Founder Institute
Status not published
Rolling. Chapters run in 100+ cities with staggered cohort start dates and their own application deadlines throughout the year.
GIVES NO CASH. The Founder Institute is a pre-seed idea-stage programme that founders pay to attend: there is a course fee, and graduates sign an equity warrant (historically around 4%) into a shared pool alongside mentors and local directors. In other words the flow of money and equity is from the founder outward. Its value is structure, deadlines and local mentor networks, not capital.
You must co-fund 100%.
Founder Institute
private · supranational
Deadline: rolling — Rolling. Chapters run in 100+ cities with staggered cohort start dates and their own application deadlines throughout the year.
This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.
Quick — mostly identity and bank details.
You fund 100% yourself.
Who can apply
- Stage: idea, pre_seed
Explicitly open to people who have not yet quit their job or formed a company. Selection uses an aptitude test plus interviews.
Source. https://fi.co/ — checked 2026-08-14 · not human-checked