Program Schedule
Our flagship 'FI Core' program combines structured sprints with constant feedback to help you reach the milestones needed for investment and growth.
Early Application Deadline
Final Application Deadline
Orientation
Are you ready to be an entrepreneur? How well do you know your peers in the program? Is there someone that might be your Cofounder from the program? Who will lead your Working Group as President? What do you need to know to be successful in the Founder Institute? Which traits do you have that can help you be successful?
Sprints
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:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Introductions - Prepare concise introductions on your background, skillset, and goals in FI to share with the cohort.
- Office Hours - Book your first Office Hours with Local Leaders and Mentors to get guidance on the next steps for your business.
Launch Track
- Office Hours - Book your first Office Hours with Local Leaders and Mentors to get guidance on the next steps for your business.
- Hotseat Pitch - Prepare a one sentence verbal pitch for the weekly "Founder Hotseat", where you present to Mentors during the Feedback Sessions.
Traction track
- Hotseat Pitch - Book your first Office Hours with Local Leaders and Mentors to get guidance on the next steps for your business.
- Vision Statement - Create a 3-5 sentence "Why Statement" that tells a cohesive story about why your company exists, in preparation for Mentor Feedback during the next session.
Vision and Ideas
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Education - Undergo a crash-course in popular startup and venture capital methodologies, metrics, and terms/ lingo.
- Tracking - Research and start tracking the communities surrounding your local and vertical startup ecosystems.
Launch Track
- Market Research - Utilize our market research template to collect accurate and available market information on the customer problems you are analyzing.
- Personas - Build an initial Buyer Persona to better understand your target customer's needs, challenges, and buying process.
Traction track
- Customer Interviews - Using our templates, interview at least 15 customers. If you already have done extensive customer development then outline your current findings and identify areas that require deeper understanding.
- Identify Unknowns - Document a detailed understanding of the main customer problem, and fill any required gaps in your customer knowledge.
Refund Deadline
Research and Customer Development
What research can you do to validate or to kill an idea? Does the market that you choose matter? What are good markets, and what are bad markets? Do competitors matter and why? How do you define your competitive landscape? How do you determine the key assumptions of your business? Can key assumptions be tested? What are tactics to test key assumptions when you just have an idea? How do you identify and interview potential customers? What are some tactics for effective surveying?
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Market Research - Utilize our market research template to collect accurate and available market information on the customer problems you are analyzing.
- Competitive Analysis - For each remaining customer problem, develop or improve a professional landing page targeted to your initial customer archetype, and quickly build up a mailing list to receive customer feedback.
Launch Track
- Customer Interviews - Develop a longer series of customer interview questions based on your initial interviews and key assumptions, with at least ten open-ended customer interview questions for each customer problem.
- Revenue Modeling - For each remaining customer problem, develop or improve a professional landing page targeted to your initial customer archetype, and quickly build up a mailing list to receive customer feedback.
Traction track
- Customer Archetype - Use our guidelines to create or update a detailed customer archetype of your target customer, based on either your existing customers or improved research.
- Revenue Interviews - Interview customers about the pricing of your revenue model, using three different revenue models/ pricing schemes. Confirm your existing model or select a new one based off these interviews.
Revenue Models
How do you build a revenue model for your idea? What are viable revenue models to pursue? How do you identify ideal customers for a revenue model? What are some common problems with popular revenue models? Are there tips or tricks with different revenue models? How do you determine revenue drivers in your model? What do you need to know to finish a model? How do you choose between multiple revenue models and multiple ideas?
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- One Customer Problem - Based on your research, select one customer problem to pursue in the program that has the greatest chance to generate significant revenue.
- Founder-Product Fit - Assess which of your current ideas align best with your unique capabilities and passions.
Launch Track
- Revenue Models - Narrow down that problem to three potential revenue models, and thoroughly analyze the positives and negatives of each model.
- Professional Pitch Deck - Use our templates to develop a professional three minute long pitch deck, based on the feedback, concepts and flow that have resonated from your Hotseat pitches.
Traction track
- Expert Interviews - Speak with three financial people who have experience in a similar industry to your customer problem, and get their insights and opinion on the scalability of your revenue model.
- Key Performance Indicators - Based on your research thus far, identify the final key metrics that will impact your ability to secure revenue (and funding). Discuss these with your Local Leaders, and finalize a tracking system for these metrics.
Naming and Positioning
Mentor Idea Review
Sprints
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.
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Corporate Materials - Immediately update your 3 minute pitch deck and video based on the Mentor Idea Review feedback, and develop a new and updated Executive Summary using our template.
- Advisor Candidates - You will create (or fill out) an Advisory Board in the next 5 weeks, so develop a target list of new advisor candidates based off your identified needs and gaps in knowledge/ connections.
