FG Fundraising Cohort

Raising Money to Scale Your Startup

The FG Fundraising Cohort is a virtual program designed for underrepresented founders who want to raise money to scale their startup. The entire cohort experience is 100% virtual, so founders can participate from anywhere in the world. Cohort Expert Trainers are announced as they are confirmed. For our next FG Fundraising Cohort, we have updated our curriculum to cover topics that train founders on how to develop a winner’s mentality, as well as educate them on the differences between angel investors and VC scouts, where to discover them, and how to pitch them successfully.

FG Fundraising Cohort 18 is Founder Gym’s second cohort specifically designed for Black women founders. Read this article to learn more about why Founder Gym is focusing this cohort on Black women founders.

If you do not identify as a Black woman but are interested in participating in the next FG Fundraising Cohort that is open to all underrepresented founders (women, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIA, veteran, etc. founders), then please go here.

Apply to FG Fundraising Cohort 18
Founder Identity	Black Women Founders
Founder Location	Anywhere in world
Application Deadline	Monday, August 30, 2021
Start Date	Monday, September 20, 2021
End Date	Friday, December 10, 2021
Training Days	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Training Times	5:00 - 7:00 pm PST

FG Fundraising Cohort 18 Calendar

Date	Time	Activity	Participation
Monday, September 20th – Tuesday, September 28th	Self-Paced	Independent Work	Mandatory
Tuesday, September 28th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	Live Welcome Event	Mandatory
Tuesday, September 29th – Tuesday, October 26th	Self-Paced	Independent Work	Mandatory
Tuesday, October 26th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Cohort Orientation	Mandatory
Wednesday, October 27th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Expert Trainer Session	Mandatory
Thursday, October 28th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Office Hours	Optional
Monday, November 1st	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Accountability Group Meeting	Mandatory
Tuesday, November 2nd	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Expert Trainer Session	Mandatory
Thursday, November 4th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Office Hours	Optional
Monday, November 8th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Accountability Group Meeting	Mandatory
Tuesday, November 9th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Expert Trainer Session	Mandatory
Thursday, November 11th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Office Hours	Optional
Monday, November 15th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Accountability Group Meeting	Mandatory
Tuesday, November 16th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Expert Trainer Session	Mandatory
Wednesday, November 17th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Expert Trainer Session	Mandatory
Thursday, November 18th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Office Hours	Optional
Monday, November 22nd	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Accountability Group	Mandatory
Tuesday, November 23rd – Friday, November 26th	N/A	Holiday Week – No Sessions	N/A
Monday, November 29th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Accountability Group	Mandatory
Thursday, December 2nd	5:00 – 7:00 pm PST	FG Office Hours	Optional
Monday, December 6th	5:00 – 7:00 pm PST	FG Cohort 18 Graduation Day #1	Mandatory
Tuesday, December 7th	5:00 – 7:00 pm PST	FG Cohort 18 Graduation Day #2	Mandatory
Wednesday, December 8th	5:00 – 7:00 pm PST	FG Cohort 18 Graduation Day #3	Mandatory
Friday, December 10th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	FG Office Hours	Optional
Friday, December 10th	11:59 pm PST	FG Cohort 18 Ends	Mandatory
Monday, December 13th	5:00 – 6:00 pm PST	Bonus Training with Mandela SH Dixon	Optional
Wednesday, December 15th	5:00 – 6:30 pm PST	Best in Cohort Training	Optional

Designed Just for You

The FG Fundraising Cohort was specifically designed for founders who meet these qualifications:

Underrepresented Founder

Tech Company

Billion Dollar Market

Scales Fast

FG Fundraising Cohort Curriculum

An Investor’s Perspective

What makes investors excited about some startups, but not others? Is it the product, the traction, the market, the team, the story, or something else entirely? In this live training, you will hear directly from a seasoned investor about what metrics really matter, so you can focus your energy, and stop wasting your efforts on things that don’t really matter.

Numbers Talk

Investors are interested in money. In order for you to get their attention, you must be able to talk about the monetary value of your company – not only as it stands today, but it’s potential to grow into the future. Being able to create financial projections that tell an attractive story about your company is key to getting an investor to say yes.

How I Raised Money

During this live training, you will hear from a founder who has experience raising money – and lots of it! They will walk you through step-by-step how they secured the bag, and highlight the mistakes they made along the way, so you can be sure to avoid them. They are a founder that is several steps ahead of you, and they will offer you a window into what’s possible for you once you raise money and scale your startup.

