About us
Startup Founder 101 brings together aspiring and experienced tech entrepreneurs to discuss, meet, and collaborate to build great new startups, and to push the local startup ecosystem forward.
This group hosts numerous free events throughout the year where you can learn the best practices of starting a company from people who have been there and done that. You’ll have the opportunity to meet local founders and investors, exchange ideas with experts, get feedback on your idea, participate in startup workshops, and more.
Typical startup event topics include:
• Coming up with a strong startup idea
• Startup legal basics
• How to pitch your startup
• Starting a company without quitting your day job
• How to raise funding for your startup
• And much more!
Join the group to be invited to our next event!
Upcoming events
4
How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub
·OnlineOnline📅 UPDATE: Rescheduled to September 28, same time.
Most innovation hubs and economic development programs underperform for the same structural reason: not enough promising applicants. The result? Empty incubators, freelancer-occupied co-working spaces, and funding going to a small number of un-promising companies. Drawing on lessons from 17 years running global incubators and accelerators, Jonathan Greechan (Co-Founder and CEO of the Founder Institute) will walk through strategies that successful entrepreneurship programs use to generate large volumes of applicants and companies.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25272 to get your link and join us live!
❯ What You'll Learn:
- Why most innovation hubs and economic development programs underperform and the structural fixes that programs in 200+ cities have actually figured out.
- How to build connected programming that takes a workforce of latent talent all the way to deal-ready ventures plugged into your local capital.
- How to identify entrepreneurial talent already sitting inside your local workforce and what to do once you've found it.
- How AI-native tools are compressing program timelines and measurably increasing founder velocity, without becoming a buzzword.
- Real-world examples from the field
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute - Jonathan Greechan is the Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, he has grown and scaled the organization to chapters in over 200 cities and 100 countries, producing over 9,000 portfolio companies with nearly $2B in venture funding. In his long career in tech and marketing, Jonathan has advised thousands of startups on marketing, growth, and product strategy and has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
❯ Who Should Attend?
- This session is designed for Innovation Hub Directors, Economic Development Officers, ESO leaders, Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations, and City and County Leaders who want actionable strategies to create jobs, retain founders, attract investment, and take visible credit for regional growth.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25272 to get your link and join us live!
2 attendees
Venture Trailblazers featuring Charles Hudson
·OnlineOnlineVenture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that connects leading investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the globe to discuss the latest trends in startups and venture capital. For this edition, we are honored to welcome Charles Hudson, Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures and one of the most respected voices in early-stage investing. The goal of Venture Trailblazers is to educate and connect founders, leaders, mentors, and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Networks.
Charles Hudson joins Adeo Ressi for the next edition of Venture Trailblazers.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/403116/meetup to get your link and join us live!
Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on writing the first institutional check for the most promising software and hardware companies. Under his leadership, Precursor has raised four funds and manages more than $200 million. He has invested in over 375 companies and backed more than 400 founders, including the teams behind Clearco, Juniper Square, The Athletic (acquired by The New York Times for $525 million in 2022), Incredible Health, Carrot, and Pair Eyewear. Before founding Precursor, Charles was a Partner at Uncork Capital and the Co-Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games. He holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Stanford University. A committed champion of the venture community, Charles served as the 2023–2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, mentors emerging managers, and sits on the San Francisco Opera Advisory Board.
❯ What We'll Cover:
- Charles's path into venture and the philosophy behind backing founders at the earliest, riskiest stage
- What he looks for when writing the first institutional check, often before the data exists
- Lessons from a portfolio of 375+ companies, including standouts like The Athletic and Juniper Square
- How he thinks about conviction, pattern recognition, and betting on people over traction
- His advice for emerging managers building durable, high-performing venture firms today
❯ Who Should Attend
- Early-stage founders raising or preparing to raise their first institutional round
- Repeat founders refining how they tell their story to pre-seed and seed investors
- Angels and VCs studying early-stage sourcing and conviction
- Ecosystem leaders and emerging managers building global founder networks
About Venture Trailblazers Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that educates and connects operators and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Network communities. Each edition spotlights a leading voice from the ecosystem in a candid conversation on what's driving the next wave of innovation in venture capital.
