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The Founder Institute is the world's premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program. For aspiring and idea-stage entrepreneurs up to the challenge, our comprehensive step-by-step program provides the structure, mentor support, and global network of entrepreneurs needed 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.

Leaders of the world’s fastest-growing startups have used our program to transition from employee to entrepreneur, test their startup ideas, build a team, get their first customers, raise funding, and more. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 170 cities and 60 countries, the Founder Institute’s mission is to “Globalize Silicon Valley” and empower talented and motivated entrepreneurs to build companies that will create one million new jobs. 

The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan. It is operated out of Palo Alto, California.

Press Contact: Jonathan Greechan, Co-Founder at the Founder Institute. Email us.

Media Resources

• Media Kit (Logos, Photos, Headshots, Infographics)
• Featured Graduate Companies  
• Graduate Impact Reports

Founder Institute Statistics*

 *These statistics are updated frequently, but not in real-time. 

• Operations in 170 cities, 60 countries, and 6 continents
• 2,300 Graduate Companies
• An estimated portfolio value in excess of $15B billion
• $550M+ in funding for Graduate Companies, conservatively (and we are just as proud of the many Graduates that have bootstrapped their way to profitability!)
• 30+ exits or liquidity events
• An estimated 20,000+ new jobs created
• 72% Graduate companies still operating after 2 years
• 9,000+ Mentors worldwide
• > 90% are CEOs or founders

Notable Press Coverage:

• The Founder Institute's Requirement? Create a Company (New York Times - Cover of Sunday Business Section, 07/29/12)
• Entrepreneur Magazine Cover Story, February 2017 (Entrepreneur Magazine, 02/01/15 - full article)
• An Entrepreneur Who Manufactures Entrepreneurs (New York Times, 11/13/13)
• Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA? A Test To Help You Decide (Forbes, 3/1/13)
• Predicting Entrepreneurial Success – Got What it Takes? (CNN Money, 07/28/10)
• Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get?  (TechCrunch, 09/26/11)
• Incubator Focuses on Founders First, Then Companies (Inc., 06/27/12)
• New Tack in Early-Stage Tech Investing (Wall Street Journal, 10/03/12)
• Can an Hour-Long Aptitude Test Predict Startup Home Runs? Adeo Ressi Thinks so (Forbes, 11/21/12)

Chronological Newsfeed: 

