The Founder Institute

Last updated
The Founder Institute
Type Corporation
Industry Business Incubator
Founded2009
Headquarters Palo Alto, California
Key people
 Adeo Ressi (Co-Founder & CEO)
Jonathan Greechan (Co-Founder)
Website fi.co

The Founder Institute is an American business incubator, entrepreneur training and startup launch program that was founded in Palo Alto, California in 2009. Although based in Silicon Valley, The Founder Institute maintains chapters in over 180 cities [1] [2] and more than 65 nations. [3] [4] [5] It offers a four-month part-time program for new and early-stage entrepreneurs that helps them develop their business ideas and form a company. Among the key requirements for graduation is the creation of a fully operational company by the end of the four-month program. [6] As of 2018, over 3,500 companies had been created from the program, which raised over $800M funding in total. [5]

Contents

History

The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi in his garage in Palo Alto, California. It was created with his friend and business partner Jonathan Greechan as a response to the 2008 market crash and the attendant failures of numerous startups. From the outset, its primary goal was to provide a safe place for companies to materialize and entrepreneurs to hone their skills. [7] Ressi also wanted to "globalize Silicon Valley" and make entrepreneurial training available to people around the world. [8] One of the earliest visions of The Founder Institute was to launch 1,000 companies per year. [9] Graduates were given access to a "shared liquidity pool," where all participants in the program share equity in the companies formed. [8] The first class graduated in October 2009 in Silicon Valley and was composed of 66 entrepreneurs and 54 companies. [9]

By the middle of 2010, The Founder Institute had chapters in ten cities throughout the world, including New York City, San Diego, Berlin, and Singapore. [10] In May 2010, the chapters in New York and D.C. graduated a total of 25 new startups. [11] By the end of 2011, it had more than 20 locations worldwide and had graduated 483 entrepreneurs with 415 total companies. It also maintained around 700 mentors. In addition, The Founder Institute announced that it had become the "largest incubator in the world." [12] Adeo Ressi started the Female Founder Fellowship program to help address the dearth of women in the tech industry. [13] Women founders accounted for roughly 20% of all startups and graduates at The Founder Institute in 2011. [14] By 2012, that percentage had increased to 36%. [13]

In September 2012, The Founder Institute achieved a milestone of 650 startups graduating. It had also expanded its operations to 32 cities in 19 countries (including Vietnam, Mexico, and Israel). [15] [16] In 2013, it achieved another milestone with 1,000 startups created in roughly four years. Around 89% of those companies were still operational, and 74% of those were at or ahead of their prescribed growth plans. [17]

In 2014, The Founder Institute moved to a new headquarters in downtown Palo Alto. It commemorated the move with a unicorn-themed party. [18] At the end of 2014, The Founder Institute was located in over 80 cities [1] in 40 countries worldwide [3] and had been responsible for the creation of over 1,300 companies. [19]

Program

The program offered by The Founder Institute has been considered unique by comparison to other incubator programs. It is a four-month program that recruits and accepts new and early-stage entrepreneurs who may still be full-time employed, and who don't necessarily yet have a fully formed idea or company. [20] One of the key requirements for graduation is the incorporation of a company. [6] Only around 40% of enrolled students end up graduating the program. [8]

Another main feature of The Founder Institute's program is its global reach. Because of the large number of chapters throughout the world, more entrepreneurs can gain access to the training and networking. [6] Each chapter has its own mentors, but the curriculum is similar amongst all locales. [21] It only chooses mentors who are successful founders or CEOs in and of themselves. [7] As of 2014, there were 3,100 CEO mentors in The Founder Institute network. [22] Networking is another major component of the program, allowing entrepreneurs to communicate (often for the first time) with like-minded individuals in their region. [23] The Founder has a "shared liquidity pool" that rewards graduates, mentors, and local directors for the successes of their peers. [7]


Predictive admissions test

The Founder Institute has an application process that requires a proprietary aptitude and personality test designed to identify "entrepreneurial personality traits." [24] In 2010 it was reported that of those accepted after testing, 57% performed as predicted with 27% performing worse and 16% performing better than predicted. [24] By 2013, more than 15,000 applicants had taken the test which resulted in accepted applicants who created 650 companies in 39 cities throughout five continents. [25]

