The Founder Institute, the world’s premier pre-seed startup accelerator, announced today that it is officially returning to Houston. The Silicon-Valley based program has chapters in over 200 cities worldwide, and early-stage entrepreneurs in Houston can again take advantage of the Founder Institute's renowned structure, mentor support, and network to build an enduring company.
Applications to the Houston Founder Institute are now open, and anyone interested in building a technology company can apply at FI.co/apply/houston.
The Founder Institute provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the critical support network and structured process needed to build an enduring company, from launch to team and funding. Since 2009, the program has helped over 7,500 Graduates raise over $1.85BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more.
To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Houston, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
Houston Events:
- FI Houston Graduation: Meet the New Portfolio Companies (In-Person): 7:00pm, May 27, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/370660
Global or Regional Events:
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 7:00pm, Apr 28, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/366141
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 7:00pm, May 05, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/369970
- What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 7:00pm, May 07, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/366307
- Corporate Innovation in Action: How to Overcome Roadblocks: 12:00pm, May 08, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/371072
- Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with Nathan Beckord: 12:00pm, May 12, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/366408
- Future-proofing CPG Brands: Key Strategies for Sustainable Growth: 9:00am, May 15, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/370979
- Lessons Learned Raising from Top Silicon Valley VCs: AMA with Rajeev Behera: 11:00am, May 29, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/371224
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 12:00pm, Jun 02, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/370573
- How to Build Your MVP Using Artificial Intelligence : 12:00pm, Jun 04, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/371349
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 7:00pm, Jun 09, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/370752
- FI Alumni Panel: Meet Portfolio Companies and Ask Questions: 12:00pm, Jun 23, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/371769
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 12:00pm, Jun 30, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/371610
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 12:00pm, Jul 07, 2025 (America/Chicago): https://FI.co/e/370340
The individuals that have been critical in bringing the Founder Institute to Houston include local startup leaders James Phelan (Investment & Growth, The Cannon), Martín Martinez (Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas), Mery Ramirez (Founding Partner, DataNexum Consulting), Natasha Gorodetsky (Founder & CEO; Head of Product, Product Pursuit).
We are very excited to help entrepreneurs build enduring companies in Houston," says Adeo Ressi, CEO of the Founder Institute. "Texas is home to some of America's top companies and universities, and we think the pieces are in place to build a sustainable startup ecosystem that drives Houston's future economy.
In addition, many of the region's top founders, CEOs, and investors have signed on to mentor new entrepreneurs in the Houston Spring 2025 Founder Institute program, including:
- Aaron Chavez: Managing Partner, (un)conventional ventures
- Aaron Hines: Co-founder, Darbe
- Aaron Swinton: Co-Founder & Managing Director , ShockVentures
- Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
- Abe Chu: Co-founder & CMO, NextSeed
- Adrianne Stone: Principal Product Manager, Big Cartel
- Akeel Bernard: Community Development Manager , Impact Hub Houston
- Ali Syed: CEO / Founder, Emerald Labs
- Alice Gong: Managing Partner , US UNICORN FOUNDATION
- Allie Danziger: Founder, Integrate
- Amina Buric: CEO, Aeolus Group
- Amy Tran: B2B AI-Blockchain-Cyber Venture Builder, IMPAVIDUS
- Ana Rojas Bastidas: Founder & CEO, Orolait
- Andrea Sager: CEO, Legalpreneur
- Andrea Course: Founder and Managing Director, Course Investments
- Anh Mai: Founder, Company of Nomads
- Anurag Bihani: Data Scientist, SLB
- Armando Mualumene: Founder and Project Developer & Team Leader, The iDEASLab
- Ashley Connell: CEO & Founder, Prowess Project
- Ashley DeWalt: Managing Director, DivInc
- Atul Patel: CEO and Founder, Orbee
- Austin Langley, ASL Consulting
- Bade Aluko: Managing Partner, White Hibiscus Capital
- Bargavi Kanneganti: Product Manager, Houston Product Community
- Ben Stacey: CEO, Pitchverk
- Ben Ghazi: Co-founder and CTO, Codiac
- Bram Cohen: Founder/Chief Scientist, BitTorrent
- Brandy Guidry: Executive Director, The Cannon
- Brianna Flemings, Jem
- Carolyn Rodz: Founder and CEO, Hello Alice
- Cassandra Iku: Community and Operations Coordinator, SheSpace
- Chantell Preston: Co-founder/CEO, Facilities Management Group
- Charles Jessup: Product Manager & Gen AI Enthusiast | MBA | PMP, Self-employed
- Christa Clarke: Co-founder & CEO, Speakhaus
- Christine Galib: Founder, road less traveled enterprises
- Christy Cardenas: Managing Partner, Grit Ventures
- Creig Graham: VP Partnerships, Budapop Bottling Co.