• Jakarta Founder Institute graduates 9 startup founders for its sixth batch (e27, 02/15/17)
• Founder Institute Says It's Canadian Companies Have Collectively Raised over $7M (Betakit, 12/12/16)
• New research busts the myth of the 20-something start-up founder (CNBC, 12/08/16)
• Use This to Avoid the Headache of a Legal Contract With an Advisory Board (Entrepreneur, 09/22/16)
• Training Myanmar's Next Tech Entrepreneurs The Silicon Valley Way (Forbes, 09/15/16)
• The impact of the Founder Institute in Latin America (Pulsosocial, 08/25/16)
• This Fellowship Is For Military Veterans Launching Tech Startups (Forbes, 07/30/16)
• Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurship programme Founder Institute relaunches in Thailand (e27, 06/20/16)
• A 'Pre-Accelerator' Program Returns to Boston After a 5-Year Hiatus (BostInno, 06/06/16)
• Hustler, Prodigy or Visionary? What Kind of Entrepreneur Are You? (Entrepreneur, 05/14/16)
• Indian entrepreneurs are more focused: Founder Institute (The Hindu, 05/03/16)
• How Topica Founder Institute is helping shape Vietnam's startup scene (e27, 12/08/15)
• MaGIC & Founder Institute partner to bring international experts to Malaysian startups (Dealstreet Asia, 04/12/15)
• "Startup não é lugar de fantasia", diz mentor do Vale do Silício (Veja, 03/22/15)
• Las grandes startups se pueden construir en cualquier lugar (PulsoSocial, 03/18/15)
• A global map: The personality strengths of startups around the world (Venturebeat, 03/17/15)
• Founder Institute Launches in London (Tech City News, 02/16/15)
• Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA? (Entrepreneur, 02/20/15)
• Cover of Entrepreneur Magazine, February 2017 (Entrepreneur, 02/01/15)
• What Danny Adams Got from his Self-Imposed Trial by Fire (BRW Financial Review, 01/02/15)
• White House Fact Sheet: Global Entrepreneurship Summit (The White House, 11/20/14)
• The Startup Checklist: How to Know if You're Ready (Inc Magazine, 11/17/14)
• The Startup Gauntlet (Deccan Chronicle, 09/16/14)
• Founder Institute's Initiative: Bringing Silicon Valley to Karachi (The Express Tribune, 09/14/14)
• Founder Institute Opens Palo Alto HQ, Hosts Unicorn Theme Party (RE/CODE, 09/19/14)
• Founder Institute, the Accelerator Behind Appota's Rise (Tech in Asia, 04/15/14)
• Founder fired up for tech success (Business News Australia, 03/05/14)
• Founder Institute Helps Professionals Launch Startups (India Times, 12/24/13)
• An Entrepreneur Who Manufactures Entrepreneurs (New York Times, 11/13/13)
• How to Wire the Silicon Valley Mindset into Your Community (VentureBeat, 11/8/13)
• Comparing Entrepreneurs in Asia versus the U.S. (CNBC Asia, 10/13/13)
• Founder Institute Says It Has Graduated More Than 1,000 Companies (TechCrunch, 10/5/13)
• Adeo Ressi: why Aussie start-ups shouldn't move to Silicon Valley (BRW, 9/30/13)
• This Entrepreneur Publicly Spanked America's Most Arrogant VCs... And Lived To Tell The Tale (Forbes, 9/16/13)
• Your Playbook to Starting Up On the Cheap: 10 Steps to Launch for Less Than $1,500 (Entrepreneur, 9/10/13)
• Funding: What's Changed and What Needs To (Women2.0, 5/3/13)
• 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Investors  (Entrepreneur, 3/19/13)
• Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA? A Test To Help You Decide (Forbes, 3/1/13)
• The Best Entrepreneurs Are Older, Have Less Ego (Mashable, 2/11/13)
• Adeo Ressi: 'De volgende Facebook komt uit Europa' (datanews, 12/13/12)
• Un método para emprendedores real 'como la vida misma' (TicBeat, 12/6/12)
• Founder Institute: tutelando startups antes de que la idea salga del horno (Yorokobu, 11/23/12)
• Can an Hour-Long Aptitude Test Predict Startup Home Runs? Adeo Ressi Thinks so (Forbes, 11/21/12)
• Founder Institute Quietly Expands into the Middle East with a Focus on Supporting Female Entrepreneurs (TechCrunch, 11/8/12)
• Adeo Ressi's Founder Institute Sprouts Startups Around the Globe (Forbes, 11/5/12)
• What is the Right Threshold of Crazy? (NBC News - Bay Area, 11/2/12)
• "The very idea of VC money is at odds with the (success of the founder." Interview with Founder Institute founder Adeo Ressi (Whiteboard Mag, 10/29/12)
• Adeo Ressi, The Founder Institute za Netokraciju: Ukoliko niste ambiciozni, što će vam startup? (Netokracija, 10/26/12)
• A Silicon Valley Insider Actually Has A Plan To Get More Women In Tech (Business Insider, 10/25/12)
• Il Founder Institute sbarca a Roma (Wired Italy, 10/14/12)
