Since launching in Seattle in 2012, the Founder Institute has graduated over 65 companies in the region, including some of the area's fastest-growing startups like Pethub, Memetales, Puzzazz, OnContracting, ReadyPulse, Litesprite, SnapSwap, Writer.ly, and more. In addition, our efforts in Seattle have also been profiled by several top media channels, including the Seattle Times, Geekwire, Xconomy, and The Puget Sound Business Journal.
Today, the Founder Institute is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Seattle Spring 2026 Semester!
If you could benefit from expert training and advice to launch a technology startup in Seattle, click here to apply today.
Those who apply by the Early Admissions Deadline (Mar 01, 2026) will have their application fees waived (typically $50) and are eligible for Founder Institute Fellowships.
The Founder Institute is the world's largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program, with over 9,000 graduate companies spanning 200+ cities worldwide. In our four-month, part-time program, promising startup entrepreneurs "learn by doing" and launch a company through structured training courses and expert feedback from a large network of business mentors. Plus, you are not required to quit you day job to participate, so you can begin testing and developing your startup ideas without putting your livelihood at risk.
In order to celebrate the launch, the Seattle Founder Institute will several free startup events for the general public, where you can meet top entrepreneurs and learn more about the program:
- 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
The Seattle Chapter will be led by local leaders Maria Dykstra (Startup Advisor, Entrepreneur, and Managing Director of TreDigital) and Ram Valliyappan (Founder of Infinitus Apps, and Senior Manager at Groupon).
In addition, some of Seattle's top entrepreneurs will help teach founders in the program, including:
- 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.
