About Founder Gym

Founder Gym is the leading online program training underrepresented founders on how to raise money to scale their tech startups.

The inaugural FG Cohort debuted in January 2018, and since then, 385 founders spanning 20 countries and 6 continents have graduated and gone on to raise over $40 million in startup capital. FG Graduates reside in Australia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Ghana, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

The Founder Gym leadership team is comprised of founders, startup advisors, professional educators, and seasoned tech ecosystem builders.

Meet Our Team

Mandela SH Dixon

Founder & CEO

An entrepreneur, educator, athlete, and well-connected Silicon Valley influencer, Mandela is uniquely positioned to lead this movement. Previously at Kapor Capital and Startup Weekend, Mandela is also a member of First Round Capital’s prestigious Angel Track.

Paige Hendrix Buckner

Program Director

Paige has worked for Apple, Teach for America, the Urban League, and TiE Oregon. She has founded two companies, and has a Master’s Degree in Education. As the facilitator of the FG Cohort experience, Paige excels at helping founders succeed in the Gym and in the real world.

Cordelro Brown

Operations & Marketing

Cordelro Brown is a graduate of the University of Alabama (Go Bama!). He joined Founder Gym in 2017 as the company's first Fellow and has since advanced to playing key roles in the company's cohort operations, marketing, and digital engagement activities.

Mallory Valenzuela

Product & Marketing

Mallory brings over six years of product and marketing experience. As a UCLA alumna, she has previously worked at Singularity University, Juma Ventures, and NFX. Mallory co-founded Kubo, a media platform for Filipino millennials.

Jeremy Young

Visual Storyteller

After teaching for six years in schools like Khan Labs, Jeremy transitioned into sharing knowledge with a larger audience using multimedia. He specializes in photography and videography, and you may have seen his work featured on ATTN: or TechCrunch.

Jonathan Hackworth

Operations & Technology

An advocate for representation in tech, Jonathan uses his experience to help startups scale by reducing operational friction. He is currently a fellow at Notley Ventures, prior to that he led business intelligence at Ascendant Capital and was an early employee at Tenfold.

Amazing Person

Ready to Make an Impact

Founder Gym is always looking for incredible people to join our global movement to create wealth and fulfillment for underrepresented founders. New job and fellowship opportunities are announced via our weekly newsletter, so be sure to subscribe here.

Thank You to Our Partners

Find out when the next FG cohort launches

Read this article for tips on how to submit a great application.

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