Program guide

How to apply to Founder Institute Program

Part-time pre-seed program running in 200+ cities and online that walks idea-stage founders through structured sprints with mentor feedback, ending in a Funding Day.

Official page Listing details

Step by step

Check that you are eligibleThe published rules: Open to founders, working professionals, people in a career transition, students; Open to anyone with an idea; can be done while employed; choose a local chapter or online cohort.
Gather the materialsYou will need: Application form answers.
Write the answersSay what the company does in one plain sentence at the top; if a reviewer can't repeat it, the rest is read less closely.
Submit on the official pageApply through the official page (Own portal), and keep the confirmation.
Follow upNote when results are due. If the organiser invites questions, ask once, briefly, after the date has passed.

Timeline

21 days before the deadlineUpdate deck and numbersRefresh the deck, key metrics and the one-sentence description of the company.
14 days before the deadlineDraft the answersAnswer every question plainly, with numbers you can verify.
7 days before the deadlineRecord and reviewRecord the video if one is asked for, and have someone outside the team read the answers.
2 days before the deadlineSubmitSubmit early; some programs review applications as they arrive.

At a glance

Organizer: Founder Institute
Timing: Rolling: applications are read as they arrive
Cycle: Many local cohorts per year; listed chapters run Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027 cohorts.
Where: Remote · open worldwide
What you get: mentor feedback sessions · AI startup playbook tools
Cost: Takes 2.5% equity
Cost: Entrance fee (e.g. $1,199 for the Silicon Valley cohort) · Equity: 2.5% of future equity pledged to the Equity Collective
Applied through: Own portal
Account: You need an account on the application system

Who can apply

Open to founders, working professionals, people in a career transition, students
Open to anyone with an idea; can be done while employed; choose a local chapter or online cohort.

Materials checklist

Application form answersOnward Scout drafts it from your sourced profile; you approve every line.

Questions you will meet, answered honestly

Describe what your company does in one sentence.

Who it is for and what it does for them, without adjectives. “Payroll software for restaurants with under 50 staff” beats “a revolutionary platform”.

Why now, and why your team?

Point to something that changed (a regulation, a technology, a cost) and to what each founder has done that fits the problem. Don't claim expertise you can't show.

What reviewers of accelerators look for

Say what the company does in one plain sentence at the top; if a reviewer can't repeat it, the rest is read less closely.
Show progress with numbers you can verify (users, revenue, pilots, retention) and when they changed.
Check the terms first: the equity taken, the amount invested and any relocation requirement are on the program's own page.

The full playbook for accelerators

How Onward Scout helps

This one is submitted on the organiser's own site, behind your login. Onward Scout prepares every answer and file in the form's order with one-tap copy, so submitting takes minutes; you mark it submitted when you're done. There is a fee to pay to the organiser; payment always stays with you.

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Let Onward Scout prepare your Founder Institute Program application

Get a pitch deck and a one-pager for this programme, drafted from what you already have in about two minutes. Free to start, no account needed. Every answer is drafted from your own documents with sources, and nothing is submitted without your tap.

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