Pitching Angels and Scouts

There are many sources of capital to scale your tech startup, and one of the best places to look is amongst angel investor groups and VC scout programs. As more tech founders and employees generate wealth, they are now becoming angel investors, and as more VC firms compete for the best deal flow, they are now starting scout programs. During this panel, you will hear from angels and scouts about best practices on finding, pitching, and closing them.

Legal Matters

All businesses are legal entities, and when it comes to securing money from investors to grow your tech startup, it is vital that you have a great lawyer in your corner. This live training will cover the most essential legal matters that every tech startup founder should prioritize, in order to be eligible to accept funding from outside sources.

Perfecting Your Pitch

You only get one chance to make a great first impression and you don’t want to blow it. What you say and how you say it are incredibly important when it comes to fundraising. Whether it is an investor email or an in-person pitch, it is essential to learn the communication etiquette that investors prefer. Investors speak a certain language, and at Founder Gym, you will finally learn what it is.

Graduation Day

Each week, you learned valuable information to increase your odds of raising money to scale your tech startup. Now, it is time to “walk the talk” and show everyone how much you have grown. For graduation, you will present your 2-minute pitch in front of your FG Fundraising Cohort Gymmates and get a chance to be voted “Best in Cohort.” It’s time to show up and show out. Let’s go!

Live Expert Trainings

For six consecutive weeks, you will receive live training from Founder Gym’s expert trainers. All live trainings will be facilitated by Paige Hendrix Buckner, Chief Operating Officer of Founder Gym. Paige has supported over 500 founders in their completion of Founder Gym’s rigorous training program and is on hand to ensure all founders are set up to both graduate from the FG Fundraising Cohort and succeed beyond its completion.

Training Sessions Facilitated By

Paige Hendrix Buckner

COO at Founder Gym

FG Fundraising Cohort 18 Trainers

Trainers are updated as they are announced.

During the FG Fundraising Cohort, every founder must complete their fundraising toolkit in order to graduate. The toolkit includes the most essential materials needed to successfully raise startup capital. Once a founder becomes a FG Graduate, their fundraising toolkit is shared with Founder Gym’s exclusive network of accelerator directors, angel investors, venture capitalists, startup lawyers, funded-founders, and ecosystem partners in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Below is a list of the investor groups in the Founder Gym community:

500 Startups
Afore Capital
Andreessen Horowitz
AngelList
Backstage Capital
Base 10
Base Ventures
Catalyst Fund
Cleo Capital
Collaborative Fund
Cowboy Ventures
Cross Culture Ventures
Defy VC
Emerson Collective
First Round Capital
General Catalyst
Harlem Capital

Kapor Capital
Learn Capital
Lightspeed Venture Partners
MaC Venture Capital
Maveron Ventures
New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
NFX
Overkill Ventures
Owl Ventures
Precursor Ventures
Reach Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sterling Road
Storm Ventures
Techstars
Unshackled Ventures
Unusual Ventures
Y Combinator
XYZ Venture Capital

Exclusive Video Library

Over 100 accelerator directors, angel investors, venture capitalists, startup lawyers, and funded-founders in Silicon Valley and beyond have joined Founder Gym to train the next generation of successful tech startup founders. Founders selected for the FG Fundraising Cohort will receive exclusive access to Founder Gym’s extensive video library that features world-class trainings from select FG Expert Trainers, including:

Cat Lee

Former Partner at Maveron Ventures

Topic: Funding Sources

Phin Barnes

Partner at First Round Capital

Topic: Inside the Mind of a VC

Micheal Seibel

CEO & Partner at Y Combinator

Topic: The Metrics That Matter

Arlan Hamilton

Founding Partner at Backstage Capital

Topic: Communication Counts

Kathryn Minshew

Founder & CEO of The Muse

Topic: Founder-to-Founder Advice

Charles Hudson

Founding Partner of Precursor Ventures

Topic: Sealing the Deal

Tanya Soman

Former Venture Partner at 500 Startups

Topic: Fundraising for Founders Based Outside the United States

Justin Hovey

Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Topic: Legal Matters

Kendrick Nguyen

CEO of Republic

Topic: Equity Crowdfunding

Megan Holston-Alexander

Cultural Leadership Fund Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

Topic: The FInances of Fundraising

Structure to Succeed

If you already had everything you needed to succeed, you would not be here. The truth is, everyone needs help to get where they want to go, and Founder Gym is here to provide you with an inclusive community, rigorous accountability, and a clear roadmap that will get you the results you have been searching for. Founder Gym has custom-designed a virtual experience unlike anything out there, and our model continues to prove effective in accelerating founder success.