The test is reported to take approximately 1 hour, and measures aptitude, intelligence, and five psychological personality traits. [10] All of this information is then reportedly cross-referenced with data from Institute graduates, and is used to compile a database that seeks to pinpoint the ideal score for a successful entrepreneur. The data continues being collected even after the students have graduated the program. For example, if a student's company earns a liquidity event (IPO, sale, etc.), their scores will be increased. Applicants are given a score of 0 to 5, 5 being the highest, that helps predict how well the applicant will do as an entrepreneur. The test has been the feature of discussion in publications such as CNN Money, Tech Crunch, and Forbes. [10] [24] [25]

Curriculum

The curriculum of The Founder Institute is often taught sequentially. Throughout the four-month program, students are asked to work on their ideas, research their ideas, name their company and product, seek out co-founders, and work out a business model. [7] The curriculum is guided by The Founder Institute, but taught by mentors with experience as startup founders and/or CEOs. The curriculum also uses a hands-on approach, often exposing students to situations that an entrepreneur would find themselves in. It creates working groups that combine 4 or 5 students together. These groups meet several times each week to discuss the formation of their business plan. The curriculum is similar throughout all of the chapters, but sessions aren't universally conducted in English. [26]

Mentors guide entrepreneurs through the program with training and feedback, and participate in the “shared equity pool”. Mentors in The Founder Institute have include Aaron Patzer and Phil Libin, both of whom have mentored at the Silicon Valley chapter. [21] Additional mentors have included Robin Chase, Peter Vesterbacka, and Jeffrey Paine. [27] [28]

Locations

As of 2018, The Founder Institute has chapters in over 180 cities [1] [2] and more than 65 nations [3] on 6 continents. [4] The founding chapter is located in Silicon Valley. [29] Each chapter has its own local directors and mentors. [4]

The Silicon Valley chapter is the oldest chapter in The Founder Institute system. Eren Bali, who graduated from the initial class, is one of the co-founders of the online educational marketplace, Udemy. [6] The Berlin chapter was one of the first chapters to come to Europe (behind the Paris and Brussels chapters). The current director is Didier Vermeiren, who is an alumnus of the Brussels chapter. The Berlin chapter has produced startups like Itembase, Kiddify, and Letsmake. [4] The Singapore chapter was launched in 2010 and is one of the most successful chapters of The Founder Institute in Asia. Mikhail Choo graduated from the Singapore chapter in 2011 and sold his company, Gridblaze, [30] for a 7 figure price in 2013. [31] iCarsClub, which secured $60 million in funding in 2014, [32] is also a product of the Singapore chapter. [33]

Notable companies

As of 2014, The Founder Institute has produced around 1,300 companies and graduates throughout its existence, [19] including Udemy, Kindara, and Zirtual.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silicon Valley</span> Technology hub in California, United States

Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley. San Jose is Silicon Valley's largest city, the third-largest in California, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. Other major Silicon Valley cities include Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Cupertino. The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the third-highest GDP per capita in the world, according to the Brookings Institution, and, as of June 2021, has the highest percentage of homes valued at $1 million or more in the United States.

A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to go public, startups are new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to become successful and influential.

Sequoia Capital is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California which specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. As of 2022, the firm had approximately US$85 billion in assets under management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Poizner</span> American businessman

Stephen Leo Poizner is an American businessman, technology entrepreneur and former Republican California Insurance Commissioner and Gubernatorial candidate. Poizner also was an independent candidate in the 2018 California Insurance Commissioner election.

A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture capital financing. The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) defines business incubators as a catalyst tool for either regional or national economic development. NBIA categorizes its members' incubators by the following five incubator types: academic institutions; non-profit development corporations; for-profit property development ventures; venture capital firms, and a combination of the above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y Combinator</span> American startup accelerator

Y Combinator Management, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator launched in March 2005. It has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Quora, PagerDuty, Reddit, Stripe and Twitch. The combined valuation of the top YC companies was more than $600 billion by January 2023. The company's accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, expanded to San Francisco in 2019, and was entirely online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forbes characterized the company in 2012 as one of the most successful startup accelerators in Silicon Valley.

