Founder University

Founder University is a 12-week pre-accelerator program administered by LAUNCH that equips early-stage technology founders with practical skills for product development and initial growth. Created by Jason Calacanis and featured on the This Week in Startups podcast, the curriculum utilizes remote Zoom sessions and optional Austin meetups to teach minimum viable product creation and customer acquisition. The program requires a refundable $700 deposit for full attendance and accepts over 300 participants per cohort, with Cohort 11 beginning in mid-September 2025. The initiative has processed over 2,400 companies to date, offering top-performing graduates standard investments of either $25,000 for a 2.5 percent equity stake or $125,000 for 7 percent equity. This resource is intended for pre-product and pre-revenue builder teams seeking structured guidance to hit early milestones, launch initial software products, and prepare for institutional fundraising.