- Curt Olivares: 2x Founder | Startup Advisor | Tech Career Coach, Product Saint
- Dana Marruffo: Principal, Buzz Public Relations, LLC
- Dana Abramovitz: Founding Team, SXSW
- Didar Bekbauov: Founder and CEO, Xive Inc
- Duke Vashist: Founder, NXLP
- Eduardo Buelna: Director Structured Products, BP Energy
- Elizabeth Gore: President, Hello Alice
- Eric Fishhaut: President, MKB Services
- Erin McClarty: Principal, Erin McClarty, PLLC
- Erin Fitzpatrick: President, MendIt, Inc.
- Fareed Zein: Founder and CEO, Unytag
- Farell Duclair: CEO, Starborn Solutions LLC
- Fernando Moguel: Creator, The Syneverse
- Franklin Kamnang Ngansop: Cofounder , Vitamin C&S Coaching
- Gabe Zichermann: CEO, Failosophy
- Gary Katz: Patent Attorney & Managing Attorney, Katz Law Group
- Gina Bianchini: Cofounder, Ning
- Gina Morales: Founder & CEO, a Mana Project
- Giselle Bisson: Managing Director, Chain Reaction PR
- Grace Rodriguez: CEO, Impact Hub Houston
- Graciela Perez: Founder & Lean Start Up Coach, Lean Sigma Tech, LLC
- Guillermo Barrera: Founder and President , CliniCore International
- Gustavo Sanchez: Founder, Pandata Tech
- Guy Parker: Chief Strategy & Creative Officer, Ambient Way
- Harini Bhamidipati: Founder & CEO, Bearable
- Haris Ali: Chief Executive Officer, Vertechx Technologies Private Limited
- Harvin Moore, Frontera Technology Ventures
- Heath Butler: Founder/Managing Partner, Gestalt Growth Advisors
- Heather Harde: Former CEO, TechCrunch
- Heather Mezher: Sr. People Business Partner, Code42
- Hillary McAdams: Director, US Unicorn Foundation
- Huan Le: General Counsel, DiCentral
- Indrajit Datta: Co-founder & President, Equipt Innovation, Inc.
- Ivelin Ivanov: Venture Advisor, Founder Institute
- Jag Singh: Managing Director, A.R.M. Consulting
- James Kaskade: CEO, Conversica
- James Phelan: Investment & Growth, The Cannon
- James Adams: Director of Operations, Gallant
- Jasmine Victoria: Founder & CEO, The Cathexis Project
- Jason Assir: Principal Consultant, Opex Digital Consulting
- Jason Trahan
- Javier Fadul: Chief Innovation Officer, HTX Labs
- Jay Jamison: Founder & President
- Jay Patel: Co-Founder & CEO, Enlight
- Jc Garrett: Chief Executive Officer, Dashfire
- Jeff Scott: CoFounder/ CEO, Workflow Logic AI
- Jeff Murphy: Founder and Managing Member, Murphy Advisory Solutions ·
- Jessica Reitmeier: Co-Founder, Pandata Tech
- Jo Clark: Founder and CEO, Circle.ooo
- Joe Betts Lacroix: CTO, Vium
- Joe Alapat: CEO & Founder, Liongard
- Joey Jones: Co-Founder/Chief Revenue & Compliance Officer, CurveBlock Ltd
- John Young: principal, Alkimie Pte. Ltd.
