Founder Institute: Cohort Sessions

Seattle 2017 Program Sessions (Private Events)

The Founder Institute provides a rigorous, comprehensive company-building curriculum to guide you through validating your ideas, performing customer development, building a team, preparing for funding, and more. Through weekly training and feedback sessions led by top startup mentors, office hours with local directors, group meetings with fellow founders, and challenging company building assignments, participants in the program make several years of progress in just 3.5 months.

See the curriculum structure below, or see a sample Founder Institute session.

Orientation

2017-01-10, 06:30 PM: Welcome and meet your peers.This is where it all begins. During Orientation, we will review the Founder Institute program structure, curriculum, tools, and requirements in detail. In addition, you will identify mentors that can help you get the most out of the program, meet the other founders in your cohort, and learn more about their ideas and skillsets. Assignments for this session include creating a plan to complete the program, watching recommended Founder Institute training videos, and more.

Vision and Ideas

2017-01-11, 06:30 PM: Develop a set of strong ideas.The best startup ideas are formed from the intersection of a real customer problem and your personal strengths and passions. During this session, you will learn how to form, communicate, and analyze startup ideas in a structured manner. By the end of the week, you will form and analyze several business ideas (or three variations of the same idea) that you could realistically spend the next 20 years working on, and begin interviewing potential customers about their problems.

Research and Customer Development

2017-01-17, 06:30 PM: Test your ideas with research.Large and fast growing markets have the power to elevate mediocre companies into greatness, and conversely, dying markets can doom otherwise solid companies. In this session, you’ll learn how to systematically research your market and gain a deep understanding of your target customer. Assignments include competitive research, defining your key business assumptions, interviewing additional potential customers, and more.

Naming and Positioning

2017-01-31, 06:30 PM: Name your business.Your naming and positioning are the starting point for all of your company’s marketing. In this session, you will learn the components of great company names, and how to position your product effectively in the eyes of the consumer. By the end of the week, you will brainstorm and analyze a variety of names, and then select a final name after performing more customer research. In addition, you will build your first pitch deck, and begin interviewing law firms for your company.

Revenue Models

2017-02-07, 06:30 PM: Chose an idea and a model.

Mentor Idea Review

2017-02-15, 06:30 PM: Present your idea for feedback.The Mentor Idea Review is the first major test in the Founder Institute Program. During this session, every founder presents a three minute pitch to a large number of entrepreneur and CEO mentors for evaluation and feedback. These mentors will grade you on many criteria, such as the validity and market potential of your ideas, and your understanding of your target customer. After the session, you will incorporate their feedback into your planning, begin to set up your company and marketing infrastructure, and more.

Startup Legal and IP

2017-02-21, 06:30 PM: Build a legal and IP strategy.

Team and Advisors

2017-02-28, 06:30 PM: Recruit your first team members.

Product Development

2017-03-13, 06:30 PM: Plan to build your offering.Quickly releasing a product is critical towards getting the feedback you need to build a successful company. This week, top product-oriented entrepreneurs will teach you the basics of product development, and how to advance from an idea to an offering on a budget. Assignments include additional customer development, determining the key features to prioritize with your product, building a product roadmap and “first release” plan, and more.

Mentor Progress Review

2017-03-14, 06:30 PM: Present your progress for feedback.Similar to the “Mentor Idea Review”, this is the second major test in the program. In the “Mentor Progress Review”, you will present a three minute pitch to a large number of mentors for feedback and evaluation, focusing on aspects like your recent progress and product planning. Afterwards, you will incorporate their feedback into your pitch deck, revenue, hiring, and product plans, begin forming the advisory board for your company, and more.

Sales and Traction

2017-03-21, 06:30 PM: Start generating traction.If you can’t get customers to use and pay for your product, then nothing else matters. During the session, you will learn how to “hustle” to identify and close your first customers from entrepreneurs that have done it before. Then, you will put everything you have built to the test, by releasing your first product (if you have not already), securing your first (or new) customers, testing different pricing, and more.

Branding and Marketing

2017-03-28, 06:30 PM: Establish market credibility.As new platforms and technologies mature, the rules of marketing for technology companies are constantly changing. This week is all about learning the latest strategies, “growth hacking” tactics, and tools to generate distribution and traction for your product. Assignments include identifying and building relationships with the key influencers in your industry, building a PR and distribution strategy, developing a company blog and social media presence, and more.

Bootstrapping and Fundraising

2017-04-04, 06:30 PM: Capitalize the business.Every company needs capital to grow, and it can come from revenue or outside sources like investors. This finance heavy session will educate you on the different strategies, structures, and tactics for getting investment, as well as how to bootstrap and manage your company cash flow to profitability. After the session, you will consult with your Directors and Advisors to form a plan to capitalize your company, and take various steps depending on the strategy you choose.

Graduation

2017-04-11, 06:30 PM: Graduate from the program.

Most people that enter the program do not make it to Graduation, because the Founder Institute curriculum is very demanding. However, the select few that Graduate have achieved several years of progress on their startup in just a few months. We typically celebrate the Graduating class with a small event attended by family members, mentors, investors, and more. Afterwards, Graduates gain access to the Founder Institute network, tools, and ongoing resources… and the real work of building and growing an enduring company begins!