Startup School
Are you passionate about tech? Do you have a sense for entrepreneurship? Want to launch your own startup and actively shape the future of digital transformation as well as expand your entrepreneurial talents? The Founders Foundation Startup School is the ideal entry point into the startup scene.
From Zero to Startup in 10 Weeks
In our Startup School, we bring together complementary talents, teach them the relevant basics, help them developed their entrepreneurial mindsets, and pave the road for the launch of their own startup.
International experts and leading figures from the startup scene support the Startup School attendants during the program, provide them with honest feedback, and give them perspective for their business ideas.
Format
Twice a year
10 week part-time program, at night and on weekends
Fixed starting and ending date
Hybrid (online & on-site in Bielefeld)
20 hours a week
Program language: German
Audience
Singular talents with an entpreneurial mindset
Teams with a business idea in its early phase
Focus
Startup Basics
Team Matching
Goal
Validated business idea
& complementary team of co-founders.
Just One Click To Get Started
The Clock Is Ticking:
Clear some space in your schedule and start your journey with us!
Apply now and join the next Startup School cohort from 18 March to 31 May 2023.
Program Contents
Idea Block
In our Idea Block you will learn how to evaluate what characterizes a successful business idea, how to find out if there is a market and demand for the idea, and which components are necessary to build a successful team.
Building Block
Once you have completed the Building Block, you will know what the first version of your solution looks like, how to achieve that milestone, and how you can best approach and win over customers for your solution.
Growth Block
In topic-specific workshops you will learn about the most important metrics of your business idea, how to systematically record and improve them, and which options you have to finance your startup.
Final Pitch Day
The Final Pitch Day is the grand finale of Startup School. You and your team get to present your startup idea in front of a huge audience. A jury of investors and corporate representatives grades the pitches and chooses the winning team. The winning teams of the Final Pitch Day does not only reap honor & glory but free tickets to the Hinterland of Things Conference 2023 and a scholarship for the Founders Foundation Lab.
Program Benefits
Co-Founder Matching
Link up with other ambitious talents who share your mission so that you can grow together. Participating in our Startup School is a groundbreaking step on the way to assemble a strong founder team. We bring together top talents and support them with exploring their skillsets and interests. And that is how strong complementarily set up teams of founders emerge.
Startup Knowhow
You will acquire all the information and skills that you need to build a successful B2B tech startup and establish yourself in the international startup scene. In the course of 10 weeks you will find out achieving the Problem-solution fit really entails and lay the groundwork for your startup to generate sales and receive investments.
Top-tier Experts
All lecturers of Startup School are experienced entrepreneurs and startup experts, such as our Program Director Dr. Jan Brinckmann who is among the global top 5 entrepreneurship professors and the coordinator of the MBA course at ESADE Barcelona.
For all Stages of Life
Startup School is designed to be job-compatible. You can easily participate while still pursuing your current activities. The program comprises online and on-site sessions in regular rotation. All sessions (both online and on-site) take place after work hours during the week or on weekends.
Community Access
You get access to our Slack community with more than 170 exciting talents and alumni from the founder scene in the OWL region. As one of the leading organisations in startup training in Germany and with solid connections to the international startup scene, the Founders Foundation additionally offers you access to our network of highly qualified mentors and experts, partners in various industries, business angels, and VCs.
B2B Expertise & Network
The Founders Foundation is the perfect place to start building successful tech-based B2B companies. The countless Hidden Champions from the German Mittelstand and global leaders right next door represent exciting points of contact for possible joint ventures, customer relationships, or investments.
What It Really Means To Join Startup School!
Get to know Elias and Miri and find out what Startup School exactly is – in just one minute.
Your Supporters
Profit from our unique network of top-class businesspeople, international experts and leading figures from the startup scene.
Dr. Jan Brinckmann
Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy
ESADE Barcelona
Kristina Walcker-Mayer
CEO
Nuri
Jana Görs
Co-Founder
Zephram
Testimonials From Our Participants
Many successful ideas had their start in the Startup School. This is what the alumni are saying about our program.
Not only did I met my co-founder Nick in the Startup School, I was also able to build a strong network of inspiring founders, startup experts and investors.
In the Startup School, I met my two co-founders Dennis and Ingo – we are still running a successful company together. Without the Founders Foundation, many things would have been impossible for us. I can only highly recommend the Startup School.
In the Startup School, you get to take part in valuable workshops with international top experts such as Jan Brinckmann. Other people must attend the best universities for that and spent a small fortune. You get the same experience in the Startup School, but without any cost.
Not only did I met my co-founder Nick in the Startup School, I was also able to build a strong network of inspiring founders, startup experts and investors.
In the Startup School, I met my two co-founders Dennis and Ingo – we are still running a successful company together. Without the Founders Foundation, many things would have been impossible for us. I can only highly recommend the Startup School.
In the Startup School, you get to take part in valuable workshops with international top experts such as Jan Brinckmann. Other people must attend the best universities for that and spent a small fortune. You get the same experience in the Startup School, but without any cost.