- John Ngo: DBA, John&Partners Global
- Jon Lambert: CEO, The Cannon
- Jonathan Abrams: Founder and CEO, Nuzzel
- Joshua Wang: Software Engineering Career Coach, Over the Shoulder Coding
- Joy Hutton: Founder and CEO, Joy of Consulting
- Juan Felipe Campos: Partner, Manos Accelerator via Google Launchpad
- Juliana Garaizar: Lead Investor, Portfolia
- Julie Hartman: Founder/President, J. Hartman
- Justin Moore: CEO, Axcient, Inc.
- Kate McGinley: Scaling Health Tech Startups with Buyer-Aligned Growth | Fractional CGO/CRO, 210 Healthcare
- Katerina Zhukova, JohnDuttonLaw PLLC
- Kelsey Ruger: Chief Product & Technology Officer, Hello Alice
- Ken Cohen: Managing Principal, Grow Associates, LLC
- Kenley Clark: Founder and CEO, TC Energy
- Kennie Matthews: Chairman & CEO, M Infrastructure, Inc.
- Kerry Rupp: General Partner , True Wealth Ventures
- Kian Gohar: Founder & CEO, Geolab
- Krishna Vattipalli: Founder and CEO, Imaginnovate Techsolutions
- LaGina R Harris: CEO / Visionary / Founder, The Us Space
- Landi Spearman: Founder, iSHIFTx
- Levi Baer: Co-Founder, Second Shift
- Levi Velez Reed: Venture Partner, Loyal VC
- Lina Mateus: Founder and CEO, Digi-Clicks
- Lindsay Eulenfeld: Senior Director of Operations, MassChallenge
- Lori Freese: Principal, FreeseMediaGroup
- Lydia Davies: CEO, Osprey
- Marco Antonio Morales: Co-Founder, SOPLIX
- Marcos Polanco: CEO, Deedit
- Maria Fernanda Burgos: Founder & CEO, Startup Advisor
- Mariana Muntean: Founder & CEO, Cinevva
- Mark Friedman: Mentor, retired
- Martín Martinez: Founding & Executive Director, Founder Institute Texas
- Mat Yelvington: Founder, Endurance Ventures
- Matt Mandell: Principal, PayNerd.com
- Meghan Hendley Lopez: Co-Founder; Director of Corporate Engagement , SUNN and TekRevol
- Mery Ramirez: Founding Partner, DataNexum Consulting
- Miao Yan: Global Product Manager-Alternate Energy, Xylem
- Michael Umansky: Co-Founder & CEO, Edgy Labs
- Michael Girdley: Investor and Entrepreneur, Geekdom Fund
- Mike Breck: Principal, Acuity Thinking
- Mike Francis: CEO, Nanotech
- Mona Defrawi: CEO & Founder, Radivision
- Munjal Shah: CEO, Like.com
- Muriel Foster: Chief Operations Strategist, Intentionally BLCK
- Naeem Vehvaria: Director of Information Technology, Meticul Solutions
- Natasha Gorodetsky: Founder&Head of Product, Product Pursuits
- Neal Murthy: Chairman, Haven Holdings
- Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
- Noah Fons: Coordinator, Greater Houston Partnership
- Olayinka James: President/CEO, CYBEROPS INC.