Techstars is a global investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, a worldwide network and customized programming for early-stage entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colorado. As of May 2022, the company had accepted over 2,900 companies into its accelerator programs with a combined market capitalization of $71bn USD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology</span> School in Accra, Ghana

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training program, seed fund, and incubator headquartered in Accra, Ghana. The three-phased institution was founded in 2008 to provide training, investment, and mentoring for aspiring technology entrepreneurs with the goal of creating globally successful companies that create wealth and jobs locally in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">500 Global</span> U.S. startup accelerator

500 Global is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, California in February 2011. They expanded to a second class of 21 in June 2011 and a third class of 34 in October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David S. Rose</span>

David Semel Rose is an American serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He is an investor in startup technology companies and founder of New York Angels, an early-stage technology investment group. He is Managing Partner of Rose Tech Ventures, a venture fund focused on Internet-based business, and CEO of Gust, which operates a collaboration platform for early stage angel investing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blueseed</span>

Blueseed was a Silicon Valley-based startup company and a seasteading venture to create a startup community located on a vessel stationed in international waters near the coast of Silicon Valley in the United States. The intended location would enable non-U.S. startup entrepreneurs to work on their ventures without the need for a US work visa (H1B), while living in proximity to Silicon Valley and using relatively easier to obtain business and tourism visas (B1/B2) to travel to the mainland.

RidePal offers corporate luxury commute bus services for companies and individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Canopy Labs is a customer analytics company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with offices in San Francisco. It was founded in 2012 and offers SaaS marketing analytics for businesses and organizations. The company is an alumnus of the Y Combinator accelerator program. Canopy Labs was acquired by Drop.

Founder.org is a nonprofit foundation in San Francisco, California, United States that invests in student entrepreneurs. The organization features a company building program for student entrepreneurs at major research institutes and universities. Operated by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Founder.org supports teams across various industries including sensors, sanitation, influencer marketing, biotechnology, health and transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adeo Ressi</span> American entrepreneur and investor

Adeo Ressi is an American entrepreneur and investor, who is the founder and CEO of TheFunded and The Founder Institute. He has been a fixture in the Silicon Valley since creating TheFunded in 2007. His previous business ventures include methodfive, Game Trust, Total New York, and Expansive Ventures. He has also sat on the board of the X Prize Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Startups</span>

Blue Startups is a Hawaii-based accelerator company co-founded by Henk Rogers, Maya Rogers and Chenoa Farnsworth in 2012. They created it to help startup companies, and help make Hawaii more identifiable as a technological business hub. The company has a network of over 120 mentors from the Hawaii, Silicon Valley, and Asia areas. The company's stated goal - according to former Program Manager Meli James - is to get companies started in Hawaii and make them want to keep working in the state.

TiE Silicon Valley is the largest and founding chapter of the TiE brand, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. The chapter provides technology entrepreneurs with mentoring services, networking opportunities, startup-related education, funding, and incubating.

Bob Goodson is a British technologist, entrepreneur, and UX designer. The CEO of Quid Inc., an artificial intelligence company, Goodson studied medieval literature at Oxford University, and co-founded Quid based on his interest in applying language theory to semantic search.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator</span> NYC technology startup seed accelerator

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator is an American seed accelerator launched in January 2011.

