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!
Featured event
FounderX Silicon Valley: VIP Gathering of Global Founders/ Investors
FounderX is a highly-curated, intimate conference will gather ~300 investors, founders, technology executives, and startup ecosystem leaders from across the globe for three days of networking events, group workshops, and engaging talks from top Keynote Speakers.
Previous speakers for FI events include Elon Musk, Steve Jurvetson, Yamini Rangan, Naval Ravikant, Esther Dyson, Jason Calacanis, Ben Horowitz, and many more.
❯❯ Meetup members must RSVP at https://luma.com/659pksxq?coupon=WE2SPJ to attend, the early bird price is available until May 31st.
TO REGISTER, YOU MUST RSVP AND PAY AT THE LINK ABOVE. RSVPING TO THIS MEETUP DOES NOT GRANT YOU ACCESS TO THIS EVENT.
See all the latest event details at http://FounderX.com (exact details and speakers will not be updated on this Meetup page).
Please note: this event is mainly for Founder Institute investors, alumni, mentors, and leaders - so Meetup availability will expire.
The goal of FounderX is to facilitate meaningful connections and learning across the FI and Decile Group Networks, which span 40,000+ innovators across 100+ countries and 6 continents.
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❯ See all the latest event details at http://FounderX.com (exact details and speakers will not be updated on this Meetup page).
❯ Meetup members must RSVP at https://luma.com/659pksxq?coupon=WE2SPJ to attend, the early bird price is available until May 31st.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: To register, you MUST RSVP and pay at the link above.
❌ RSVPing to this Meetup does NOT grant you access to this event.
Upcoming events
6
How to Tell Stories That Win Clients and Investors with Lubna Forzley
·OnlineOnlineYou have a strong idea. But every time you explain it, people nod and move on. The problem is almost never the idea. It is the way the story is being told. Pitching persuades. Storytelling connects. Knowing which one to use, and when, is the skill that separates founders who close deals from those who keep refining their deck with no results. In this live session, Lubna Forzley, 2x TEDx Speaker and Founder of Stories, shares the exact framework she has used with executives at Coca-Cola, Google, and Microsoft. Register now and leave with a structure you can apply the same day.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- When to pitch and when to tell a story instead
- The story structure that builds trust without losing credibility
- How to use AI to build your narrative without sounding generic
- The storytelling mistakes that cost founders deals with investors
- How to craft a positioning statement that works across every channel
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24741 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Lubna Forzley - Founder and CEO @ Stories: Lubna is a 2x TEDx Speaker, and an ICF-accredited coach who has spent 20+ years advising executives at Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and the United Nations. She has shared stages with Steve Wozniak, hosted global roundtables with world leaders, and built an AI-powered brand tool that gives founders in 15 minutes what agencies used to charge $100,000 for. She helps founders and leaders cut through the noise, own their story, and win clients and investors before they ever open a pitch deck.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Experienced Professionals ready to start a company
- Solo founders who have an idea but struggle to explain it clearly
- AI-curious professionals who want to build their brand using AI
- Anyone preparing to pitch to investors or first customers
.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24741 to get your link and join us live!86 attendees
How to Start a Unicorn as a Solo Founder, with Adeo Ressi
·OnlineOnlineThe first solo founder unicorns are being built right now, not necessarily by 22 year olds in a garage, but by experienced professionals using deep industry knowledge and the right AI toolkit.That founder could be you. You may already have the expertise and the idea. What's missing is a clear path to get started. In this free online event, Adeo Ressi, founder of 11 startups, 14 VC funds, and nearly $2B in exits, will break down how to identify the startup opportunity inside your experience, use AI tools to replace parts of a founding team, and map the first 90 days of building. You'll leave the session knowing exactly what to do on day one.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- How to identify the startup opportunity hidden inside your professional experience
- Which AI tools and AI agents are replacing co-founder functions at the earliest stage of company building
- Specific AI tools and workflows for market research, competitive analysis, and early prototyping
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25335 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Adeo Ressi - CEO at Decile Group and and Chairman at the Founder Institute - Adeo has personally launched 14 venture capital funds and founded 11 startups, having nearly $2 billion in exits before the age of 30. He is currently CEO of Decile Group, powering the next generation of venture capital firms worldwide and parent of the VC Lab venture capital accelerator; and Chairman at the Founder Institute, a pre-seed accelerator with chapters in over 250 cities worldwide and over 8,900 portfolio companies.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Professionals with 5 to 15+ years of experience in an industry who have been thinking about starting something but haven't made the move yet
- Solo founders who have an idea and the drive, but need a structured process to move forward without a team
- Professionals whose role is changing because of AI and who want to turn that disruption into their own company
- Ambitious professionals who are ready to bet on themselves and work harder than they ever have
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25335 to get your link and join us live!
