If 2018 is the year you resolved to launch the startup idea you’ve long had rattling around your brain, Founder Institute’s Ottawa franchise is waiting for your application.
The deadline to apply for the early-stage Silicon Valley-born accelerator is coming up on Jan. 21, with a series of informational events lined up for the curious next week.
Founder Institute is a California-based startup program that has expanded to more than 150 cities around the world, first coming to Ottawa in 2016. The program targets aspiring founders with an idea in hand, but not much else. (In the startup lifecycle, it might come after a successful hackathon weekend but before large accelerators such as Y Combinator.)
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In a unique twist on community building, graduates from the program contribute four per cent of their firm’s equity to a pool shared amongst Founder Institute, the program’s local mentors and even fellow cohort members.
Associate director Nolan Beanlands told Techopia last year that the model helps to share the stakes of building a startup and reduce competition.
Before the first program of the year kicks off, the local chapter is hosting a series of public events at Ottawa bars, including “How to Launch a Startup Without Quitting Your Day Job.” All of the program sessions take place after work hours, by the way, allowing you to do just that.
You can find a full list of events and browse the program’s curriculum, which covers everything from idea validation to legal matters to revenue models, here.
The winter program runs from Jan. 29 to May 7, and costs US$999 for participants.