By: Sulaimon Biodun Durojaiye
It all began with a leap of faith last November when I applied for the Founder Institute’s (FI) startup accelerator programme.
Initially, I received no feedback, only to later discover that the Cohort 6 admissions were handled through nominations by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which sponsored that particular cohort.
Despite the initial setback, my journey was far from over.
Early this year, I received an unexpected email from FI inviting me to move my application forward.
Without hesitation, I agreed, which led me to the daunting Entrepreneur DNA Test—a lengthy and exhausting process.
Completing it, I was instantly categorized as an ‘Architect,’ one of the entrepreneurial archetypes.
Shortly after, I was offered admission and paid the enrollment fee.
As one of the first admitted for the cohort, I paid $249, whereas those admitted later paid $299.
Out of 526 applicants, only 27 were admitted, making me realize the exclusivity and competitiveness of the program.
The journey officially commenced, starting with onboarding on the FI portal.
This innovative platform is designed to share invaluable resources with founders, enable FI give out deliverables to ensure continuous refinement of ideas, offer opportunities to connect with experienced individuals in the startup ecosystem, and equip founders with the tools and opportunities to practice pitching and raise funding. After all, FI is renowned for being the premier place to build a fundable company.
The programme is structured around weekly sprints, each focusing on different aspects of building a company. We had between 12 and 18 ‘Steps’ or deliverables each week, requiring anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours to complete each Step.
Directors reviewed our submissions and often requested revisions. It quickly became clear that doing a startup is incredibly tough.
An FI alumnus and the Founder of Udemy had warned us in an onboarding video that if we asked him whether to do a startup, he would emphatically say, “No. Go and look for a job.”
He stressed that one needs to be a bit crazy and daredevil to jump into this space.
Additionally, FI’s co-founder, Jonathan Greechan, warned us that the program is deliberately designed to be challenging.
Throughout the grueling process, these warnings echoed in my mind, and I almost considered dropping out at one point.
However, I had already crossed the first significant milestone—the Mentor Idea Review. At this stage, FI evaluates whether a founder’s idea has a viable value proposition, and those deemed lacking are dropped from the programme.
The second milestone is the Investor Progress Review, where founders pitch to potential investors who rate our ideas and work done so far on a scale of 1 to 5 using three different metrics.
A founder needs an aggregate score of 3 to remain in the programme.
The day after this milestone, which for us occurred on July 17, 2024, was filled with anxiety. It was the day we would find out if we were still ‘alive’ in the program, ‘dead’ and to be dropped or if we had been ‘injured.’
An ‘injury’ meant being assigned an Epic Sprint—a more demanding set of tasks designed to get us in better shape while still managing the regular sprints.
Essentially, it was like being asked to run a 50-meter dash in 2 seconds while simultaneously completing a 100-meter dash in 6 seconds.
I received an Epic Sprint after the Mentor Idea Review and almost dropped out.
On the day of the Investor Progress Review, a fellow founder in my Working Group, Abduljalaal, wished on our WhatsApp platform, “May we not get Epic Sprint.”
Unfortunately, that prayer went unanswered as all of us were assigned Epic Sprints, and one founder was dropped.
Despite these challenges, we are now at a point where graduation is assured.
Joining the prestigious global network of FI alumni—the Navy SEALs of entrepreneurship—is within reach.
The journey has been incredibly tough, but the skills, knowledge, and connections gained are invaluable. This experience has not only shaped my startup, Thrifto, but also transformed me as an entrepreneur.
The Founder Institute has truly been a transformative experience, and I am proud to be part of this incredible journey.
