Our flagship 'FI Core' program combines structured sprints with constant feedback to help you reach the milestones needed for investment and growth.
During the Accelerator Kickoff, you will meet the Local Leaders and your cohort of Founders, and establish how your startup will use the program to push your business forward.
Your cohort will be split up into the "Validate Track", "Launch Track" or "Growth Track", depending on each Founder's stage and existing progress.
The below deliverables are in addition to any custom "Epic Sprints" you may receive based on your specific challenges, and are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
In each weekly Feedback Session, Founders will pitch and outline their strategies/ progress to the Mentors for feedback, get tips and insights on the week's topic, and have multiple opportunities to ask questions. This week you'll get tips on how to develop a strong vision for your business.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
In this Feedback Session, Founders will present any customer development progress to the Mentors to examine if they are pursuing a scalable business with a clear and actionable customer problem. The Mentors will also provide tips on how to validate your key assumptions, interview potential customers effectively, and best interpret the feedback you receive.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Our partner, RoadPitch, and Founder Institute Washington DC is hosting a great startup event called "RoadPitch Demos + Mixer". At this event, RoadPitch and FI together shine a light on entrepreneurs of color - a multi-city pitch tour for black tech founders. Come mingle with fellow founders, ecosystem leaders, investors and mentors. Watch live pitches of 10 black tech startups. RoadPitch recruits and vets investable black founded tech startups to join us on the road. We put pre-seed startups in front of investors for a live pitch competition where founders can connect and showcase their entrepreneurial success with the goal of raising capital. Please register FREE | RSVP here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/493421997477.
In this Feedback Session, Founders will share their pitch and revenue model with Mentors for feedback and continued refinement. You will also get tips on how to sustain your startup before receiving financing or revenue, identifying the most lucrative revenue source for your business, testing different revenue sources with your target customers, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Washington DC has a fast growing, vibrant and an international ecosystem. We will discuss about immigrant entrepreneurs, diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Experiences in accessing capital and resources available to help them in their journey. At this in-person event, we will host an invaluable speaker: CQ Huynh, an immigrant founder from Vietnam, Author and Fellow of Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs, and Fellow-in-Residence with the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). Come join to this fireside chat to discuss about DE&I and provide tips on how to build a successful startup in Washington DC.
In this session, Mentors will analyze your existing branding and design, and also discuss how to develop an enduring brand and great user experiences.
Below are just a few of the 10-15 deliverables you’ll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
This is the first big checkpoint in the program to determine your progress. During the Mentor Idea Review, you will present a longer presentation to a panel of FI Mentors for extensive review. You will receive a rating, as well as feedback on the long-term viability of your offering, revenue model, growth strategy, and more.
After the Mentor Idea Review, Founders receive a larger number of custom "Epic Sprints" with deliverables based on their specific challenges. Below are high-level previews of standard deliverables.
In this Feedback Session, startup lawyers and CEOs will explain various legal agreements, startup legal components (such as equity), cap tables, how to protect intellectual property, the best practices for managing a law firm, and more. As usual, Mentors will also provide Founders with ratings and feedback on their startup pitch and progress.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
In this Feedback Session, Mentors will provide Founders with feedback on their current go-to-market plans and progress, and cover topics like marketing messaging, unit economics, customer acquisition, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
In this Feedback Session, Mentors will provide Founders with feedback on their current product, and/or product roadmap. Expert in product development will also discuss best practices in product management, roadmapping, managing product teams, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Do you have a startup that needs funding? Do you want to learn how startup funding works, what you need to do before trying to raise funding, and where you can go to get it? Then join us for this Washington DC panel discussion, which will provide practical experience. It will feature talks from entrepreneurs who have successfully raised money for their businesses, and investors actively funding businesses. Learn expert tips, big pitfalls to avoid, what investors are looking for, how equity works, and more.
Similar to the Mentor Idea Review, the Investor Progress Review is the second major test in the program. In this session, Founders will focus on give a long presentation their progress and traction to a panel of Investors and Advisors for a detailed review. Founders will be evaluated based on their progress in the program, the company's scalability, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
In this Feedback Session, Founders will receive feedback from Mentors on their team plans and product progress. In addition, Mentors will discuss how to identify the roles needed to build a world-class company, how to develop a strategy to recruit, onboard and retain the best people, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
In this session, Mentors will provide Founders with feedback on their current growth, branding, metrics, and strategy. Mentors will discuss various growth tactics, setting growth goals and milestones, communicating your startup's growth progress and setbacks with stakeholders and advisors, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Our partner, The Center for Advancing Innovation together with Founder Institute is hosting a great startup event called FUN EARTH DAY 🌎 PARTY-RSVP:https://bit.ly/caiearthday As Earth Day approaches, we cordially invite you to join us for a celebration of our planet and the superpowers we possess as entrepreneurs, influencers, movers and shakers as well as change-makers. Join us at our Earth Day party, where you'll have the opportunity to meet and connect with other movers and shakers in the startup and entrepreneurship community. Our event is a unique opportunity to celebrate our collective power to create positive change, as well as to explore ways we can harness our entrepreneurial spirit to build a more sustainable future for all.
In this session, Mentors will give you insider tip and tricks to raise funding for your startup in the current market, and in your locale. Mentors will also cover numerous topics related to fundraising, including different fundraising options, how to raise funding, and more.
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Washington DC has a fast growing startup ecosystem, and entrepreneurs here are lucky to have so many resources available to help them in their journey. Founder Institute Washington DC and Startup Grind DC, are hosting a great startup networking event and a Fireside Chat with Tien Wong. At this in-person event, we will gather representatives from different entrepreneurial organizations, including Startup Grind DC and ConnectPreneur Community to outline the local resources and provide tips on how to build a startup in Washington DC. Startup Grind DC Director Patrick Bryant will have a fireside chat with Tien Wong:Founder of CONNECTpreneur Forum, a community of over 5000 founders, CEOs, angels, VCs,CXOs and other business leaders in our region
Completing the Founder Institute is an honor. The program is challenging, and the expectations are demanding.In this final session, you will celebrate with your peers, friends and family, as well as select Mentors. Some Founders will also pitch to a live audience, and you will officially onboard to all of the post-program resources and assistance the Founder Institute provides.
The FI Core Program is just the beginning of a life long journey.
Founder Institute Alumni get access to a series of advanced accelerator programs, ongoing support from our Silicon Valley Team, valuable partner and service discounts, and more to continue building the business for years to come.
There are no hidden costs, additional contracts or surprise subscription fees: all our post-program support is free and exclusive to FI Alumni companies, for life.
Dedicated Alumni Support Team in Silicon Valley
Access to the world's largest network of mentors and investors (35,000+)
Private Alumni mailing lists
$2M+ in partner discounts
Invites to FI sessions & network events
Potential introductions to investors
A series of virtual advisory programs where you work with our Silicon Valley HQ team to reach next milestones
Funding Lab helps get your lead investor within 6 months
The FI Venture Network matches Alumni ready for funding with a massive pool of investors that specialize in writing 'first or second checks' of funding
100% Free for FI Alumni
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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.