• 'Startups' boricuas inician una nueva era empresarial (El Nuevo Dia, 10/07/12)
• Turning a Small Business into a Big Success (ABC News, 9/21/12)
• New Tack in Early-Stage Tech Investing (Wall Street Journal, 10/03/12)
• Adeo Ressi Introduces 'Convertible Equity', Covertible Debt Without Debt (Forbes, 08/31/12)
• Start-up Savior? Killing Convertible Debt (Fortune, 08/31/12)
• 'Convertible Equity': A Plan to Keep Early-Stage Startups out of Debt (VentureBeat, 08/31/12)
• Convertible Equity: A Better Alternative to Convertible Debt?(TechCrunch, 08/31/12)
• Startup Fever Grips Chicago Companies, From Blues to Law Firms (Chicago Business, 10/01/12)
• Founder Institute Graduates 650th Startup; Wants to Globalize Silicon Valley (VentureBeat, 09/28/12)
• Startup firma - sinonim za uspješan poduhvat (Aljazeera, 09/15/12)
• Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs: Don't Give Up (Mashable, 08/15/12)
• Institute Gives Tech Startups a Leg Up (Financial Review, 08/13/12)
• Adeo Ressi on Entrepreneurs and Startup Culture (BusinessWeek, 08/09/12)
• The Founder Institute's Requirement? Create a Company (New York Times - Cover of Sunday Business Section, 07/29/12)
• With 538 Startups Launched, Founder Institute Plans to Double its Presence to 10 Cities (The Next Web, 07/26/12)
• CEO Coach: Adeo Ressi (PandoDaily, 07/13/12)
• Incubator Focuses on Founders First, Then Companies (Inc., 06/27/12)
• El Founder Institute presenta una nueva generación de emprendedores (TicBeat 06/09/12)
• Tell us why your Town Should be the Next Silicon Valley (VentureBeat, 06/05/11)
• Entrepreneurs See the World Differently (FounderLY, 05/31/12)
• Here are the Winners of the One-Sentence Pitch Competition (TechCrunch, 04/24/12)
• Startups: Time for Another One-Sentence Pitch Competition with the Founder Institute (TechCrunch, 04/21/12)
• Jakarta Founder Institute Graduates Its Fall Batch of Startups (Tech in Asia, 02/10/12)
• Prepared by the Founder Institute - (Dutch - TechBusiness.nl, 01/31/12)
• GrantSnap gets the Highest-Rated Pitch at Founder Institute Graduation (Dutch) -  (Dutch - Knack.be, 02/09/12)
• With 415 Graduates, Founder Institute Claims to be the Largest Incubator (TechCrunch, 12/04/11)
• Entrepeneurship is Not Confined to the Young (Spanish - Dinero.com, 09/29/11)
• Free Startup Docs: How Much Equity Should Advisors Get?  (TechCrunch, 09/26/11)
• Cautious Optimism: Startups will Come Out Ahead (VentureBeat, 08/23/11)
• Is There a Peak Age for Entrepreneurship? (TechCrunch, 05/28/11)
• Startups Now Take the Money and Maintain Control (New York Times, 04/07/11)
• The Adeo Ressi Impact in Columbia (Tropical Gringo, 03/05/11)
• Take an Online Crash Course in Entrepreneurship from the Founder Institute (ReadWriteWeb, 02/18/11)
• Founder Institute Aims to Launch 175 Female Led Businesses in 2017 (TheNextWomen, 02/16/11)
• New Female Founder Fellowship at the Founder Institute (Women 2.0, 02/11/11)
• Founder Institute Kicks Off Global Female Founder Fellowship Program (TechCrunch, 02/11/11)
• Founder Institute on a Roll – Amsterdam Now Open Too (TechCrunch, 01/24/11)
• How Latin American Startups are Tapping Silicon Valley (VentureBeat, 01/21/11)
• Founder Institute Expands to South America, Should Your Country be Next? (TechCrunch, 01/19/11)
• Founder Institute's Adeo Ressi Says You Can't Teach Entrepreneurship (VentureBeat, 12/30/10)
• Madlibs for Pitching - How to Perfect the One Sentence Pitch (TechCrunch, 11/03/10)
• Founder Institute looks to incubate 50 Seattle startups (TechFlash, 10/08/10)
• Founder Institute – How to Launch in 10 Steps With Less Than $2000 (TechCrunch, 08/29/10)
• Exporting Silicon Valley (The Fifth Conference, 08/20/10)
• Predicting Entrepreneurial Success – Got What it Takes? (CNN Money, 07/28/10)
• Want to Know How You Rank As an Entrepreneur? Take the Founder Institute Test (TechCrunch, 07/21/10)
• Founder Institute is Training Minds for a Great Idea (Denver Post, 05/14/10)
• Adeo Ressi's Founder Institute coming to town in July (Boston.com, 05/07/10)
• Adeo Ressi's Advice to Entrepreneurs at Founder Institute Lunch (The Huffington Post, 04/23/10)
• The Founder Institute Goes Global (VentureBeat, 01/20/10)
• Founder Institute on Track to Graduate 300 Startups Per Year, Expands to New York (TechCrunch, 11/05/09)
• The Founder Institute's Adeo Ressi on his Plans to Leave No Entrepreneur Behind (VentureBeat, 10/12/09)
• TheFunded Founder Creates a Startup Camp for Young CEOs (TechCrunch, 03/03/09)