- Oleg Lysiak: Partner Success Manager, Honeycomb Software
- Parag Jain: Dr, Children’s Medical Center, Dallas
- Paul O'Brien: CEO, MediaTech Ventures
- Paul Kwiatkowski: Co-Founder and CTO, GroupRaise
- Payal Patel: Principal, Softeq Ventures
- Phil Libin: Founder & CEO, All Turtles
- Philip Kaplan: Founder and CEO, ADHD Labs
- Rafael Kartaszynski: CEO, TechEdge Dynamics
- Rahul Agarwal: Principal Technical Product Manager, Hasura
- Rahul Brahmbhatt: Investor / Mentor, Day One
- Raja Mawad: Founder, Thrv.health
- Rajesh Setty: Rajesh Setty - Serial Entrepreneur and Author, WittyParrot
- Rajneesh Dwivedi: Co-Founder and CEO, Second Medic
- Ram Prasad: Fractional CPO/CTO, Delence
- Richard Jones: Partner, Healthseers
- Richard Munassi: Co-founder, Blackfin Technology Partners
- Richard Seline: Cofounder, Resilience Innovation Hub
- Riley Knox: CEO & Co-Founder, Accelerate3D
- Robert Tucci: Managing Director, HALO
- Robert Pieroni: Director of Economic Development, Central Houston Inc.
- Roberto Moctezuma: Founder and CEO, Fractal River
- Ron Palmeri: Founder/CEO , Layer, Inc/MkII Ventures
- Russ Fradin: Chairman & CEO, Dynamic Signal
- Ryan Micheletti: Fouder, Illuminate Nootropics
- Salvatore Grignano: Marketing Officer, Italian Trade Agency (ITA) - Houston
- Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
- Santiago Sanchez: Founder & CEO, Etailers Ecommerce
- Sarah Hein: CEO, March Biosciences
- Sarah Vega: Former Product Owner, Innowatts
- Sarika Tyagi: Product Leader, ScarletFreshShoe | Amazon
- Saryu Shah: Senior Product Manager - Sales Enablement Leader, HP
- Sebastien Long: Founder & CEO, Lodgeur
- Shlomi Podgaetz: Director/CEO, Rizasmart Consulting
- Sloan Foster: Principal , Envisage Associates
- Sneha Lundia Agrawal: Founder & CEO, Step2Growth
- Sophia Clark: Founder & Creative Director, Galiatea
- Stephen Meade: Founder & CEO, MonetaPro
- Steve Jennis: Founder and CEO, Jennis Consulting Group
- Stewart Pisecco: Director of Innovation (Ret.), Pearson
- Tabbie Saenz: Founder, Business and Trade Alliance
- Talha Bin Shuja: Startup and Business Consultant, High Hope International
- Taneallea Feddis: Co-Director Jamaica, Founder Institute
- TC Lien: Mentor, Founders Institute
- Telha Ghanchi: Managing Director, Valhalla Investment Group
- Tiana Laurence: GP, Laurence Innovation
- Tim De Silva: Founder & CEO, Culture Pilot
- Tovit Neizer: Chief Storyteller, Yellow Bricks
- Travis Baldwin: Managing Partner, J. Galt Finance Suite
- Ty Audronis: Founder/ ceo, Tempest Droneworx
- Vern Chan: Certified Startup Coach, Your Pivot
- Vijay Sekhara: Director Of Strategic Partnerships, MassChallenge
- Vladimir Pletyukhin: Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
- Wade Pinder: Founder, Product Houston
- WAEL DOUKMAK: CEO, AHLAN, Inc.
- Wenceslao Casares: CEO, Bling Nation
- Will Bunker: Entrepreneur, Co-Founder of One-and-Only (became Match.com)
- Will Moore: Principal, MoreThan Capital Advisors
- Willy Verbrugghe, SCORE & Vehoco
- Winston Choe: Founder/CEO, Innoscape
- Yared Akalou: CEO/Founder, Alcove Group
- Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive
- Yj Lin: Senior Program Manager, Dell
- Ziv Gillat: Co-Founder, Recogni Inc.`
- And many more to be announced.
The Founder Institute is designed for founders and teams all throughout the pre-seed stage, including aspiring founders with a full-time job, solo founders, teams, and founders of established companies that are pre-funding. Our mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
Join us in Houston to build a great company in 2019.
Apply to the Houston Spring 2025 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
