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.\
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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.\
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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!\
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Join the group to be invited to our next event!
Upcoming events
3
Pre-Seed Startup Fundraising in Japan Featuring Japan Angels and More
TOKYO innovation base, Japan, 〒100-0005 Tokyo, Chiyoda City, Marunouchi, 3 Chome−8−3 2F SusHi Tech Square, tokyo, JPAre you a founder preparing to raise your pre-seed round in Japan? This event offers a practical, data-informed look at how early-stage fundraising actually works in the Japanese startup ecosystem. As Japan continues to grow as a major venture market in Asia, pre-seed funding remains highly relationship-driven and selective. Founders often underestimate how investors evaluate teams, traction, and risk at the first-check stage and how different expectations can be compared to other global markets.
In this session, experienced early-stage investors and ecosystem leaders will share how Japanese VCs and angels think at the pre-seed stage, what they look for before metrics, how founders should approach equity and fundraising structure, and what common mistakes slow or block early funding rounds.
You’ll hear about what works and what doesn’t when seeking VC funding in Japan, the common traps to avoid, and how to identify investors suited to your startup’s pre-seed stage and sector.
Learn expert tips, big pitfalls to avoid, what investors are looking for, how equity works, and more. After the Q&A session, you'll have the chance to network with other founders and investors.-
Venue: Tokyo Innovation Base, 3-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005
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Date & Time: March 4th 2026 from 6 PM JST
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Agenda:
-Welcome & FI Introduction
-Speakers Introduction
-Panel Discussion
-Q&A Session❯ Featured Speaker:
Evan Burkosky - Founder at kimaru.ai
Colin Magne - Founder at Japan Angels
Koki Tanaka - VC at Incubate Fund❯ Moderator:
- Erdinc Ekinci - Founder, Investment Lead of Co-capital.vc, Co-Founder, CEO of Openfor.co, Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan/Korea/Taiwan
❯ What You Will Learn:
- How pre-seed fundraising actually works in Japan, beyond theory and pitch decks
- What Japanese angels and early-stage VCs look for at the first check stage
- Typical pre-seed round structures, timelines, and investor expectations
- How to approach equity, valuation, and ownership at the pre-seed stage
- Common fundraising mistakes founders make in Japan and how to avoid them
- How to identify and engage the right investors for your stage and sector❯❯ This is an in-person event, so be sure to RSVP at https://fi.co/e/388931/meetup to secure your spot and receive further details.
3 attendees-
Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact
·OnlineOnlineGreat startup advisors can be a huge benefit for early-stage founders - helping them access networks, avoid mistakes, supplement missing skills, and even provide emotional support. But finding great advisors can be challenging, and their benefits are typically tied to how well you can leverage their limited time. On this interactive online event, we'll break down a practical, founder-friendly process for finding, vetting, and activating great startup advisors from our experience facilitating tens of thousands of advisor relationships since 2009.
❯❯ RSVP now at 👉 https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23124 to get your link and join us live!
❯ What You'll Learn:
- How to identify the right advisors.
- The chemistry + contribution test: how to evaluate fit before making anything official.
- How to structure advisor interactions so they produce outputs.
- When and how to use the FAST Agreement to standardize responsibilities + equity and avoid drawn-out negotiations.
- Common failure modes (advisor vanity, “free consulting,” misaligned incentives) and how to prevent them.
❯ 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 over 100 countries, producing over 8100 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?
- Founders at the idea, pre-seed, or early traction stage who want help but don’t want drama.
- First-time founders building their first advisory board.
- Operators and technical founders who need domain, distribution, or fundraising support.
- Mentors/advisors who want a clearer framework for being helpful (and getting properly compensated).
❯ The FAST Agreement (Founder-Advisor Standard Template)
The FAST Agreement is used by tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and advisors per year to establish productive working relationships, trading advice and support for a standardized amount of equity. See the free agreement at FI.co/FAST.❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at 👉 https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23124 to get your link and join us live!
1 attendee
FI Japan/Korea/Taiwan 2025 Fall Cohort In-Person Graduation Party @ Venture
CIC Tokyo, 1 Chome-17-1 Toranomon, Minato City, 1 Chome-17-1 Toranomon, Minato City, Tokyo 105-6415, Tokyo, JPJoin us for the "FI Japan/Korea/Taiwan 2025 Fall Cohort Graduation Party", where we celebrate the graduation of founders from the Founder Institute Japan, Korea, and Taiwan Joint Global Fall 2025 Cohort, a group of ambitious entrepreneurs building across borders, industries, and ecosystems.
This special in-person gathering will be an evening of celebration, founder pitches, and informal networking, bringing together entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors, investors, VCs, and ecosystem builders from across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and beyond.
Come meet the graduating founders, connect with the FI community, and raise a toast to the next generation of globally-minded startups emerging from Asia.
Key highlights from this cohort include:
📌 𝟏𝟑 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝟑𝟐 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝟏𝟐 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.
📌 𝟔𝟎+ 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟒 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲.
📌 𝟐𝟐 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 (𝟏𝟑 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 + 𝟗 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩-𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬).
📌 𝟒𝟎+ 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐭𝐨-𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟑+ 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫.
📌 𝟑𝟎+ 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟎𝟎+ 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦.
You can check our Founder’s Testimonial from previous cohorts here- https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPkRPOjzO2Swodw0a8TUIfOcDSK6h7MhM&si=1m2MsiiXvOG0950A
Venue: Venture Café Tokyo❯ Agenda:
-Founder Institute & Co-host Organization Introduction
-Graduate Founder’s Startup Pitches (5 mins each)
-Mentor & Alumni Introduction
-Graduation Celebration
-Networking❯ Moderators:
- Erdinc Ekinci - Founder, Investment Lead of Co-capital.vc, Co-Founder, CEO of Openfor.co, Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan/Korea/Taiwan- Yu Li Shein, Co-Director, Founder Institute Korea/Japan & /Taiwan Co-founder, COO, Openfor.co, inc
❯ Graduating founders:
- Alican Yıldızalp, Founder at Miriel AI
- Brenda N. Wang, Founder at ZENYA
- Leonid Posadskov, Founder at Luminari Inc.
- Jade Liao, CEO & Co-Founder at Mishkan Limited
- Paul Conversy, Founder at InsightMatches
- Hanna Jaff, Founder at FamLink
- Ray Ma, Founder at Kevoes
- Maryana S. Igoryvna, Founder & CEO at Unwind Minds
- Prumsodun Ok, Founder at Bodhikara Ventures
- Mingyun Guan, Founder & CEO at Atolla Ocean
- John Heinemann, Founder at flixfluent
- Julio Alejandro Calanche - MBA, Founder at SABI (by Sales Done Right Japan)
- Jeff G., Founder at P4k International, Inc
❯❯ RSVP at https://fi.co/e/390391/meetup to secure your spot and receive further details.
1 attendee
Past events
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