Founder.University: Turn Your Startup Idea into Reality
My Experience with 50% of the Program and Why You Should Apply
Hi 👋🏽 My name is Talisha, and I am a member of Cohort 1 of Founder.University a 12-week interactive course to build an MVP and get your first users — and possible $25k investment. Follow me on twitter @realTalishaW asI build @Fetxh, a search engine for shopping.
Why Founder.University?
As a solo founder, working on a startup can be lonely and isolating. This especially rings true during this strange pandemic atmosphere where the jury is still out on wether we “return to normal” or if this is “the new normal”. For myself, I was ready to take the next leap. I was already planning my own mini-accelerator where I could learn essential skills and build my MVP.
Luckily, I found Founder.University just in time and now I am part of a top-notch course, that is well organized, and overflowing with value. It’s one of the better decisions I have made so far on my startup journey.
The course is 12 weeks, with a 2 week break for our cohort for the holidays. Each week, we have a mandatory live session with an expert on Monday, a non-mandatory check-in session on Thursday, and a host of different activities to complete and content to consume. Each week’s content and activity are building towards releasing that MVP and covers everything from narrowing down ideas, building, competition, TAM, and so much more.
Overcoming Obstacles
Joining the program, for me at least, was a big risk. Truthfully, I was on my last paycheck (I’d been relieved of my job) — and the course would cost nearly half of it. However, you receive a full refund if you attend the weekly sessions and launch your MVP. Seems like an excellent motivator, and great deal.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that the $700 for the course, even though it is refundable, is a huge barrier to entry for many people. It may not seem like a lot of money, but it is for more people than we’d like to acknowledge.
Many times, you’ll hear people say if you c an’t come up with $X, then you have no business being a founder to begin with. Those people are wrong, and that type of thinking keeps people from even applying to programs like this. If you are someone who is considering this program, and the $700 is holding you back for whatever reason — just do it.
Building Community
What makes the Founder.University worth it is hands down the high-quality community of founders. The cohort was originally supposed to have only 50 members, but the cohort now is nearly doubled that. Why? It is a testament to the many amazing founders that were just too good to pass up.
That means that the “vibes are immaculate”. The community is actively engaged, helpful, and each member brings in their unique experiences and knowledge adding to the value of the course in unimaginable ways.
Our first check-in went a full 2 hours, but it felt like no time at all had passed. It is a great environment to learn and grow together. Every other check-in since has been a struggle to get us to leave!
Halfway There
As of the writing of this article, the first cohort of Founder.University is officially at its halfway mark. It definitely hasn’t been easy. The course content is detailed and can be time consuming. However, that isn’t where you should be dedicating your time.
The biggest focus of the course is around building an MVP and getting those first users/customers. The course content is there to help guide you, and the community is there to help support you. Together, it’s been one heck of a ride!
Building a startup has been by far one of the hardest things I’ve done. It’s filled with long nights, stressful meetings, and a lot of not knowing what you don’t know.
Pleasant Surprises
There have been many pleasant surprises for this course. The biggest was probably that one of the cohort members randomly got invested $25k, LIVE on one of Jason’s This Week in Startups recordings. It was a great moment!
As for myself, I was able to meet a potential cofounder. We’ve been working together and collaborating for around 4 out of 6 of the weeks of the program. I’ve heard of several other collaborating and it’s exciting to see that at the end of the 12 weeks we may have many official cofounder relationships and new business ventures.
The Cons
For a review to be fair and thorough, there has to some acknowledgement that the course isn’t perfect. As I hit on before, the cost could be a barrier to many — but never let price stop you from something you want! Plus, it’s completely refundable!
My biggest criticism of the program would have to be although our Monday live-session speakers are experts within the industry, they aren’t always the best presenters. The information is great, but the hour we have to sit there and listen…not so much.
Comparatively, this is a pretty mild con. Being interesting and engaging via Zoom is not easy. Luckily, the sessions are recorded so that you can go back and reference them when maybe it’s not your bedtime, because timezones.
What’s Next
If you’re considering starting a startup, or want to get that extra little kick to transition to working on a startup full time I highly recommend this course. It is well organized, well-paced, and filled with the highest quality startup community I’ve seen yet.
It’s basically a free pre-accelerator.
There is literally no reason I can think of that a pre-launch or barely an MVP startup shouldn’t apply. If you’re thinking of applying, there are 3 cohorts planned for 2022: Feb 28, June 13, and September 26.
You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain: course.founder.university. Tell them Talisha sent you, that doesn’t make a difference, but I’ve always wanted to say that!