World’s Largest Pre-Seed Accelerator Looking to Help Ambitious Local Entrepreneurs Build the Future
We believe that entrepreneurs can fix the world's problems, no matter how daunting or widespread the challenge may seem.
The Founder Institute (FI.co), the world's largest pre-seed accelerator, announced today that it’s upcoming Washington DC 2020 program, which will start in an online format to keep participants safe, is now accepting applications. Any aspiring entrepreneur or team interested in building a company with some of Washington DC's top startup mentors is invited to apply to the Washington DC 2020 Founder Institute at http://fi.co/apply/washington_dc, or attend a free online startup event in Washington DC at http://fi.co/events/washington_dc.
Since launching in Washington DC in 2010, the program has created 107 promising technology companies in the region, like Instant Teams, Sworkit, and many more. The Washington DC Chapter will be led by Hank Yuan, Carolina McBrida, Lily Li, Michele Wright, and many of the region’s top startup investors, founders, and executives have expressed interest in mentoring. Below is the selected list of mentors:
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Adam Mc Clard: Founder & CEO, Origo Games
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Adeo Ressi: Founder/CEO, Founder Institute
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Ali Sorbi: Principal, Pendulum Advisors
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Allyson Redpath: Board Member, Westchester Land Trust
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Andrew Lee: CEO, Esper
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Andy Louis Charles: Vice President, Business Development, CustomInk.com
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Arman Eshraghi: Founder & Chairman, LogiXML
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Benjamin Young: CEO, Sworkit
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Bernadette Hyland: Founder & CEO, Zepheira
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Bill Schafer: CEO, Digital DME
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Bill Draper: Founder/CEO/CTO, Dovetail Systems, Inc
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Brendan Robinson: Cofounder and CEO, Deconstruction
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Brent Halliburton: Brent Halliburton - VP of Products, Verve Wireless (Washington DC FI), Verve Wireless
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Chris Vizas: Founder and CEO, East Wind Partners
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Chris Duffus: Co-Founder, Leaf College Savings, LLC
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Chris Parker: CEO, New Horizon Wines
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Christina Hedberg: Founder, LiveEdge Business Development
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Clara Conti: Consultant CEO, Aurora Technology Solutions
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Clifton Mount: Associate Council, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
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Dan Loague: President, DC ArchAngels
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Dan Solomon: Managing Director, Builder LLC.
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Dave Sandrowitz: Owner & Principal Consultant, Substrate LLC
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David Giannini: Chairman and CEO, Cirrusworks, Inc.
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Ed Harrell: Managing Partner, Harrell Capital Partners LLC
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Ed English: Chief Product Officer, Higher Logic
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Ed Broenniman: Managing Director and Founder, Piedmont Group, LLC
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Eric Wechselblatt: Partner, Holland & Knight
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Erica Mc Mannes: CEO/Co-Founder, HireMadSkills, Inc.
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Fred Cohen: Founder and CEO, Angel to Exit
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George Pappas: EVP Sales & Marketing, Presidium
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Henry Hunter: CEO, Incidr
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J.S. Gamble: Co-Founder and Managing Principal, Blu Venture Investors
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Jamil Ramsey: Founder and CEO, Snap Contacts
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Jeff Butler: Founder & CEO, Privia Health
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Jill Stelfox: Co-Founder, Graffiti Sports
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Joe Bezdek: Co-founder, DivX, Inc.
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Joe Betts Lacroix: CTO, Vium
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Jonathon Perrelli: Founder & General Partner, Fortify Ventures
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Joseph Daniels: Partner, Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Companies Group , McCarter & English, LLP
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Joshua Konowe: Founder & CEO, Uppidy.com
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Judy Schramm: CEO, ProResource, Inc.
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Justin Maddox: CEO, CrowdTrust
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Kashi Tahir: Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Envictus.com
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Kathie Brady: CEO Group Chair, Vistage
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Kim Bryden: CEO and Founder, Cureate
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Kristi Hedges: Principal/CEO, The Hedges Company
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Lisa Friedlander: NEXT presented by Shulman Rogers
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Liz Sara: Managing Director, Best Marketing, LLC
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Matt Mandell: Principal, Mandell Enterprises
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Matt Howard: CEO, ZoomSafer
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Matthew Bromberg: Group GM, Electronic Arts
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Maura O'brien Ali: CEO and Managing Director, American Growth Solutions
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Maxim Wheatley: Program Manager, Springboard Enterprises
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Mike Malloy: Founder and CEO, Waveborn
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Odysseas Papadimitriou: CEO & Founder, Evolution Finance
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Prashanth V Boccasam: Founder, Approva
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Raymond Bolton: CEO & Founder, Diversified Advantage Group, Inc.
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Richard Ambrose: Co-Founder, LaunchPosse
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Sanjay Prasad: Founder/ CEO, SurgiPrice/ SurgiConnect
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Shahed Amanullah: Co-Founder, LaunchPosse
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Steven A. Rodriguez: Regional Manager for Startup Programs (US/Canada), Techstars; worldwide community Strategist
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Sunjay Pandey: Product Head, Amazon Simple Workflow/ Amazon Simple Queue Service
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Susan Nickbarg: Principal, SVN Marketing
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Tanya Renne: Cofounder and CEO, Subscribo.com
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Thom Kozik: Chief Commercial Officer, Loyyal
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Tien Wong: Chairman and CEO, Tech 2000, Inc.
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Tim Mclaughlin: President, Siteworx
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Tom Brooke: Partner, Holland & Knight
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Tonya Harmon: CEO, CareWorks
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Tyrone Taylor: President, Capitol Advisors on Technology, Former NASA Director
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Vinnie Lauria: Founding Partner, Golden Gate Ventures
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William (Bill) Martinez: Deputy Director for Programs, Center for Civil-Military Relations
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You Mon Tsang: Founder and CEO, ChurnZero
The Founder Institute Washington DC 2020 pre-seed accelerator program begins on 2020-09-15, and aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs looking to build solutions for the future will have the opportunity to:
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Get constant feedback and regular office hours with 50+ Washington DC Mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs.
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Make quick progress on their business using a proven, structured process to get to traction and funding that has helped alumni build great products and raise over $950M in funding.
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Get fast-tracked to a suite of post-programs, including Funding Lab, to continue getting expert support for years to come.
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Expand their support network to include startup founders, CEOs, and investors from the Founder Institute’s global network of 4,000+ alumni and 14,000+ mentors across 185+ cities
Anybody who is interested can apply to the Washington DC 2020 Founder Institute at http://fi.co/apply/washington_dc, and those that apply by the Early Application Deadline (2020-07-19) are eligible for reduced pricing.
Learn more about the Founder Institute at FI.co
Since 2009, the Founder Institute has helped over 7,800 Alumni raise over $1.85BN 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 Washington DC and help build the future.
Apply to the Washington DC Fall 2025 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
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