The Founder Institute is a four month apprenticeship and training program for both new and seasoned entrepreneurs. The Institute prepares founders to lead the next generation of world-class technology companies across a wide range of industries, from the biotech to the internet. Weekly company-building sessions are guided by experienced CEOs, and they are held in the evening to allow participants to keep their day job or develop their companies during business hours. All of the program stakeholders, from the participating founders to the experienced CEO Mentors, share in the upside generated by the companies formed during the program. Participants also enjoy free services from three dozen Institute Partners, fundraising opportunities at fair market value, and a teamwork-oriented environment to build a company. The Institute operates semesters twice a year in Silicon Valley, Singapore, Seattle, Los Angles, San Diego, Denver, Boston, New York, Washington DC, and Paris.
Institute News
Friday is the Day
about 12 hours ago: Adeo Ressi
Applications are due at midnight on Friday, September 3rd, in New York (apply), Washington DC (apply), Paris (apply), Berlin (apply) and Brussels (apply). San Diego (apply) and the Bay Area (apply), are also accepting applications with a later due date.
Learn more about the benefits of graduating, hear testimonials here and here, or see a great Mentor talk here and here. Most importantly, apply by Friday to reserve your spot in the program.
DC Grad Featured, Giv.to, in Washington Post
Aug 31, 2010: Adeo Ressi
"When Michael Mayernick and Adam Bonnifield launched Giv.to in June 2009, the for-profit venture offered political and advocacy groups technology to shorten URLs that also tracked which Twitter and Facebook links led to donations.
Now just past the one-year mark, the Washington-based entrepreneurs are building Giv.to into an application through which an organization can manage its entire social media footprint. They say it signals a maturation of social media from a fledgling idea to one with real impact."
Bay Area Grad, Udemy, Raises $1 MM
Aug 31, 2010: Adeo Ressi
Udemy, a Founder Institute Graduate that seeks to democratize online learning by providing tools so that educators can easily create their own online course, has just raised $1 MM from angels. Investors in Udemy include Keith Rabois, Mark Sugarman's MHS Capital, Rick Thompson, Russ Fradin, Benjamin Ling, Larry Braitman, Jeremy Stoppelman, Naval Ravikant, Paul Martino, Josh Stylman and Dave McClure's 500 Startups Fund. Udemy's fundraising was extremely successful due to help from Adeo Ressi's Founder Institute and VentureHacks' AngelList.
"The Founder Institute was a critical factor in Udemy's successful fundraising. I can't say how valuable Adeo and the Founder Institute team was in providing advice and introductions throughout the fundraising process. Without Adeo's sage wisdom, Udemy may not have raised any money. With his advice, we raised three times more than we originally set out to raise!" - Gagan Biyani, Cofounder of Udemy
The Udemy funding has been covered widely int he media. Congratulations!
Washing DC and New York Late Applications
Aug 30, 2010: Adeo Ressi
Over the last 24 hours, the Founder Institute has recieved singificant media coverage and social media attention in response to sharing select Mentor videos. More big announcements are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Over a dozen potential applicants from Washington DC and New York have written in to apply, so the Founder Institute has decied to allow a limited number of Late Applications that will be processed on a first come, first served basis. If you have missed the deadline, this is your chance. Late Admissions will end when the semester is filled with normal applicants, waiting list candidates and late applicants.
Apply to Washington DC here and New York here. Good luck!
CCTV on the Rise of Angel Investing
Aug 30, 2010: Adeo Ressi
The Founder Institute and a Graduate, SeePort, was recently highlighted in a video about the changing landscape of venture investing. As venture capital investing starts to slow down, angel investors are picking up the pace. Watch the video for a good overview, and see a preview of the Founder Garage, headquarters for the fast growing Institute.
The video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mre-HKbbjkc
Learn about the Institute: Calls & Events
Aug 30, 2010: Adeo Ressi
If you would like to learn more about the Founder Institute, there are a selection of calls and open events below that you can attend.
- Two Q&A Calls about
The Founder Institute
September 1st, 2010, at 9:00 AM PST / 12:00 PM EST / 6 PM CET
September 2nd, 2010, at 9:00 AM PST / 12:00 PM EST / 6 PM CET
United States: (201) 793-9022 / Room: 708-6276
Germany: +49 01805009527 / Room: 708-6276
France: +33 (0) 826109071 / Room: 708-6276
Belgium: +32 (0) 7 0357134 / Room: 708-6276
Skype: +9900827047086276 - Boston CoFounder Open House
September 2nd, 2010, at 5:30 PM
Sign-up Here - San Diego Open House & Founder Networking
September 9, 2010,at 6 PM
Sign-up Here - Paris Open House and Founder Conference
Tuesday, September 14, 2010, at 5:00 PM
Sign-up Here - Berlin Open House and Launch Party
September 15, 2010, at 6 PM
Sign-up Here - Boston Open House
September 16th, 2010, at 5:30 PM
Sign-up Here
Please join us at one of these events or calls to learn more and meet both new and experienced founders willing to share their experiences. Enjoy!
Why Apply?