Community

Accountability

Roadmap

Results

Global Community of Founders

Being a founder is definitely hard. Being a founder can also be extremely lonely. The Founder Gym community consists of more than 542 founders living in 25 countries that span 6 continents! Once you join our ranks, you will never again have to navigate the entrepreneurial journey alone. Seeking feedback on a go-to-market strategy? Someone in our community can give you advice. Preparing for an upcoming investor meeting? Founders in our community love to help each other practice. Looking for great talent to join your team? Our graduates have amazing networks you can leverage. Our motto at Founder Gym is “We All Go Up Together,” because we know it’s going to take all of us working together in order to succeed.

What People Are Saying

Play

Meet a FG Graduate: Heli Prilliman – Lacquerbar (Cohort 3)

Play

Meet a FG Graduate: Derrick Johnson – Encounter AI (Cohort 4)

Play

The Founder Gym Impact

Cohort Tuition

Founder Gym does not take equity in startups; we are an application and fee-based training program. Just like college, you must apply to be admitted, and if accepted, a tuition fee is required. The FG Fundraising Cohort is a professional development opportunity for tech startup founders who are ready to make an investment in their growth.

$ 3,000 one-time

Save 20%

$ 500

/payment

Application Process

Read about FG Graduates

FG has trained 542 founders in 25 countries on 6 continents. Read the powerful stories of our founders and the way that Founder Gym helped them gain the confidence and knowledge to level up their fundraising and founder skills.

Read their stories here.

Apply to the FG Fundraising CohortMonday, August 30th

Set aside 30 minutes to complete the FG Fundraising Cohort application. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. The sooner you apply, the sooner you will be notified and be able to secure one of the limited spots in the cohort. Once the cohort reaches capacity, it will be closed, so take action quickly.

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

Get Notified of Your StatusWednesday, September 15th

The earlier you submit your application, the earlier you will be notified of your admittance status. All applicants will receive an email notifying them if they have been admitted in.

Confirm Your MembershipWITHIN 72 HOURS

Once you receive the email notification that you are admitted into the FG Fundraising Cohort, you will have 72 hours (or 3 days) to accept the invitation and submit the $500 down payment for your tuition.

Begin the FG Fundraising CohortMonday, September 20th

You will be onboarded into the cohort. You will receive assignments to complete before your first training session. On Tuesday, September 28th, you will attend your first live session. On Tuesday, October 26th, you will attend the mandatory orientation, which is where you will meet your Gymmates, receive a detailed overview of the programming, and hear from invited FG Graduates who will share their best advice for what it takes to succeed in the FG Fundraising Cohort.

Graduate from the FG Fundraising CohortFriday, December 10th

You did it! You completed one of the most intense founder training programs. Now it’s time to use your new knowledge, network, and know-how to take your startup to the next level.

FG Fundraising Cohort

Raising Money to Scale Your Startup

Designed Just for You

Underrepresented Founder

Tech Company

Billion Dollar Market

Scales Fast

FG Fundraising Cohort Curriculum

An Investor’s Perspective

Numbers Talk

How I Raised Money

Pitching Angels and Scouts

Legal Matters

Perfecting Your Pitch

Graduation Day

Live Expert Trainings

Training Sessions Facilitated By

Paige Hendrix Buckner

FG Fundraising Cohort 18 Trainers

Below is a list of the investor groups in the Founder Gym community:

Exclusive Video Library

Cat Lee

Phin Barnes

Micheal Seibel

Arlan Hamilton

Kathryn Minshew

Charles Hudson

Tanya Soman

Justin Hovey

Kendrick Nguyen

Megan Holston-Alexander

Structure to Succeed

Community

Accountability

Roadmap

Results

Global Community of Founders

What People Are Saying

Meet a FG Graduate: Heli Prilliman – Lacquerbar (Cohort 3)

Meet a FG Graduate: Derrick Johnson – Encounter AI (Cohort 4)

The Founder Gym Impact

Cohort Tuition

Pay In Full

Payment Plan

Application Process

Read about FG Graduates

Apply to the FG Fundraising CohortMonday, August 30th

Get Notified of Your StatusWednesday, September 15th

Confirm Your MembershipWITHIN 72 HOURS

Begin the FG Fundraising CohortMonday, September 20th

Graduate from the FG Fundraising CohortFriday, December 10th

Attend a FREE Founder Gym Master Class!