At the start of summer, just as the Founder Institute was wrapping up their annual, international conference, FounderX, StartupSac announced FI’s initiation of an exploratory chapter in Sacramento. We’ve held a series of pre-launch events, met some interesting founders, and received incredible support from mentors and organizations within the growing ecosystem.
Along the way, some Founders wondered if they are too far along for the Founder Institute, which is the World’s Premier Startup Launch Program. Sacramento has some strapping early stage startups, after all. What about companies with an MVP? With customers? Revenue? Perhaps it’s best to illustrate:
If you are an Idea-Stage Founder, Founder Institute will help you validate your idea, strategy, and pitch while building your company using a proven, step-by-step process. Founders have gone on to prestigious seed-stage accelerators like the Impact VC’s Entrepreneurs Showcase, Y Combinator, LAUNCH, 500 Startups, StartX and others. Grads have also competed successfully at pitch competitions around the world.
If you have an idea or product in the market, Founder Institute will help you improve it, grow your team, implement a go-to-market strategy and begin fundraising. If you have a product and customers, you will receive expert feedback on gaining traction.
The Founder Institute has recently released a new curriculum 4.0 which adds an “Advanced Founder” track at the beginning of the program for companies that already have an MVP developed or incorporated company. The new curriculum helps the advanced companies streamline their path to fundraising.
Founder institute will support you in making key hires and securing investors. Furthermore, with Founder Institute’s presence in over sixty countries (and 160 cities), you will have access to a global network that can help you launch in new markets, saving you months – even years – by tapping into Directors and mentors in your target region.
But it doesn’t end there. Founder Institute offers over $2M in partner discounts to graduates and a dedicated support team in Silicon Valley. Not only do graduates have access to special events like FounderX, graduates can also attend sessions and meet mentors at chapters all over the world. High performing graduates are nominated for Founder Lab to support fundraising goals, and Select Portfolio Founders are eligible for deal syndication, facilitated introductions, virtual demo days, and PR support.
The results speak for themselves. So whether you are working on an idea, getting traction, or fundraising for growth, Founder Institute is a great resource and network. Applications are open and we recently announced the StartupSac Fellowship. The is awarded to the most extraordinary applicant from the StartupSac Community, giving them the opportunity to participate in the Sacramento Founder Institute for free. The recipient will be recognized as somebody with the utmost potential to become a successful technology entrepreneur.
Members of the StartupSac community are encouraged to apply for free through this special link. The 9/17 deadline is fast approaching!
Have questions? Come meet your local directors at one of our last two pre-launch events, Female Founders Roundtable, and Startup Office Hours. We always wind down at a local restaurant to give founders and opportunity to connect with Mentors and Directors. You can also email me at mariah.lichtenstern@founderinstitute.net.
