Program Schedule

Kickoff & Ideation is the live opening session of GoBeyond Lab 2026. The Lead Coach introduces the FI methodology, the FounderGen platform, and the 8-week journey ahead. Founders apply ideation frameworks (Rule of One, Unbundling/Bundling, Reactive Intersections, X for Y, Opposite/Extreme) in a guided breakout, then each team delivers a 5-minute pitch on Why this problem? Why you? Why now? Following the session, founders complete the Kickoff & Ideation Sprint: shortlisting 3 ideas, selecting one Problem Space, and identifying 30+ Early Adopter candidates.

Stress-test the Problem Statement using "5 Whys" and "Who hurts most?" Assess: (1) is the audience specific enough to interview this week? (2) is the problem expressed as pain, not as missing solution? (3) is the customer archetype concrete (role, context, frequency of pain) or demographic-only? Reject vague language ("people who struggle with…", "businesses that need…"). Push for the narrowest defensible audience. Confirm the team can name 5 real people matching the archetype.

Founders move from problem to market: applying the TAM/SAM/SOM framework, conducting competitor research (3–5 alternatives, gaps, differentiation), and defining One Product aligned with the validated problem. The plenary covers TAM/SAM/SOM methodology, peer review of market sizing in breakouts, and team presentations on competitive positioning. Resources include FounderGPT TAM/SAM/SOM Calculator and Startup Competitor Analysis tools. This week first Office Hours with Flutter SEA GoBeyond mentors (3 × 45-min slots per market) is the first inflection-point checkpoint focused on problem validation and market framing.

Founders prepare for direct customer discovery: drafting the One-Sentence Pitch (FI format), designing interview questions, building outreach messages, and setting up AI note-taking tools (MeetGeek, Otter.ai). The plenary covers interview best practices, breakout question practice, and full strategy presentations (Early Adopter list + outreach plan + One-Sentence Pitch). The First Cycle of 5 framework structures the validation rhythm. Local Coaches run 45-min Group Coaching slots this week, including role-play practice. Sprint deliverables: Interview Guide, 2–3 outreach message versions, One-Sentence Pitch video.

With at least 5 interviews completed by Wednesday and 10+ targeted by week's end, founders synthesise findings, identify patterns, and decide whether to refine or pivot on problem/customer/product. The Business Model Canvas is introduced as the integrating framework. The plenary opens with an interview findings check-in, runs an insight clustering exercise in breakouts, and team presentations cover what we learned, pivot decisions, and BMC draft. Sprint deliverables: minimum 5 interviews logged in the FI Interview Tracking & Analysis Worksheet + BMC v1 drafted.

Founders deep-dive the nine BMC building blocks, map revenue streams and unit economics, and define an MVP grounded in the principle of the smallest thing that tests the riskiest assumption. MoSCoW prioritisation drives feature cuts. The plenary covers MVP methodology, peer BMC review with MoSCoW feature cuts in breakouts, and presentations on fragile BMC blocks and MVP scope. This week hosts the second Office Hours with Flutter SEA GoBeyond mentors (3 × 45-min slots per market), mid-prototype checkpoint focused on business model validation and MVP scope review.

The Validation Pitch is the structured 3-minute pitch (no slides) that crystallises the cohort's work to date: Problem Statement, Current State of Validation, One-Sentence Pitch, and Clear Ask supplemented by GTM strategy (channel, message, first 100 customers) and IP/legal basics. The Wednesday plenary runs elevator pitch swaps, full 3-min Validation Pitches with Q&A, and FI rubric scoring. Sprint deliverables: Validation Pitch script + 3-min video, GTM Plan v1. This week Local Coach Group Coaching (45 min/team with live iteration) is followed by the third Office Hours with Flutter SEA mentors (pre-Demo Day inflection point).

The closing week consolidates FI Sessions 6 & 7 (Startup Idea Feedback) into Demo Day readiness: the 5-minute slide-supported pitch format, storytelling and narrative arc, 10–12 slide deck structure, Q&A preparation, and MVP demo best practices. The plenary is a full dry-run, each team delivers the 5-min Demo Day pitch + 2-min Q&A, followed by structured feedback and peer scoring against the Demo Day rubric. The session closes with go/no-go signals for the September Demo Day and a briefing on the autonomous prep window (self-directed iteration with optional async Slack check-ins). Sprint deliverables: Demo Day Pitch Deck v1 + MVP demo video.

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.