Overall Founders space enabled me to understand in 2 weeks what I can do and what I cannot do in Silicon Valley, coming from France, I would say it represents one year of curve experience on a foreign market/ecosystem. Founders Space is the place to go if you have a foreign startup who needs a solid product fit to get in the US Market.

Scott Gray:
Scott has the talent to map all your ideas on paper, and organize them for an efficient, attention-grabbing 2 minute pitch. He is the person you want to talk to about your startup and business model, he’ll highlight some great part of your company you didn’t even see.

Steve Austin:
Steve is the authentic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, with a fighting spirit you can only respect. Steve is the go to guy for your product fit, he is the best advisor you can have for an agressive go to market strategy, he will think of strategy, partnership you did not even know existed. Steve’s experience is priceless, you will surely enjoy hearing his stories from all his previous and diverse experience, and at the end of the program you will realize you just downloaded years of experience as an entrepreneur. Who said you can’t buy time? Steve’s mentoring session are a true acceleration for any startup. Read More...

Back in December, I got invited to the Founders Space accelerator last minute. My co-founders and I were hesitant to go because we were still college students and we had finals the next week.

Maybe it was boldness or maybe it was stupidity, but I skipped my finals to attend Founders Space and since then, I haven’t looked back. It was one of the best decisions of my life and a key decision for growth and knowledge for my startup, LYFEBOAT. Now days, I’m taking some time off of school with my co-founders to pursue LYFEBOAT full-time. I believe that being part of such a great accelerator was key in laying a great foundation for all of us as founders.

Let me be clear from the very beginning, if you want an accelerator that’s easy or slow and boring, then this is not the one for you. If you’re looking to be taught by some of the most experienced people in the industry and you’re not afraid to be called out for your BS then this is the place for you. The value of this program is far more than what we paid for and continues to give back time and time again through their mentor pool and through the amazing people we met. Founders Space started teaching us before we even got to San Francisco through their members-only emails that give you great book summaries and through their online learning course. Steve Hoffman (Captain Hoff) and Naomi have Kokubo have outdone themselves in creating such a valuable program for such a short amount of time that it runs. They brought in some great Venture Capitalists, Angel investors, marketers, and coaches. Read More...

I was very fortunate to participate in an intensive course held by the Founders Space Accelerator from Dec 1 to Dec 12, 2014.

I found this course to be extremely useful and cannot recommend it highly enough. As I said, this was an intensive course: for ten weekdays we had on average four lectures every day, each lasting one and a half hours. That is very convenient for someone like myself: I do not live in San Francisco and cannot take a course lasting from two to seven months (and this is what other accelerators offer).

The lectures covered the topics that founders really need: presentations, sales, legal setup, negotiations with angel investors, etc. The mentors were all excellent: there was not one lecture that was a waste of time. On the contrary: there were several mentors who are stars and whose presentations were unforgettable. Read More...

I have to confess, I was jaded when my startup was accepted into the Founders Space. During the time I’ve been at this, I’ve encountered many incubators, accelerators, pitch competitions, and meetups out there, all professing to help entrepreneurs one way or another. Once our month-long Founders Space stint began, I found myself pleasantly surprised, because we found help alright, not just in words or promises but in the program’s structure, substance, and especially the instruction.

I was especially impressed with instructors Scott Gray and Steve Austin. Of course, they knew what they were talking about. Each one owns down-in-the-trenches experience. They’re still practicing what they preach. They brought an uncommon energy to every session. But here’s what I cherish most: It didn’t matter to them if we short or long on experience, if our ideas seemed sound or specious, or if our pitches were smooth or they sucked. To each and every one of the entrepreneurs in our cohort they provided equal portions of time, attention, and care. The managed to find a measure of promise in each and every one us, just as a devoted public school teacher might do. A little bit of belief goes a long way in the often grueling and often cut-throat process of bringing a venture to life.

I was also impressed with the depth, breadth, and regularly of the content we received by email each and every day during the program and beyond. It managed to touch on just about every facet of building a business — from the hard-numbers stuff like finance to the soft skills around leadership. Read More...

