Founder Institute On Track To Graduate 300 Startups Per Year, Expands To New York

Leena Rao

Leena Rao is currently a Senior Editor for TechCrunch. She recently finished graduate school at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where she studied business journalism and videography. From 2004 to 2007, she helped lead Congresswoman Carloyn Maloney’s community outreach and relations efforts in New York City. She graduated from Columbia University in 2003, where she was... → Learn More

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

More expansion news from Adeo Ressi’s Founder Institute. The startup incubator is steadily expanding. It recently opened up an outpost in Seattle, and now is expanding to New York. “New York City needs a kick in the pants,” says Ressi.

The Winter New York City Semester will be led by Razorfish co-founder Craig Kanarick. Mentors for the program will include Munjal Shah, Patrick Keane, Max Hoat and others. You can apply here.

The Founder Institute, which just completed its first successful “semester” in Silicon Valley, also announced expansions to both Washington DC and San Diego, California in the past month. With the expansion to new cities, (2 semesters per year in Washington DC, San Diego, Seattle, and New York, each graduating approximately 25 companies) and 2 semesters per year in Silicon Valley graduating over 50 companies, Founder Institute is set to churn out 300 companies per year.

The program was first announced in March 2009. It is a semester-based startup camp for very, very early-stage entrepreneurs and students who have basic ideas for potential startups but have not yet founded a company. So far 66 startups have graduated from the program, with 31 companies incorporated by founders so far. A handful have actually launched (including Skimble and Molo Rewards).

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