Canadian chapters of the world's largest pre-seed accelerator network, running part-time cohort programs in six cities.
- Location:
- Remote
- Duration:
- 9 weeks
What you need to qualify
- For founders of tech or tech-enabled businesses at the pre-seed stage.
- Open to aspiring founders who are still employed full-time.
- Open to solo founders and to teams.
- Open to founders of established companies, generally less than a few years old and before significant funding, revenue or traction.
- Not for companies that already have significant funding, traction or revenue; Founder Institute points those founders to a seed accelerator instead.
- Not for service-related businesses such as marketing agencies, or for non-scalable consultancies.
- Applicants must be ready to do the work of building an enduring company rather than flipping it.
- Each co-founder must apply separately and name the company in the Company Name field.
Eligibility
- Eligible stages
- All stages
- Countries
- Global, subject to the provider’s eligibility and approval
How to apply
- 1
Open the chapter page for Toronto
Founder Institute admissions are run per chapter. Start at https://fi.co/toronto, which carries the cohort dates, the entrance fee and the application form for this chapter.
- 2
Complete the written application
Use the Apply to this Cohort button, which scrolls to the application form on the same page. You create a Founder Institute account (name, email, password and a question about which description fits you best) and then complete the written portion of the application.
- 3
Take the Entrepreneur DNA Assessment
After the written portion you are invited to take the Entrepreneur DNA Assessment. It is online, takes about 30 minutes, and Founder Institute calls it the main criterion for acceptance. There is no way to prepare for it.
- 4
Wait for the human review
Every application is reviewed by hand by the admissions team in Silicon Valley, which typically returns a decision by email within 72 hours. Applications are judged in comparison with the other applicants in the same semester.
- 5
Receive an admissions status
You are assigned one of four states: Accepted, Reviewing, Finalist or Declined. The status also appears at the top of your profile page when you are logged in.
- 6
Enrol and pay the entrance fee
Accepted founders pay the chapter entrance fee. It is fully refundable if you drop out before the Kickoff session and 75 percent refundable if you drop out before the third session. Teams of 2 to 3 pay 1.5 times the fee and teams of 4 to 5 pay 2 times.
- 7
Sign the warrant about two thirds of the way through
Roughly two thirds of the way through the program you sign the warrant or option agreement that joins the Equity Collective, which is a 2.5 percent pledge per company. You can leave with 45 or more days left before Graduation without committing to it.