Launch Track
- Advisor Candidates - You will create (or fill out) an Advisory Board in the next 5 weeks, so develop a target list of new advisor candidates based off your identified needs and gaps in knowledge/ connections.
- Advisor Outreach - Leverage the FI network to get introductions to your targets where necessary, and follow our templated process to make progress on your advisory board.
Traction track
- Financial Model - Develop or professionalize your financial model based on our template that focuses on expenses ("burn") to understand your cash needs. Develop a revenue forecast for 12-18 months and factor in timing considerations from your sales follow-up work.
- Legal Assessment - Identify your short to medium term legal needs, and if you don't already have a law firm, identify at least two local law candidates that have experience working with startups. Begin vetting new or existing law firms using our guidelines.
Startup Legal and IP
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Legal Review - Review our Legal Guide to fully understand all critical startup legal components, including granting equity, vesting equity, granting options, issuing common stock versus preferred stock, and more. If any of your existing legal structure is in conflict with these best practices, then create a plan for resolution.
- Finalize Co-Founder Legal (if any) - Create a list of any co-founders, co-founder candidates or founding Team Members that you have for your Founder Institute company, and begin the next steps in formalizing the relationship.
Launch Track
- Law Firm Engagement - If you don't already have a law firm, meet with your law firm candidates and sign an "engagement letter" with your chosen firm.
- Corporate Formation Agreements - If you don't already have a suitable corporation, secure all of your corporate formation agreements which govern how the business conducts itself.
Traction track
- Capitalization Table - Develop or improve your capitalization table ("Cap Table") that shows the ownership structure of the business, using our template and guidelines.
- Equity Collective - Prepare to join the Equity Collective, and send your law firm the necessary agreements and request their help to properly fill out the required fields.
Team and Advisors
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Candidates - Search for candidates to hire (including Co-Founders) by identifying everyone that you know who is appropriate, or leveraging the FI network, to fill the top two or three roles you are not planning to outsource.
- Hiring Process - Develop a hiring and onboarding process using our guidelines to add team members into your organization, and begin executing on the process.
Launch Track
- Hiring Process - Develop a hiring and onboarding process using our guidelines to add team members into your organization, and begin executing on the process.
- Test Projects - Develop at least one test project for each of your top two or three roles, which should create opportunities for credible candidates to demonstrate their skills.
Traction track
- Advisor Review - Arrange a meeting or phone call with at least one of your advisors to discuss your hiring work. Present everything that you have done, and incorporate their feedback into your planning.
- Fundraising - Develop your fundraising plan by building a comprehensive, targeted list of connectors and investors focused on your specific stage and sector.
Product Development
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Solution Goals - Evaluate the current state of your solution, and outline the three solution goals that you would like the next product release to solve for your target customers over the next year.
- Minimum Viable Tests - Design a lightweight method to test the key assumptions for your business before beginning product development.
Launch Track
- Intellectual Property - If you have not already, secure and protect the intellectual property for all of the work done to date. Examine the need for patents, if applicable, following our guidelines.
- Team Analysis - Define and get extensive feedback on the requisite technical skills, soft skills, expertise, and networks will be needed in your core team.
Traction track
- Product Roadmap - Develop an updated product roadmap, using our guidelines, in order to meet your solution goals with your project team.
- Investor Pitch - Prepare a five minute presentation for the Investor Progress Review that includes sufficient information to enable Mentors to evaluate your progress and plans.
Mentor Progress Review
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- First Investor Pitch Deck - Create a first investor-focused pitch deck incorporating any feedback from the Investor Progress Review, using our templates.
- Viability Testing - Make progress on your Minimum Viable Tests, and outline and address any of the setbacks that you have faced.
Launch Track
- Polished Investor Pitch Deck - Create an expanded, 12-slide pitch deck incorporating any feedback from the Investor Progress Review, using our templates.
- Growth - Make progress on your growth goals, and examine or adjust how your strategy and the system to keep yourself accountable is performing.
Traction track
- Finalize Advisory Board - Set up your advisory board with startup, industry, technology or marketing advisors, and set up a one hour conference call with all of the them, which will be your first quarterly advisory board meeting.
- Financial Model Update - Review and update your financial model with the work done to date. Adjust the revenue projections based on your growth thus far, and evaluate the need and requirements for external funding.
Sales and Traction
How do you identify and close your very first paying customers? What are best practices to charge these first paying customers? Should you charge more or less in the beginning? How do you develop a sales funnel or conversion funnel? What are some best practices to track leads and sales? How do you hustle leads and close the first sales, whether business licenses or consumer subscriptions? How do you develop a culture of sales and generating revenues in the early days of a new company?