This Is What Qualifies You For the Program
YOU WORK ON INNOVATIVE IDEAS. YOU ARE A VISIONARY THINKER
YOUR EYES ARE FIRMLY SET ON THE DIGITAL FUTURE. YOU ARE A TRENDSETTER
YOU LEAD THE WAY WITH YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
Frequently Asked Questions
The program aims at participants with big ideas and ambitions but who do not know everything yet that there is to know about startups and building businesses. Other important traits are an innovative mindset, a “can do”-attitude, a creative drive, and a pioneering spirit.
Startup School is a 10-week part-time program with a fixed starting and ending date happening twice a year. The program contents are taught in both physical and digital workshop formats.
The focus of teaching is elementary startup knowhow in the fields finances, team building, and product development. Next to acquiring knowledge, team matching is an important aspect to create strong complementary teams of founders.
Startup School aims to match complementary teams of founder with each other and find ideas for a possible startup launch.
First, you fill out your application form (takes 15 minutes). If you reach the second stage you will be invited to a one-way video interview (15 minutes) via email. Once we have sighted all applications you will receive a definitive response whether you will be accepted into the next round of the program.
Once you have completed Startup School, you will receive a certificate that certifies your participation and details your specific learnings.
If the validation of your team’s business idea was positive and shows real potential we won’t abandon you, of course. You will be able to qualify for the Founders Foundation LAB where will continue assisting with the development of your startup. Additionally, you will have the chance to apply for the full-time accelerator program.
No. Every talented founder that manages to convince us and is accepted by our in-house jury receives a full grant worth 3.000 € for Startup School. In other words: We do not charge an entry fee! In return we expect nothing less than your full commitment and an attendance quota of 85%. This is your chance. Excuses like “I had no time” or “But my job …” won’t make your startup grow. Commitment is everything!
Yes, the program takes place primarily in the evenings and on weekends. That way, you will be able to see to your other duties and still participate as best as you can. The expected time you need to invest per week is around 20 hours.
Once you have completed Startup School, you will receive a certificate that certifies your participation and details your specific learnings.
If the validation of your team’s business idea was positive and shows real potential we won’t abandon you, of course. You will be able to qualify for the Founders Foundation LAB where will continue assisting with the development of your startup. Additionally, you will have the chance to apply for the full-time accelerator program.
We want you to connect with each other and be able to learn efficiently. But we also want our participants to be safe and stay healthy. Naturally, we will heed the current regulations of state and federal government on handling covid. If it is no longer possible to host on-site sessions we will switch to a remote program, meaning all sessions will be run via zoom.
IT/technical/software skills are not strictly necessary because a person never starts alone, at least in our philosophy. The very first step of Startup School is matching complementary talents so that every hacker is matched with a hustler and/or hunter. A complementary and nimble team is one of the top 3 factors of sucess when launching a company. What you should consider a pre-requisite for joining the program is to know your own strengths and be aware of missing competencies.
YOUR NEXT STARTUP SCHOOL EVENT
Online Info Meetup 08.03.
Our digital info meetup on March 8 is your chance to get to know Founders Foundation and specifically the Startup School #14 program.
We invite you to take a look behind the scenes of our education program. Whether you’re an individual talent or a team, meet us on March 8 via Zoom and ask us all your questions.
Ideation Workshops
Every successful startup starts with a good idea. The million-dollar question: How do you find an idea that you can be passionate about and that also breaks through any ceiling? Only in very rare cases these ideas are born from a single moment of sudden inspiration. Much more often, they are the result of a well-structured process. In our ideation workshops, we will develop this process together with every single workshop having a specific focus.
The Startup Journey
In the Lab, you and your team members further develop your business idea into a preliminary product, the MVP, and solidify your validation. You become experts for the problem, the solution, and the potential market. This is how you achieve the Problem-solution fit.
To accomplish all of that, you receive individual coaching from program managers and mentors and enjoy all the advantages our Founders Home has to offer. Once during a quarter, you face new startup teams on the Challenger Day where you pitch your progress and receive feedback from mentors and other founders.
During the 5-months full-time Accelerator, you go all out: You acquire the first customers, build your product, iterate your assumptions and insights, until you are on the stage of the Demo Day, with a solid Product-market fit and ready to launch into the first round of financing. On Demo Day, you show off your business case, and yourselves, to the German VC scene and become part of our alumni network.
The Road on Your Startup Journey
Startup Journey
Stay Tuned For the Next Startup School
Are you ready to put all your passion into innovative business ideas and find your perfect co-founder? Take the first step and apply for our Startup School!
E-Learning for the Entrepreneurs of the Future
You want to have access to the basic information that you need for your personal startup journey at any time and as often as you need? The free version of our e-learning course offers exclusive content provided first-hand by 20 founders and VCs from the German startup and tech scene and by our very own Founders Foundation experts. Start your very own startup journey with us!
Any Questions?
Our Program Manager Elias Weike is happy to answer all your questions about the Startup School.
You Have Questions?
Talk to us!
We are happy to answer your questions about our programs, our mission and the events we are hosting.
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