Toronto Founder Institute Opens Applications for the Summer 2016 Semester. Wantrepreneurs Need Not Apply!

Since launcing in Toronto in 2014, the Founder Institute has helped launch several promising companies in the region, like Airvinci, Brili, CubbySpot, Gomma Fashion, and our efforts in Toronto have also been profiled by several high profile media channels, including Techvibes, BetaKit, and more.

Today, the Founder Institute, the world's premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Toronto Summer 2026 Semester!

If you are serious about launching a startup in Toronto and could use expert training and feedback, then apply to the Toronto Founder Institute today, or attend a free event.

Those who apply by the Early Admissions Deadline (Jun 16, 2026) will have their application fees waived (typically $50), and if you enroll by the Early Deadline you are also eligible for Founder Institute Fellowships.

The Founder Institute is the most challenging and effective step-by-step startup launch program for talented and motivated aspiring entrepreneurs. If you are serious about launching a startup, the Founder Institute can give you the structured process, constant feedback and evaluation from expert mentors, and global network of entrepreneurs you need to start an enduring company. In addition, the Founder Institute is the only program of its kind that focuses on people versus ideas, accepts founders with day jobs, and shares equity with all participants.

In order to celebrate the launch, the Toronto Founder Institute will several free startup events for the general public, where you can meet top entrepreneurs and learn more about the program:

Toronto Events:

AI Founder Meet & Greet: In-Person Startup Networking in Toronto: 6:00pm, Jul 08, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/400478

Global or Regional Events:

The AI-Native Founder Revolution: Build Your Company Faster Than Ever : 12:00pm, Jul 08, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/401665
Venture Trailblazers featuring Tim Draper: 11:00am, Jul 09, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/402083
Go From Idea to Working App with AI, Featuring Adeo Ressi: 1:00pm, Jul 09, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/402206
Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 12:00pm, Jul 20, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395099
[Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, Jul 28, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/401194
Learn from AI-Native Solo Alumni: How FI Grads Built Without a Co-Founder: 12:00pm, Aug 04, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395157
From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 8:30am, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395131
Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 8:30pm, Aug 10, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395075
Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 8:00pm, Aug 18, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395184
FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 8:00pm, Aug 25, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/399773
What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 12:00pm, Sep 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395209
How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 12:00pm, Sep 15, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/398314
Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 8:00pm, Sep 21, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395232
From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 8:30pm, Oct 05, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395258
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 12:00pm, Oct 13, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395283
From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 12:00pm, Nov 03, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395304
From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 8:00pm, Nov 17, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395327
From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 12:00pm, Dec 01, 2026 (America/New_York): https://FI.co/e/395355

See all upcoming events

Leaders of the world’s fastest-growing startups have used the Founder Institute to transition from employee to entrepreneur, test their startup ideas, build a team, get their first customers, raise funding, and more - like Udemy, Realty Mogul, iCarsClub, Itembase, goplaceit, and Appota. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200 cities and 100 countries, the Founder Institute's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.

Running the Founder Institute's efforts in Toronto include local startup leaders Kamal Hassan (Founder and CEO, IncMind) and Sunil Sharma (Managing Partner - Extreme Ventures). Kamal and Sunil also recently won the title of "Best FI Directors in North America" at the 2016 Founder Showcase.

In addition, some of Toronto's top entrepreneurs will mentor founders in the program, providing them with expert training, feedback, and evaluation. The list of mentors for the Toronto Summer 2026 includes:

