Tonight I will graduate from the Founder Institute program and the last three months have been crazy (really three months only! Feel more like six this program started). Founder Institute helped me to take RefinePro from vision to product (we will launch our beta by the end of this month – yeah!) and avoid most of the common pitfalls when you start your company.
The program gives you a 360 degree view of what it takes to build a successful company, including building your team and mentors, your sales and marketing process, your product roadmap and all the legal part of your business. It pushes you to do what you might be reluctant to do if you are on your own and make sure you check every dark corner.
Despite what it seems at the first look, the program is an iterative process. During the first months your layout the foundation of your idea in term of product, revenue and vision. The following months your deepen those three aspects by drilling into the details.
Finally, the Founder Institute opens up a fantastic network of bright and successful people in your city. Over 40 mentors attended to the Toronto weekly meeting, which represent four mentors per graduate! They provide valuable insight on your business, open you doors through the city and are here to bounce ideas between two sessions.
