strategy and Development, Business Development, M&A, Operations, and Marketing. Have successfully led start-ups and multi-national, public companies alike.
Tyler Crowley
Founder & CEO, Skweal
Tyler is currently the Founder & CEO of Skweal, Producer of the Open Angel Forum/Launch Conference, and Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Mahalo. Some of his past experience includes working as a producer for Open Angel Forum/Launch Conference, TechCrunch50, and ThisWeekIn. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego in Interdisciplinary Studies in Computers and the Arts, and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Walter O'Brien
CEO, Scorpion Computer Services
Walter O’Brien is the CEO of Scorpion Computer Services. Throughout his career, Walter has created over 177 unique technology inventions and is one of the world’s leading experts in the application of computer science and artificial intelligence to solve industry challenges. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence with honors from Sussex University. Walter has worked with The Capital Group Companies (World’s largest mutual fund manager and Parent of the American Funds), Fujitsu, Uniscape (Microsoft-Trados), Oracle Corporation, Baltimore Technologies, and Critical Path. Walter has previously served as chairman or member of the advisory board to companies such as American Environmental Energy, Pantheon Energy, Lawloop, Starglobe, BestTeachersandschools.com, Toin Corp, and Keltech.
William Quigley
Partner, Clearstone Venture Partners
William Quigley joined Clearstone Venture Partners shortly after its formation and concentrates on its Internet and communications related investments. During his first two-and-a-half years with the firm, he worked out of the idealab! incubator and helped launch and lead investments in many idealab! backed companies including Homepage.com, FreePC, FreeMusic.com and Paymybills.com. A number of his early-stage investments have gone public, including MP3.com, Tickets.com, Emusic and PeopleSupport and several have been acquired including InternetConnect (sold to Covad) and Phasebridge (sold to Emcore).
Sunday, October 7th is the Final Application Deadline for the Autumn 2012 Los Angeles Founder Institute. If you or someone you know could benefit from expert training and feedback to launch a technology startup in Los Angeles, then click here to apply today.