Aaron Baer: Partner, Renno & Co
Aaron Albert: CEO and Co-Founder, Mine'd
Abdel Ali: Investment Analyst, Relay Ventures and Alate Partners
Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
Alan Trieu: Senior Director, Sales , Cinchy
Alexander Mc Isaac: Principal, Strategic Investments and Women in Tech, BDC Venture Capital
Alexander Jager: Founding Partner, Amplifier Advisors
Ambles Kwok: Head of Engineering (Toronto) / Co-Founder, Thumbtack / Therapia
Amir Alikhanzadeh: CEO and Co-Founder, Madlipz
Andrei Poliakov: CEO, APX Lending
Andrew D'Souza: Founder and CEO, Sfoundation
Anna Hu: CEO and Co-Founder, Brizi
Aran Hamilton: President & Co-Founder, Vantage
Ashley Martis: Co-Founder & CEO, StartupFuel
Ashley Hahn: Head of Startup Developer Ecosystem, Canada, Google
Aurélio Araújo: CEO, Leadfy
Ayhan K. Isaacs: Head of Global Growth, Founder Institute
Balaji Gopalan: Independent Product Management Educator, Mentor, Consultant and Advisor, self
Ben Sanders: CEO and Co-Founder, Davispier.ca
Ben Baldwin: Founder, Upteaming.com
Bilal Tariq: Technical Talent Connoisseur , GuruLink
Bob Kyryliuk (CEO-P2P): CEO & Founder, CEO-P2P.com
Brice Scheschuk: CEO, Globalive Capital
Bryan Gold: Co-Founder and CEO, #paid
Bryan Smith: Co-Founder & CEO, ThinkData Works Inc.
Callum Travaglini: Strategy & Program Manager, Office of the CEO, Wealthsimple
Chevonae Walcott: Associate, Relay Ventures
Chris Ye: Co-Founder, Uken Games
Chris Hobbs: President, TTT Studios
Chris Adams: Founder and Managing Partner, Adams Hamilton
Christopher Leacock: Founder , Jillionaire LLC
Corey Gross: CEO, Sensibill
Cory York: CEO and co-Founder, PowerStores
Craig Asano: CEO, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
Dan De Mers: CEO and Co-Founder, Cinchy
Daniel Bishun: Economic Development Officer , City of Brampton
David Winterstein: CEO, Velocia
David Jorjani: Founder, Qatalyst Labs
Derrick Fung: CEO, Drop
Dinah Davis: Founder, Code Like A Girl
Don Samoil: Managing Partner, Trusted Scale
Drew Lindsay: Co-Founder, GuruLink
Duncan Brown: Partner, Penrose Partners
Dustin Betz: Director of Operations, White Rose Ventures
Edmundas Balčikonis: CEO and Co-Founder, Eddy Travels Inc.
Erich Ko: CEO, Hop In Technologies
Eropa Stein: CEO, Hyre
Favour Ori: Founder, CEO, Payday
Fion Lee-Madan: Technical Co-Founder, COO and Customer Success, Fairly AI Inc.
George Bordianu: Co-founder & CEO, Balance
Gilberto Gandra: Founder, Gandra & Co
Graeme Millen: Director, Technology Banking, Silicon Valley Bank
Hamid Akbari: CEO, BlancLink
Hamoun Karami: CEO and Co-Founder, Smartbin.io
Haoyang Liang: Director of Product Development, Orbiseed
Harsh Pujara: Co-Founder, Actuality
Hussam Ayyad: Chief Accelerator Officer , Highline Beta
Idowu Akinde: MD/CEO, Impact Hub Lagos
Ignacio Castro: Managing Partner, 128vc
Ilya Brotzky: Founder and CEO, VanHack
Jack Liu: CEO and Co-Founder, Orbiseed (Techstars 2020)
Jafar Owainati: Co-Founder, Loopio
James Meier: CTO, Synervoz Communications
Jason Atkins: General Partner, 360insights
Jeff Hohner: President, Tecumseh Capital Ltd.
Jelmer Stegink: Program Director, DMZ Innisfil
Jennifer Turliuk: CEO and Founder, MakerKids
Jeremy Potvin: Founder, World of Angus
Jeremy Glassenberg: Product Management, APIs, Developer Experiences, Marketplaces, API Strategist
Jeremy Kuo: CEO, Ever
Joe Parenteau: CEO and Co-Founder, Fable (Techstars 2020)
Jonah Midanik: COO & General Partner, Forum Ventures
Jonathan Ip: Founder, Iterative Law
Jordan Jocius: Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Founder Institute
Joseph Dales: Co-Founder & Director, RHA Partners
Juanita Lee Garcia: Executive Director, The Upside Foundation of Canada