Aug 29, 2010: Adeo Ressi
There are a few more hours to meet the Early Admissions deadline for New York, Seattle, and Silicon Valley. This has inspired a desire to write some thoughts about the value of the Institute to potential applicants. So, why apply?
Success: Most of the things that you need to know to build a successful company from scratch can't be learned from books or from school. How do you know when a cofounder is right? When do you start talking about your business idea publicly? When do you quit your job? How do you get exposure for your idea from the media? The lessons of entrepreneurship are usually learned the hard way, and the deadly array of potential mistakes cause most startups to fail. Entrepreneurs that succeed are often lucky, fail fast, and recover intelligently. A good mentor with poignant advice can help you avoid most of the obvious mistakes and some of the less obvious pitfalls. Many successful entrepreneurs credit a part of their success to a mentor or friend, and the Institute has formalized this invaluable relationship. The Institute has one Mentor per enrolled founder in nearly all of the cities.
Timeliness: The world is changing daily, and the tools required to be a successful entrepreneur are changing as well. Books and school can't keep pace with the change, but successful entrepreneurs today are capitalizing on the changes to win. The best advice is from someone who is succeeding in the present, not someone who succeeded more than a decade ago. Why? Job boards like Monster were relevant in the 90's, Craigslist was relevant afterwards, and social media is the place to find team members today. You want Mentors who can give you timely advice on how to succeed, and the Institute only recruits successful CEOs of startup companies that are not too big.
Location: Building a successful technology startup differs significantly based on the location of where you start, as well as the present day trends. For example, expensive real estate costs drive decision making in New York and Silicon Valley. Top talent in Silicon Valley will quit everything to be a cofounder on a promising idea and work for equity. The nuances of each market require local expertise. So, the Institute tries to get at least half of the Mentor CEOs from the local market. The remaining Mentors are chosen to be subject matter experts from anywhere in the world
Motivation: Taking the first steps to start your new company are daunting, even if you love your idea, even if you have experience, and even if you have a great plan. The Founder Institute itself was carefully planned, but a leak in TechCrunch forced us to incorporate and to start accepting applications months before "the original plan." Without the leak, who knows what would have happened, and the Institute is my eighth company. Applying to the Institute and getting accepted is a catalyst. It's the sign for you to launch your company.
I look forward to seeing your application. Good luck!
NY Grad, Profitably, Closes $300,000 Angel Round
Aug 29, 2010: Adeo Ressi
Profitably, a graduate of the first New York Founder Institute semester, recently closed a $300,000 angel round to pursue business intelligence for small businesses (VentureBeat). The company takes data from QuickBooks and makes practical recommendations to grow faster and save money on a variety of expenses, such as insurance or benefits. The $300,000 investment was lead by venture capital firm, North Bridge Venture Partners, with individual NY-based investors such as Mark Birch, David Tisch, David Honig and Chirag Chaman.
The Founder of Profitably, Adam Neary, had the following to say about the Founder Institute before closing the round:
"I had a kick-ass experience, and I know my business and indeed my own approach to the business is fundamentally improved by orders of magnitude:
- I changed my idea after I joined the program
- I shut things down with my first team of buddies—great friends but the wrong guys for the business
- I found a stellar CTO through networking with the FI crew
- I found a couple CCO candidates and a handful of world-class design freelancers
- I was put in touch with the premier law firm for this space and got incorporated in no time
- I already have a half-dozen advisors/investors pinging me (not just the other way around)
- I am confident that we are going to be able to raise money
- I am confident that we are going to launch a successful and meaningful business
- I have a network of 2-dozen founders and as many mentors at my fingertips when the unexpected comes along."
Mentor Video: 10 Steps to a Startup Launch
Aug 29, 2010: Adeo Ressi
Launching a startup takes a lot of hard work, and you do not know if the idea is going to be successful until it is often too late. The Institute tries to help Founders refine and test their idea before spending months or even years pursuing something that will fail.
In the following 30 minute video, ten quick steps are discussed to take an idea that you like and launch it for less than $2,000. The goal is to get to a "Ghetto Launch," where you test if you have both a good idea and a viable business. Once the idea is validated, the hard work begin.
See the video here: http://vimeo.com/14393443
The ten steps are outlined in the presentation below:
See the slides here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/36590018
These are the ten steps that were used to launch the Founder Institute. Since the Institute does not have an online or physical product that needed to be mocked up, we used Topicki to develop a prototype of the curriculum. Enjoy!
Special thanks to TechCrucnh for covering the talk here.
Mentor Video: Research Your Startup
Aug 29, 2010: Adeo Ressi
The following is one of my talks for the Founder Institute on the benefits and tactics of research for your startup. Each week, three experienced entrepreneurs discuss a critical subject matter for building an enduring and meaningful company. Founders have a tendency to fall in love with their own idea before they have completed necessary research to validate that the idea is legitimate.
In the talk below, I provide an overview of how the character of different markets affects the reality of operation. Then, the talk covers how good research helps a founder understand both the journey and the destination. It then provides some practical tips and tactics to conduct good research.
In the end, founders can not escape realities of the market that they are actually in, so it is important to learn everything about the market and the market segment through research. Enjoy!
See the video here: http://vimeo.com/12630490
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