# Founder Institute

Founder Institute is an Asset Manager based in Palo Alto, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 3337 El Camino Real, Suite 60417, Palo Alto, CA 94306
- **Founded:** 2009
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** fi.co
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/thefounder-institute
- **Wikidata:** Q19880475

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Founder Institute is the world's largest agentic company builder, turning ideas into fundable startups and startups into unicorns. Since 2009 it has helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs build 9,000+ companies, including unicorns like Udemy and Esusu, raise over 2BN in funding, and grow a portfolio worth an estimated $20BN. It is based in Silicon Valley with chapters across 200+ cities and 95 countries, and its mission is to empower communities to build impactful technology companies worldwide.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- AI/ML
- SpaceTech
- Robotics & Automation
- ClimateTech
- Digital Health
- FinTech
- Education

## Offices

- Cambridge Avenue Office, Palo Alto, CA

## People

- Adeo Ressi — Co-Founder and Chairman
- Jonathan Greechan — Co-Founder and CEO

## Questions

### How does Founder Institute take an economic interest in participating startups?

Founder Institute does not take direct equity. It uses an Equity Collective, a pooled carried-interest structure that aligns the Institute's headquarters, local program leaders, and mentors with the long-term success of each graduating company. Terms are publicly posted at fi.co/agreements, per the firm's website.

### Who makes investment decisions at Founder Institute?

No central investment committee writes checks. Founder Institute operates a structured accelerator — founders pay a program fee — and any investment exposure comes through the Equity Collective, not a discretionary fund. Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan control the Institute as co-founders, while local chapters are run by volunteer Directors.

### How is Founder Institute related to VC Lab and Decile Group?

VC Lab started as an internal program to coach emerging fund managers. It was spun out in 2022 as an independent company under Decile Group. Founder Institute remains a separate entity, sharing a co-investor relationship and common founding team via Adeo Ressi.

### Does Founder Institute commit capital from a fund or is it purely an accelerator?

Founder Institute does not operate a committed venture fund. It runs a fee-based pre-seed accelerator. Its investment exposure comes solely from the contingent, future equity interest it earns through the Equity Collective when participating companies exit or raise priced rounds.

### What investment stages does Founder Institute target?

Founder Institute exclusively targets the pre-seed, idea, and earliest startup stages. Its Core program serves founders who have not yet raised institutional capital and often do not yet have a product. Follow-on funding is left to its Venture Network and external venture firms.

### How does Founder Institute source its pipeline of founders?

Pipeline is generated through 200-plus local chapters globally, free online workshops attracting over 750,000 attendees to date, and the Entrepreneur DNA Assessment — a quantitative screening tool. The firm does not rely on warm introductions from venture networks as its primary filter.

## Related profiles

- [Founder H Fund](https://altss.com/profile/founder-h-fund)
- [Founder One](https://altss.com/profile/founder-one)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:49.768Z

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