Now, more than ever, the world needs entrepreneurs to build the future.
At the Founder Institute, we know times are tough, but we also know that economic downturns are a great time to start a business. This isn't just conjecture - the Founder Institute was started in April of 2009 (during the "Great Recession"), and world-leading companies like Microsoft, Tesla, and Apple also took advantage of cost savings during a recession to launch and get their initial traction.
That's why we are excited to announce today that applications are now open for the Seattle Spring 2026 program.
If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Oregon and Washington state's top investors and entrepreneurs to build something meaningful, then apply to the Seattle Spring 2026 Founder Institute today.
We will be hosting several free startup online events with experts from Seattle and Portland over the coming weeks, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs from the comfort of your home:
- Break the Idea Loop: Decide What to Build in the Age of AI: 5:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391540
- FI Alumni Panel: Meet Founders of High-Growth Startups (Q&A + Networking): 9:00am, Oct 06, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391171
- From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 9:00am, Oct 13, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393474
- From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 9:00am, Nov 03, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/405822
- From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 5:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391410
- From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 9:00am, Dec 01, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391021
Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200+ cities worldwide, the Founder Institute provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the devoted support network and structured growth process needed to get to traction and funding. Participants in the 4-month Agentic program also get access to a lifetime of support through the Founder Institute's industry-leading post-programs.
The Seattle / Portland Virtual 2020 program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Jeremy Zaretzky (Managing Director, FI Seattle), Levi Velez Reed (Director, FI Seattle), and Lainey Lee (Program Manager, FI Seattle).
In addition, some of Washington and Oregon's top investors, entrepreneurs, and CEOs will be participating in the program, providing them with expert feedback and evaluation. The list of startup mentors for the Seattle Spring 2026 Founder Institute includes:
- Allison Byers: Founder & CEO, Scroobious
- Amit Gupta: Sys Dev Manager, Amazon
- Andrew Klein: Founder, Zccounting
- Aniket Naravanekar, Skillsheet
- Ankit Srivastav: Angel Investor / Product Leader, Family Office
- Apurva Bhargava, TrusTrace
- Aspen White: Cofounder and CEO, AerwareAI
- Bill Bryant: General Partner, Threshold Ventures
- Carmela Fortin: CEO, Seattle Startup Coaches
- Carson Nye: Investor, Two Ravens
- Chelsea Parkman: Strategic Advisor, Foundry15 Advisory
- Chloe Feingold: Mid-market Relationship Manager, Onymos, Inc.
- Chloe Feingold: Financial Advisor, Edward Jones
- Collin Dayley: Founder, Collin Dayley Coaching
- Craig Guarraci: Founder, Tech PM Career Path, LLC
- Dave Cotter: Owner, Kelsor Ventures LLC
- David Jorjani: Founder, Qatalyst Labs
- David Abu: Snr PM, Microsoft
- Dominique Simmons: Founder and CEO, CX UX Spark
- Evan Poncelet: evan@dreamward.vc, Dreamward Group / Venture Black
- Gabriela Camilli: Investor, Act One Ventures
- Gaurav Malhotra: CMO, PickMyCar USA
- Gillian Muessig: Co-Founder, Moz
- James Jenkins: Engineering Manager, Andrews Cooper
- Jay Goyal: President, Actively Learn
- Jen Haller: Chief of staff, Ascend VC.
- John Robinson: Founder and Owner, Resolution Photomatching
- Jonathan Greechan: Co-Founder & CIO, Founder Institute, GP Founder Capital
- Kerra Melvin: Partner, DLA Piper
- Kevin Chan: Director, Product Marketing, Fleetio
- Komal Kashiramka Bhandari: CEO & Founder, Poshan
- Kt Mc Bratney: Head of Community , Renew Venture Capital
- Leila Ergul Demir: Founder, Partner UP
- Levi Velez Reed: Venture Partner, Startup425
- Louis Newkirk: Co-Founder / City Leader, Venture Black / Founders Live
- Luke Arrigoni: Founder / CEO, Loti
- Marc Krejci: Founder, Pathfinder Foundry
- Michael Avent: Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
- Michael Dryja: Principal and Registered Patent Attorney, Law Offices of Michael Dryja
- Mikaela Kiner: CEO & Founder, Reverb
- Nick Hughes: Founder & CEO, Founders Live
- Nicole Doyle: Founder, CEO, Aspir
- Nishanth Lingamneni: Angel Investor, Family Office
- Noemi Ceapa: Founder / CEO, The Consulting Studio
- Richard Bristol, Bristol Advisory
- Rick Graham, Radd Studio Inc.
- Ryan McRobert: Partner, Fenwick & West
- Sachiv Shah: Director of Sales, RKS Plastics Inc.
- Shaahin Cheyene: Founder and President, Podcastcola Inc.
- Sid Mathur: Founder, Wellness@Work
- Symon Perriman: CEO & Founder, FanWide
- Taylor Black: Principal Program Manager, Office of the CTO Incubator , Microsoft
- Thiru Bhat: Co-Founder & CEO, Strato-Cloud.io Inc
- Tony Nguyen: Founding Partner, TKN Tyson LLP
- Yoko Okano: Co-founder, First Row Partners
- And many more to be announced.
Since 2009, the Founder Institute has helped over 9,000 Alumni raise over 2BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more (see the FI 10 Year Impact Report here).
Join us in Seattle and Portland to help build the future.
Apply to the Seattle Spring 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
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