33 attendees
Vibecoding 101 for Startups: Build Your First App w/ Mark Montalban
·OnlineOnlineThe technical barrier between your idea and a real product just disappeared. Vibecoding 101 is a free, beginner-friendly introduction to Replit, the AI-powered tool that lets you build working apps using plain language, no coding experience required. In this free online session, Mark Montalban, a top-rated startup mentor and vibe coding instructor, will walk you through it live, step by step. No developer needed. No prior experience needed. Just your idea and 60 minutes. Register now and come ready to build.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- How Replit works and why it's the go-to tool for non-technical startup founders
- How to use natural language prompts to build real product features
- The fastest path from idea to a prototype you can show to users or investors
- Common mistakes first-time vibe coders make and how to skip them entirely
- How this approach fits into a full AI-native startup building workflow
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25170 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Who Should Attend
- Experienced professionals with a startup idea who have been waiting for a technical co-founder
- First-time solo founders who want to validate an idea without writing a single line of code
- AI-curious professionals who want to use AI to build products, not just automate tasks at work
- Anyone who has been told they need a developer to get started
.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25170 to get your link and join us live!35 attendees
Founder Meet&Greet: In-Person Startup Networking Early Summer Edition!
The Social Hub Berlin, Alexanderstraße 40, Berlin, BE, DEWe are proud to continue this free flow meet & greet session in the Bar of the social hub with guided networking and great people from different angles of the Berlin startup ecosystem!
If you have a startup idea or a growing company and you want to expand your network in Berlin, then join us for the in-person 'Founder Meet & Greet' event. At this informal networking event, you can connect with other early-stage entrepreneurs, startup mentors, and advisors from the Founder Institute Berlin network. Socialize over drinks with potential co-founders, advisors, mentors and partners. Most of all, get away from the computer and have fun!
❯ Your hosts of the day:
- Rikke Klitskov (Co-Director @ Founder Institute Berlin)
- Kai Malkwitz (Impact Director @ Founder Institute Germany)
- Mats Kuuskema (Country Director Germany @e-Residency Estonia)
❯ Who should Attend?
- Anyone interested in entrepreneurship
- Anyone who has a pre-seed tech company or a startup idea
- Anyone interested in joining a startup accelerator
- Anyone who is looking for a cofounder or would want to join a startup as a cofounder
❯ What is the Agenda?
- (Guided) Networking, Socializing and Drinks
❯❯ This is a live offline event, to be sure to receive our updates be sure to RSVP at https://FI.co/e/397980/meetup!
To join our upcoming Founder Institute program in October 2026, you can apply here: https://fi.co/Germany. For more information about the investors, accelerators, incubators, and tech events available in Berlin, see our list of Startup Resources.
About Estonia e-Residency
Launched in 2014, e-Residency provides entrepreneurs from around the world secure digital access to Estonia's advanced e-services and transparent business environment. Today, the programme helps over 110,000 people and their businesses operate location independently. Here's how they do it and how they got here.About Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.75BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.43 attendees
Past events
579
Group links
Organizers
Founder Institute Marketing T. is a Super Organizer
