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:
- From Idea to Startup Team: Meet Your Future Co-Founder: 5:00pm, Apr 06, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392195
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- Stuck Without a Startup Idea? Build One That Fits You: 5:30pm, Apr 07, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390128
- How Multiple Pivots positioned Checkbox as the ‘Legal Front Door’ for Corporations: 5:00pm, Apr 13, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/389463
- Real Startup Lessons From FI Alumni Across the World: 9:00am, Apr 14, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390749
- How to Go From Raw Idea to Polished Pitch using AI: 9:30am, Apr 20, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/395777
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 9:00am, Apr 21, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/395608
- Turn Your Expertise Into an Audience on LinkedIn: 9:00am, Apr 27, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392400
- How to Overcome the Fear of Starting Your Own Company: 9:00am, Apr 28, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/394030
- How to Get Your First 10 Customers Without a Marketing Team or Budget: 9:30am, May 04, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/394551
- How to Choose the Right Startup Idea Before You Build: 5:00pm, May 18, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390299
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Get Unfiltered Feedback from Global Investors & Advisors: 9:00am, May 26, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/395464
- Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 9:00am, Jun 02, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390481
- Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact: 5:30pm, Jun 08, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/388431
- Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 5:00pm, Jun 15, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393221
- Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 5:00pm, Jul 06, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392825
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 9:00am, Jul 20, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390619
- From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 5:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/393344
- Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 9:00am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391171
- Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 5:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391256
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 9:00am, Sep 01, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/392961
- Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 5:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/391540
- From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 5:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/390895
- 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/393075
- 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 core 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
- Aspen White: Cofounder and CEO, Aerware AI
- Bill Bryant: General Partner, Threshold Ventures
- Carmela Fortin: CEO, Seattle Startup Coaches
- Carson Nye: Investor, Two Ravens
- Chloe Feingold: Financial Advisor, Edward Jones
- Collin Dayley: Founder, Collin Dayley Coaching
- 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
- 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 Kinsella: Senior Engineering Leader, AWS
- John Robinson: Founder and Owner, Resolution Photomatching
- Jonathan Greechan: Co-Founder & CEO, Founder Institute, GP Founder Capital
- Kevin Chan: Director, Product Marketing, Fleetio
- Kt Mc Bratney: GP
- 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
- 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
- Noemi Ceapa: Founder / CEO, The Consulting Studio
- Richard Bristol, Bristol Advisory
- Rick Graham, Radd Studio Inc.
- Ryan McRobert: Partner, Fenwick & West
- Shaahin Cheyene: Founder and President, Podcastcola Inc.
- Shama Keskar: Cofounder & CEO, VoxAI
- Symon Perriman: CEO & Founder, FanWide
- Taylor Black: Principal Program Manager, Office of the CTO Incubator , Microsoft
- 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 8,900 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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