What is the Founder Institute? An Intro to the Startup Accelerator
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The Founder Institute is a global pre-seed startup accelerator that assists entrepreneurs in building sustainable companies through mentorship and a structured process. It aims to address the challenges that aspiring entrepreneurs face in initiating and succeeding with their ventures, providing support at various stages from idea to revenue generation. The program boasts a high success rate, with significant funding raised by graduates and a comprehensive support network to guide founders throughout their entrepreneurial journey.
What is the Founder Institute? An Intro to the Startup Accelerator
- 1. The World’s Premier Pre-Seed Startup Accelerator FI.co | #FIWorldwide
- 2. www.fi.co | 012 Who are we? THE FOUNDER INSTITUTE helps entrepreneurs build an enduring company with a support network invested in their success, and through a structured business-‐ building process. THE PROBLEM Too many aspiring entrepreneurs never start, and too many early businesses fail, because they lack feedback and focus in the earliest stages. See our story: FI.co/about
- 3. www.fi.co | 013 Who do we help? Idea-Stage Prototype-Stage Early-Company You just have an idea, and may sAll be FT-‐employed: ✓ Validate and improve your ideas, strategy, and pitch ✓ Find Co-‐Founders, early-‐team members, and advisors ✓ Launch your company using a proven step-‐by-‐step process You have an MVP or prototype in tesAng: ✓ Get expert feedback to make smarter product decisions ✓ Secure advisors, partners, and key hires ✓ Nail your go-‐to-‐market and begin fundraising (if needed) You have a company and revenue, but are pre-‐funding: ✓ Get expert insights on your data to increase tracJon ✓ Secure advisors, partners, key hires, and investors ✓ Launch an enduring business with a global network Founders and Teams that are Pre-‐Funding
- 4. www.fi.co | 014 How do we compare? Inspiration/ Education Pre-Seed Accelerator Seed- Accelerator Angel/VC Aspiring Founders learn the basics through online courses, events, and bootcamps. Founders or Teams validate and launch a business with mentor support and a structured process. Teams with a product and some tracJon acquire operaJng capital to prepare for angel or seed funding. Fast-‐growth startups raise money from angels or micro-‐VCs.
- 5. www.fi.co | 015 What are the results? 60+ Countries 175+ Cities 20B+ Graduate Portfolio Value 20K+ Jobs Created See our global network: FI.co/global
- 6. www.fi.co | 016 Graduate Results 30+ Graduate Companies Acquired $700M+ Raised from Investors Investors included:Recently-Funded Grads: See more Graduates: FI.co/graduates
- 7. www.fi.co | 017 Why is the program so effective? 5 Guiding Principles
- 8. www.fi.co | 018 Guiding Principle #1 the Founder Institute can provide you the structure, mentorship, and network to make years of progress in just 3.5 months Great Companies Start with Great People (not “great ideas”)
- 9. www.fi.co | 019 1. We Find Great People Learn more: FI.co/DNA You don’t need to submit an idea to apply One-‐hour long online psychographic & apJtude test 85% accuracy in predicJng early entrepreneur success Each cohort is a cluster of high-‐potenJal early-‐stage entrepreneurs
- 10. www.fi.co | 0110 Guiding Principle #2 Great Companies are not Built Alone (feedback is invaluable)
- 11. www.fi.co | 0111 2. We Establish a Critical Support Network Learn more at FI.co/liquidity 75% Distributed to each cohort 25% Founder InsJtute Mentors 25% Directors Graduates 25% Graduates contribute 4% in ‘warrants’ to a 15-‐year pool Returns are shared with all members of each cohort (including Graduates) Build your business with local startup experts that are invested in your success 25% The Equity CollecJve
- 12. www.fi.co | 0112 Support Network of Top Mentors 2:1 Avg Mentor: Founder raJo in each program Mentors provide training, feedback, and raJngs/ evaluaJon every week 20-‐40 Local CEOs, Founders and experts invested in your success See Local Mentors: FI.co/mentors
- 13. www.fi.co | 0113 Guiding Principle #3 Entrepreneurship Cannot be Taught (it can only be learned by doing)
- 14. www.fi.co | 0114 3. We Create a Structure for Doing 1. Idea 2. Business 3. Launch 1. OrientaJon 2. Vision & ValidaJon 3. Cust Development 4. Revenue 5. Branding & Design 6. Mentor Idea Review 7. Legal 8. Go-‐to-‐Market 9. Product Development 10. Mentor Progress Review 11. Hiring & Onboarding 12. Growth 13. Equity & Funding 14. Leadership & GraduaJon See full process: FI.co/program
- 15. www.fi.co | 0115 Make Real Progress Every Week Challenging, pracJcal company-‐building assignments (not “homework”) “The Founder Ins;tute is the most raw, ‘street’ program out there for startups” -‐ Jason Calacanis (This Week in Startups, Author of “Angel”, ini;al investor in Uber) See Sample Session: FI.co/sessions Constant raJng and evaluaJon of your pitch, progress, and strategy Weekly night-‐Jme sessions with startup mentors
- 16. www.fi.co | 0116 Guiding Principle #4 Startups are Hard (much harder than commonly portrayed)
- 17. www.fi.co | 0117 4. The Founder Institute is Hard < 35% (only the best) Make it to GraduaJon Total commitment is 20-‐30 hours/week Founders need to meet min raJng thresholds from Mentors to stay in program Drop outs can enroll in next semester for free HONEST feedback during every step of the process (“No Threes Allowed”) ...because building an enduring company is much, much harder.
- 18. www.fi.co | 0118 Guiding Principle #5 Entrepreneurship is a Journey (success is measured in years, not months)
- 19. www.fi.co | 0119 5. We Support our Graduates Beta Angel Seed ✓ Dedicated support contact in Silicon Valley ✓ Private Grad mailing lists ✓ Access to 7500+ mentors ✓ $2M+ in partner discounts ✓ Invites to FI sessions & network events (FounderX) ✓ Dedicated fundraising coach in Silicon Valley ✓ Access to shared database of investors & advisors ✓ Pitch deck ediJng/ feedback ✓ Virtual training sessions ✓ Pipeline & negoJaJon help ✓ Deal syndicaJon across our network ✓ Facilitated introducJons to investors & advisors ✓ Virtual Demo Days ✓ Elite partner deals ✓ Biz Dev & PR assistance See our Grad Support : FI.co/scale
- 20. www.fi.co | 0120 Low Costs $50 USD* ApplicaJon Fee * free for event aKendees at FI.co/join/bootcamp $LOW** Course Fee * full refund offered before 3rd session ** covers ‘break-‐even’ administra;on of semester (venue, food, FI HQ staff, tech, etc) Learn more: FI.co/overview
- 21. www.fi.co | 0121 In Summary the Founder Institute can provide you the structure, mentorship, and network to make years of progress in just 3.5 months The Founder InsJtute can provide you with the support network and structured process needed to launch an enduring company.
- 22. THANK YOU!!! Learn More: FI.co Apply Free: FI.co/join/bootcamp Free Resources: FI.co/go