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
Startup Basics and Orientation
What do you need to know to be successful in the Founder Institute? What can you expect from launching a startup? What traits are required to 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 Values
What are you passionate about? What is your vision? How do you translate passion and vision into a business idea? How do you brainstorm ideas? What are tools for evaluating your ideas? What are the makings of a good idea versus a bad idea? Should you pursue multiple ideas at once, and when should you focus on one?
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
Startup Research
What market are you pursuing? Is the target market big enough? Is it growing or shrinking? What are the other characteristics of your market, and why do you care? How do you find data on your market? How do you define your competitors? What are inexpensive tactics to do custom market research, such as surveys? How can you determine if you can win in your target market, and when do you decide to walk away?
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.
Naming and Branding
Michael Eisner once said "A brand is a living entity - and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures.” In other words, great brands are grounded in a central differentiating principle that drives everything great businesses do. For many of you, that thought may well be in place. For others, that thought will need work. We're here to help you with that. The purpose of this session will be to refine your central brand idea and turn it into a more executable brand concept. You'll walk away with a name and a plan for how you intend to bring your brand to life in a way that positions it more competitively in the marketplace. Along the way, we'll provide tools, expertise and exercises to help make that happen.
Mentor Idea Review
Can your idea survive the scrutiny of seasoned CEOs? How can the idea be refined? What elements are missing from your idea? How can you improve the way that you describe your idea?
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.
Revenues, Costs and Profits
How does your business make and spend money? What is the best mix of revenues, or is one revenue stream the right approach? How do you build a realistic financial model? How do you create realistic assumptions for your model? What are ways to check that your assumptions are right? How do you know if your business model is viable?
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.
Hiring, Firing and Cofounders
What are the right mix of skills that you need to launch a world-class technology company? Should you be looking for cofounders, team members, freelancers or interns? When should you plan to bring on people to help? How do you recruit and interview to find the best resources? What are the compensation guidelines in the beginning for cofounders and other various roles? How do you set expectations, measure results and remove or fire under performing resources?
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.
Startup Legal, Incorporation & Intellectual Property
Why incorporate? What are the basic legal concepts that you need to know to run a successful company? What are the key legal terms that you need to care about in contracts, with your team, and with your Board? What are common legal mistakes in startups? What are the key legal documents that a startup needs to operate? When do you need to use a lawyer, and when can you handle things on your own? How do you manage a law firm efficiently to get the best work? What is the intellectual property of your business? What types of protections are available, and what are the costs? How do you manage your intellectual property using confidentiality, copyrights, and patents? What can and what should you do on your own, and what do you need a lawyer for? What are common intellectual property problems, and how do you deal with them cost effectively?
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.
Product and Service Development
How do you get from an idea to an offering? How do you build an offering? What tactics should you use to ensure success? What is the plan to develop your offering? What are tips and tricks to make that plan accurate? What are common mistakes that every founder makes? What are the best practices? How do you navigate competition, and how do you win?
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.
Outsourcing, Partners and Suppliers
What should you outsource, and what do you need to do in-house? What is the core competency of your team, and what should it to be? What vendors do you need? How do you select the best vendors for your business on the best terms? How do you evaluate the economics? What are some horror stories to avoid?
Marketing and Sales
Who are your customers? What audience are you trying to reach? How do you tell the story of your company? How do you create the right messages? What are the best tactics for your outreach: publicity, guerrilla marketing, advertising? How much should you spend on outreach? How do you measure success?
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.
Presentation and Publicity
How do you get the world to take notice of your company? What are tips and tricks to present your business? What tools do you need to succeed with outreach? How do you identify newsworthy milestones? How do you craft a successful media release? What are effective tactics to get social media, the blogosphere and traditional media to take notice? What are common media mistakes for new companies?
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.
New Markets Entry
Where are your markets if not local? Is the new foreign market big enough? Is it growing or shrinking? What are the characteristics of the new market and why do you care? How can you determine if you can win in your new market and how to tactically execute to win your first customer? What are the networks and partners needed to dominate the new market? Markets targeted are: China, Indonesia and the USA
Fundraising
When is it realistic to raise capital for a brand new company? How should you calculate the amount of money to raise? How should you define the use use of proceeds? What materials are required to fundraise? How do you identify and qualify target angel and seed stage investors? How do you find a lead investor? What do investors expect from the company? What are typical investment structures and deal terms for seed-stage financing? How do you negotiate terms?
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.
Graduation
How do you ensure success after Graduation? Who will lead the alumni community, and what are the plans following graduation? The Graduation is the beginning of an exciting period for Founders, where an idea becomes reality. Congratulations!
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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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 8,900 entrepreneurs raise over 2BN 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.