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Alternatives - Identify two alternative models (markets or "pivots") for your go-to-market solution to discover the most lucrative market opportunity. Interview at least 2 customers for each alternative.
- Test Marketing Messaging - Write at least three separate marketing messages for your solution, and A/B test them using landing pages with at least 100 engagements each.
Launch Track
- Alternatives - Identify two alternative models (markets or "pivots") for your go-to-market solution to discover the most lucrative market opportunity. Interview at least 2 customers for each alternative.
- Advisor Follow-Up - In the next Step you will finalize advisors, so begin finalization meetings with your top candidates, and set up test Advisor Test Projects where necessary following our templates.
Traction track
- Customer Acquisition Channels - Identify at least five initial or new major marketing channels to acquire customers that are appropriate for your solution.
- Conversion Rate - Begin testing at least three of your new customer acquisition channels, pushing as much traffic through them as possible to evaluate their comparative conversion rates.
Branding and Marketing
How do you establish yourself as an expert in your field? What tools are used to follow important news and narratives? How do you identify and create industry narratives of your own? How do you identify and connect with influencers and journalists? What infrastructure do you need to be influential? How do you create content that attracts readers and commentary? How do you grow your influence in a market over time?
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Team-Building Channels - Review all of the candidates that have come through the various recruiting outreach channels and other activities, and identify the most effective channels.
- Growth Tactics - Work with your working group and advisors to brainstorm 15 new ideas to increase the top of your funnel, and provide a bulleted list of these Growth Tactics.
Launch Track
- Sales - Pursue aggressive goals to close new revenue or users, which may be signups, payments, a signed contract, a pre-payment or a signed letter of intent.
- Pivot - Consider a pivot if you are not meeting your growth goals, sales, product or hiring progress targets. If you decide to Pivot, schedule a call with one of your Local Leaders to discuss your proposed pivot in the business and do the same with your advisors.
Traction track
- Growth Plan Update - Review the performance of your growth goals and adjust your growth plan to improve your performance and accountability.
- Post-Program Onboarding - Review the FI post-program resources, and work with your cohort on a monthly meeting schedule where you will continue to meet, provide updates, and share learnings on your progress.
Bootstrapping and Fundraising
What are the various ways to capitalize your company in the very beginning? How do you ask friends and family for money to support you? What are the advantages and disadvantages of bootstrapping? What do local angel investors require before making an investment? How do you develop a target list of appropriate angel investors? What materials are required to raise angel investment? What milestones should you look to achieve next? How do you set your six month and twelve month objectives in the very beginning? How should you think about selling the business or exiting the business?
Sprints
Below are just high-level previews of the 10-15 deliverables you'll complete through Working Groups and Office Hours:
Deliverables
Validate Track
- Minimum Victory Condition - Work with your Local Leaders to establish your "Victory Condition" to achieve before the "Impact Deadline" (three months after the program ends), and add it to your business calendar.
- Advisor Strategy - Set up a call with each of your advisors and briefly review your "Victory Condition", the funding strategy, hiring plan, sales plan and product plan.
Launch Track
- Advisor Strategy - Set up a call with each of your advisors and briefly review your "Victory Condition", the funding strategy, hiring plan, sales plan and product plan.
- Use of Proceeds - Examine the capital needs of the business, and extend your financial model to project revenues and expenses for a total of 24 months from now.
Traction track
- Final Investor Pitch Deck - Refine your investor pitch deck, and update it with all of your work to date, including details from your various plans. Test the presentation on peers and Directors and upload it to the FI site for review.
- Deal Room - Create a Deal Room for future investors that includes relevant files like Company documents with legal, Pitch Deck, Team bios, Board Materials, Financials, Sales information, Marketing materials and Intellectual Property.
Fundraising 2: for Early Stage Start-ups
At this session we'll be focusing on improving your 5 minute investor pitch for the upcoming graduation session. It important that you come prepared having taken into account all of the feedback you've received so far in the semester. Good luck and good pitching!
Graduation
Most people that enter the program do not make it to Graduation, because the Founder Institute curriculum is very demanding. However, the select few that Graduate have achieved several years of progress on their startup in just a few months. We typically celebrate the Graduating class with a small event attended by family members, mentors, investors, and more. Afterwards, Graduates gain access to the Founder Institute network, tools, and ongoing resources… and the real work of building and growing an enduring company begins!
Post Programs
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.
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Dedicated Alumni Support Team in Silicon Valley
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Access to the world's largest network of mentors and investors (40,000+)
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Private Alumni mailing lists
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$2.5M+ in partner discounts
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Invites to FI sessions & network events
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Potential introductions to investors
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A series of virtual advisory programs where you work with our Silicon Valley HQ team to reach next milestones
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Funding Lab helps get your lead investor within 6 months
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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
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Exclusive for FI Alumni
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