Apply to our next Accelerator Lab Program

Accelerator Lab provides aspiring FI Local Leaders with the training, best practices, and skillsets needed to run successful accelerators

Fully Virtual

Program Dates

Apr 03, 2025 May 15, 2025

Early Deadline

Mar 2, 2025

Early Entrance Fee

$ $0

The Core Experience

Running an accelerator requires a well-structured program & curriculum, access to great mentors, investors and partners. Founder Institute provides you with a platform to run a startup accelerator in your city with just 10 hours of work per week.

1. Apply and Get Invited to Become a Local Leader

(20 min) Tell us about your experience with startups in your ecosystem. Why do you want to run a startup accelerator?

(1 hour) Take our Entrepreneur DNA Assessment which all the Founders in the FI Network take.

2. Build a Team or Join an Existing FI Chapter

(2-4 weeks) Build a strong team, The ideal team has: an operator, an entrepreneur, an ecosystem leader and a marketeer.

(2 weeks) Split roles and responsibilities, identify missing skills. Reach out to your network to grow the team if need.

3. Complete the 7-Week Local Leader Onboarding Program

(7 weeks) Learn how to run an FI accelerator. You become a Local Leader if you successfully complete the onboarding.

(Life-time) Join the Founder Institute network of Founders, Leaders, Mentors and Investors from 100+ countries.

Learn more about FI core

Session Calendar

Below are the dates for the upcoming cohort of new FI Local Leaders to receive training on how to run an FI accelerator:

Welcome

Apr 03, 2025

08:00am PDT

Team Formation

Apr 10, 2025

08:00am PDT

Mentors & Partners

Apr 24, 2025

08:00am PDT

View Full curriculum

Featured Grad

From our Silicon Valley chapter, Udemy is the global leader in online learning, with nearly 200,000 courses. The company went public on the NASDAQ in October 2021, raising $421 million.

The real question is: can the Founder Institute be game-changing for your business? The answer is yes. Without FI, Udemy may have never raised any money.

Gagan Biyani

Udemy (IPO, 2021)

See more Grads

Join an Online Information Session

Sign up for an upcoming info session to learn more and chat with our team. There are several sessions per week across most time zones.

Leadership

Our leadership team are proven startup experts who know how to walk you through the challenges of running a startup accelerator.

Janet Todorova

Head of Expansion @ Founder Institute

Ryan Micheletti

Head of Global Operations @ Founder Institute

Simona Irmova

Program Associate @ Founder Institute

FI Accelerator Lab Mentors

Build a startup accelerator efficiently using FI's shared infrastructure, resourced & processes. Learn from FI Leaders & build your network.

Youssef Koun

Local Leader @ Founder Institute Morocco

KARAN ADHIKARI

Founder & VC Venture Partner @ Waply / Iterative

Stanish Gunasekaran

Investor @ 4P Capital

Zaharenia Atzitzikaki

Coaching, Learning & Development @ The 10x Manager Academy

Ferdinand Mühlhäuser

Digital Strategist @ convestec GmbH

Simona Irmova

Operations Manager @ Founder Institute

See all Accelerator Lab Mentors

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The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,500 entrepreneurs raise over $1.85BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.