About VC Lab VC Lab is the leading venture capital accelerator worldwide for new and emerging managers. 900+ funds have successfully completed the program, building ethical and enduring venture capital firms around the world. The program provides all the tools needed to launch a fund and close on capital in six months or less. Managers participate in weekly fund-building sprints, receive tactical advice from experienced domain experts, and join a collaborative, global community of peers. VC Lab also develops essential fundraising skills and offers access to Decile Hub, the trusted venture platform for VCs to generate top decile returns. Learn more at https://GoVCLab.com and apply to the program at https://FI.co/apply/vc
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/403116/meetup to get your link and join us live!
1 attendee
FI Alumni Panel: Meet Founders of High-Growth Startups (Q&A + Networking)
·OnlineOnline✨ The decisions that shaped these companies were made when nobody was watching and nothing was certain. Founders from across the FI network walk through what they chose early, why, and how those choices look in hindsight.
🤖 What they are building with AI now, and which of their original assumptions survived. 💬 Q&A, then open networking. 👉 Register now to get your link and join us live! . ❯ Featured Speakers:- Jai Chinnakonda — Founder & CEO, ENGAIZ (FI Toronto Alum)
- Kelly Anderson — Founder & CEO, DyeConverter™ (FI Silicon Valley Alum)
- Brenda Bernal — Founder & CEO, Compliagence (FI Los Angeles Alum)
❯ Featured Host:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CIO of the Founder Institute - Jonathan Greechan is the Co-Founder & CIO of the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, he has grown and scaled the organization to chapters in over 200 and across over 100 countries, producing over 9,000 portfolio companies with nearly $2BN in venture funding. In his long career in tech and marketing, Jonathan has advised thousands of startups on marketing, growth, and product strategy and has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- What these founders decided in their earliest months, and why;
- Which of their original assumptions survived and which did not;
- What they are building with AI now, and how it changed their roadmap;
- What they would tell a founder at idea stage today;
- How the FI network mattered to them, concretely.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Idea-stage founders who want to see how the early decisions get made;
- Prospective applicants evaluating what the network actually produces;
- Founders in smaller chapters with limited access to breakout founders;
- Anyone who wants to network with founders beyond their own city.
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❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23175 to get your link and join us live!
1 attendee
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset
·OnlineOnlineHave you ever wondered why some people take the leap while others stay stuck? The difference isn't luck, resources, or timing — it's the way founders think. Join Jonathan Greechan, Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, for a fascinating deep-dive into the psychology behind entrepreneurial action. In this live session, you'll unpack the cognitive patterns that hold aspiring founders back and explore the mental frameworks that top entrepreneurs use to push through uncertainty. With practical exercises and a follow-up networking session, you'll leave with both insight and momentum.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24087 to get your link and join us live!
❯ What You’ll Learn:
- How to move from hesitation to action and stop waiting for the "perfect time"
- The 4 core mental barriers that keep you stuck in the startup journey
- The key mindset shifts from “It’s not my fault” to “What can I do differently?”
- How to train your mind to embrace progress and overcome excuses with clarity and confidence
- Practical exercises to leave the event feeling empowered and ready to take the next step
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CEO at Founder Institute: Since 2009, Jonathan has grown and scaled the world's largest pre-seed accelerator to chapters in over 200 cities and 100 countries, producing over 9,000 portfolio companies with an estimated value of $2BN. He also serves as an Advisor to Oxford Entrepreneurs (Oxford University), Horasis, and the USC Incubator (University of Southern California). Previously, Jonathan was a Partner of TheFunded.com, the first website for founders to rate and review venture capitalists, and an Executive Producer of the Founder Showcase. This leading Silicon Valley startup conference hosted speakers like Elon Musk. Jonathan’s writing has been featured in Fortune, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur Magazine, and he has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Aspiring founders with an idea but who haven’t started building yet
- Entrepreneurs looking to break through mental blocks and move forward with their ideas
- Early-stage founders who feel stuck in analysis paralysis or waiting for the “right moment”
- Anyone eager to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and gain the confidence to move from idea to execution
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❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24087 to get your link and join us live!
1 attendee
Past events
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