I had a pretty amazing experience at Founder’s Space. There are two very important areas where they seem much stronger than other incubators – making connections and learning how to secure funding.

Steve and Murray were great about introducing us to a wide variety of resources. We met lawyers, mentors, marketing experts, a plethora of other start-ups, and investors. We had the opportunity to speak with every flavor of investor which included independent investors, foreign investors, venture capital firms, seed investors, angel investors, and even representatives from Fortune 500 companies that have investment branches.

The contacts made available have proven to be beneficial for me, personally. I have consulted with and referred people to Roger Royce, a top silicon valley lawyer. A colleague of mine recently became an advisor and teacher at Founders Space. And Steve has been great about answering questions from other founders that have asked me about Founders Space or expressed interest in the program. Read More...

First of all, Steve Hoffman is awesome guy. Very positive, well connected and highly experienced in all spheres of what any startup should know. It was pleasure to meet him first time at an FS event and pitch sessions later on. The place is good: quiet, there is a lot of room and free wi-fi is available.

The one month program was very short but very powerful according to program structure, sessions, master classes and meetings. Two main coaches, Steve Austin and Scott Gray, day-by-day taught us the key points: product market fit, pitch structure, presentation deck and presentation style, customer development issues, marketing and budgeting. A lot of valuable feedback regarding your startup. Sometimes Scott and Steve provided opposite advise, but you are a founder, you should make the final decision according to all information around you.

One more thing is online video content, which is available only for FS participants. It has a ton of valuable information, which is available 24/7. It’s a bible for founders, showing you how to avoid mistakes when you move forward step-by-step and build multi million dollar company. Read More...

The leadership of Medical Datasoft International (MDI) entered Founders Space Bootcamp as we were taking the next step in the launch of our computer-patient interview software www.MDInterview.com. We knew what we had but were not skilled in presenting it to investors.

Founders Space taught us to make our pitch in 90 seconds or less and to create a pitch deck which visually illustrated the value and use of our software. Nothing felt natural. It was like learning to swing a golf club. But Scott Grey and Steve Austin, master teachers, rose to the challenge and instructed, challenged and inspired us to rethink our pitch and present it succinctly.

Scott Grey recognized that my co-founder and I needed someone on two attention in order to learn to say more in less time and coached us in redoing our pitch deck and reframing our headline. Both of which improved our presentation and our ability to hold the interest of investors. Read More...

Founders Space has a great program for founders and a lovely space in the middle of SOMA. It was awesome to work in the same building where companies like Instagram etc took off.

Their videos were very instructive. Steve Hoffman is an inspiring mentor, who makes himself available to everyone during the course. Murray threw light on the marketing and advertising aspects. There were some inspiring speakers who came by and pumped us up every once in a while, some thing founders need on this hard journey. I really appreciated Steve Austin’s candid feedback throughout the program.

The ongoing mentoring sessions at Townsend are cool, and the event at the end of the program gave startups an opportunity to present and get some great feedback. Their little setup in the basement is so homey. I wish I was closer and could spend more time there. Read More...

I joined Founder’s Space at the start of September 2014 as a Founder of SportsLab Inc.

On my first day, I took the BART into San Francisco from the East Bay and made the walk down to the excellent location in SOMA, the heart of the San Francisco startup scene. On my walk in SOMA, I bumped into a long-time friend and fellow entrepreneur that I hadn’t seen in a while. It is too easy to run into entrepreneurs here!

The first instructor that I met was Steve Austin. I could tell after listening to Steve for a few minutes that he was a seasoned Silicon Valley veteran. Steve had a No BS attitude, and I loved hearing about his successes and failures. In a later session, Steve mentioned that many of the MBA professors that have a doctorate in entrepreneurship have not been out in the field of battle. I wholeheartedly agree with Steve on this and believe that his mentorship has been invaluable. Read More...

Founders Space Accelerator was by far one of the most fun, educational experiences I have ever had.

Conveniently located just a mile away from an area saturated with hotels, shopping and restaurant choices, they provide an inviting environment and an invaluable instruction.

As for the instructors themselves: Read More...