Antler is a Singapore-based business incubator and startup accelerator founded in 2017. In 2033, Pitchbook ranked the company as the most active seed stage venture capital firm globally with 262 deals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Exter, Leo (7 September 2014). "Founder Institute is back in Brussels this autumn: join to learn the ropes of running a startup". WeStartup. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Learn More About Our Global Startup Accelerator Locations". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  3. 1 2 3 Cosseboom, Leighton (16 September 2014). "Taking stock of Jakarta Founder Institute grads: Who's still standing?". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Abrosimova, Kate (18 June 2014). "The Founder Institute Issues First Class Entrepreneurs. Interview with a Director of the Berlin Chapter". Yalantis. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Tremendous Growth from Founder Institute Alumni, and More Highlights from an Epic 2018". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Seligson, Hannah (28 July 2012). "Want to Graduate? First, Create a Company". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cohan, Peter (5 November 2012). "Adeo Ressi's Founder Institute Sprouts Start-ups Around The Globe". Forbes . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Greathouse, John (16 September 2013). "This Entrepreneur Publicly Spanked America's Most Arrogant VCs... And Lived To Tell The Tale". Forbes . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  9. 1 2 Ha, Anthony (12 October 2009). "The Founder Institute's Adeo Ressi on his plans to leave no entrepreneur behind". VentureBeat . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 Patzer, Aaron (28 July 2010). "Predicting entrepreneurial success: Got what it takes?". CNNMoney . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Rao, Leena (3 May 2010). "The Founder Institute's East Coast Outposts Graduate 25 Startups". TechCrunch . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  12. ↑ Empson, Rip (5 December 2011). "With 415 Graduates, Founder Institute Claims To Be Largest Startup Incubator". TechCrunch . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  13. 1 2 Dickey, Megan Rose (25 October 2012). "A Silicon Valley Insider Actually Has A Plan To Get More Women In Tech". Business Insider . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Picq, Joana (16 February 2011). "The Founder Institute Aims to Graduate 175 Female Tech Founders in 2011". The Next Women. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  15. ↑ Farr, Christina (28 September 2012). "Founder Institute graduates 650th startup — wants to 'globalize Silicon Valley' (exclusive)". VentureBeat . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  16. ↑ Empson, Rip (8 November 2012). "Founder Institute Quietly Expands Into The Middle East, With Focus On Supporting Female Entrepreneurs". TechCrunch . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  17. ↑ Ha, Anthony (5 October 2013). "Founder Institute Says It Has Graduated More Than 1,000 Companies". TechCrunch . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  18. ↑ Bowles, Nellie (19 September 2014). "Founder Institute Opens Palo Alto HQ, Hosts Unicorn Theme Party". Re/code. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  19. 1 2 Serebrin, Jacob (28 July 2014). "The Founder Institute's First Canadian Cohort Graduates in Montreal". TechVibes. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  20. ↑ Magin, Janis L. (2 October 2014). "Chamber of Commerce Hawaii teams with Honolulu Founder Institute". Pacific Business News . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  21. 1 2 Gannes, Liz (30 September 2012). "Adeo Ressi's Theory of Quantified Entrepreneurship". All Things Digital . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  22. ↑ Tweney, Dylan (15 May 2014). "One of venture capital's harshest critics — Adeo Ressi — is launching a VC firm". VentureBeat . Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  23. ↑ Vance, Ashlee (9 August 2012). "Adeo Ressi on Entrepreneurs and Startup Culture". Bloomberg Businessweek . Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  24. 1 2 3 Arrington, Michael (21 July 2010). "Want To Know How You Rank As An Entrepreneur? Take The Founder Institute Test". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  25. 1 2 Williams, David K. (1 March 2013). "Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA? A Test To Help You Decide". Forbes. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  26. ↑ Mount, Ian (13 November 2013). "An Entrepreneur Who Manufactures Entrepreneurs". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "TWIA #30: Jeffrey Paine from Founder Institute". Tech In Asia. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  28. ↑ Cline, Keith (24 May 2010). "VentureFizz - Boston's Weekly Tech Buzz". VentureFizz. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  29. ↑ Ha, Anthony (2 June 2009). "TheFunded Founder Institute tries to tempt investors with a new financing model". VentureBeat . Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  30. ↑ Yap, Jacky (15 September 2012). "Gridblaze launches with the huge ambition of making data local again". E27. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  31. ↑ Yap, Jacky (20 February 2013). "[Breaking] Singapore's Gridblaze acquired by undisclosed San Francisco startup in tech transfer, cashes out in the millions". E27. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  32. ↑ Millward, Steven (7 November 2014). "Two names, two countries, 120,000 cars, and $60M in funding – iCarsClub gets a fresh round". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  33. ↑ Lee, Terence (13 March 2013). "Singapore Founder Institute launches for 2013, promises to be 'a lot more brutal'". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.