Kayla Isabelle: Executive Director, Startup Canada
Kesem Frank: Founder, Mavennet and AION
Kevin Gervais: CTO @ Touchless, Co-Founder @ Auto Genius, Statflo, Touchless
Konata Lake: Partner
Kristine Beese
Kweku Essien
Kyle Collier: Co-founder and CEO, Phaze
Lance Cottrell: Founder, Feel the Boot
Lucas Porter-Bakker: Head of Product and Design, PDS
Luke DeCoste: Entrepreneur in Residence, Davispier.ca
Maarij Rehman: CEO, Envoi
Majdi Alnabih: CEO, ZipLunch Inc
Mara Rada: Chief Operations and Strategy, Loon (loonbio.com)
Marat Mukhamedyarov: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
Marcello Tommasi: Co-Founder & COO, Envoi
Mark Smith: Canada Startup Ecosystem Lead, Amazon AWS
Maryam Nabavi: Founder and CEO, Babbly (Techstars 2020)
Matt O'Leary: CEO and Co-Founder, Treasure Financial
Matt Lee: Investor, Dr. Matt Lee Family Office
Mercedes Bankston: Venture Partner, Loyal VC
Michael Young: CTO, Reuters News and Media
Michael Kosic: Founding Partner, Loyal VC
Michael Collins: Founder | CEO, Periculum
Michele Romanow: Co-Founder, Sfoundation
Mike Suprovici: Head of Acceleration, VC Lab
Mike Hollinger, Dentons LLP
Mike Apted: Principal Solutions Architect - Startups, AWS
Milad Zabihi: CEO & Cofounder, Peekage
Mohan Markandaier: Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
Nabil Fahel: Head of Partnerships and Community, Terminal, Inc.
Neha Khera: Venture Partner, 500 Startups
Nicole Verkindt: Founder and CEO, OMX
Noah Dolgoy: CEO, Tread
Noah Wallach: Founder, Hope OS
Onyeka Akumah: CEO, Treepz
Pamela Draper: CEO, Bitvo
Paul Parsons: Partner, Metaii
Peter Ma: Co-Founder, MixPose
Philippe LeBlanc: CEO, Flixel Photos Inc
Phillip Gales: CEO, inate.ai
Pooja Viswanathan: CEO, Braze Mobility
Preet Singh: Founder, Designx
Rain Takahashi: Founder and CEO, Jauntin
Ravin Shah: Co-CEO & Founder, QuickTapSurvey
Raymond Luk: CEO, Hockeystick
Reuven Cohen: Managing Director, Alystic Holdings
Richard Hyatt: Co-founder, BlueCat Networks
Robert Whiteside: Director, Founding Partner, Treemark Capital
Ron Gentile: Founder, Moodfit
Ron Benegbi: CEO, Uplinq Financial Technologies
Roy Pereira: CEO and Founder, Zoom.ai
Russell Brand: CEO & Founder, Responsible Solutions Limited
Ryan Micheletti: Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
Ryan Perera: CEO and Co-Founder
Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
Sameer Khan: Sameer Ahmed Khan, Social Champ, Inc
Sami Dalati: Cofounder, Brizi
Sanjay Nediyara: Founder and CEO
Sara Bentham: Director, Georgian College Entrepreneurship Centre
Saroop Bharwani: CEO and Co-Founder, Senso (Techstars 2018)
Sean Yo: Product Management Fellow, ISPMA
Sergey Kalnish: CEO, SmartHire
Seun Sanni: COO, PayFi
Sharoon Thomas: CEO and Founder, Fulfil.io
Shibin Muhammed: Portfolio Manager, Techstars Canada
Sina Roshan: Cofounder & CPO, Peekage (Techstars 2020)
Slawek Potasz: CEO, CarScanner
Sodruldeen Mustapha: Co-founder and CTO, Raenest
Steve Dixon: SMB Leader (Canada), Apple
Sunil Sharma: Managing Director, Founder Institute Toronto
Tarun Sachdeva: GM, Wattpad
Tauseef Riaz: Cofounder ConsidraCare, Stock Target Advisor and Mashkraft, ConsidraCare.com
Thomas Park: Partner, BDC Deep Tech Fund
Tom Lowden: Head of Labs, US East and Canada, WeWork Labs
Tony Sabeta: Partner / Patent Agent, Aird & McBurney LP
Tovit Neizer: Chief Storyteller, Yellow Bricks
Tracy Leparulo: Founder, Untraceable
Trevor Longino: Founder & CEO, CrowdTamers
Tyler Bryden
Uchi Uchibeke, Chimoney
Vatsal Shah: Co-founder, CTO , Speak Ai
Victor Wong: Managing Director, Operations, Flipp
Vikas Gupta: CEO, AVARA
Will Greenblatt: Co-Founder & Managing Director, OutLoud Speakers School
Yemi Oluseun: Growth & GTM For FinTechs, The Change Hive