“Before the Founder Gym Cohort, I lacked confidence in what we had achieved. I doubted if it was enough to be acknowledged and I sometimes downplayed my credentials to not appear ‘cocky.’ I have since learned that we are well-ahead of the curve. Our metrics are great enough to pique the interest of investors. I’ve also learned that I should be proud to display my past achievements and accolades.  We have significantly improved the pitch that I will deliver to investors. I am now much more confident that we can raise our seed round.”

• Dwayne Campbell, Founder of Bookfusion

“Before the cohort, I didn’t really know what I didn’t know. Founder Gym has given me a framework to get in front of investors so I can pitch my product. When I meet with investors, I am more confident about why someone should invest in me.”

• Shawn Harrison, Founder of CopyThat

“Since going through the Founder Gym Cohort, I’ve become a better founder by gaining knowledge about legal matters, preparing for pitches, and building relationships with other founders and VCs. Before FG, I had an idea of what it took be a strong founder. After Founder Gym, I have the information and skills to be a successful founder.”

• Ron Clark, Founder of Finversity

“In the past, I’ve had ideas, and worked on projects, but frequently struggled with acting versus over-analyzing. FG pushed me to create, develop, and more importantly share, so that I wouldn’t be paralyzed by the fear perfection can bring.”

• Dayo Marsh, Founder of Farmers Market

We are excited to debut the graduates of Founder Gym Cohort 13: Black Founders Edition, our second cohort dedicated to serving the needs of Black founders. For six weeks, from January 21st to March 6th, we trained 36 founders in 2 countries on how to successfully raise money to scale their tech startups. With this latest set of graduates in FG Cohort 12 and Cohort 13, the total number of Founder Gym Alumni is now 440.

Since graduating our first FG Cohort in January 2018, Founder Gym’s Alumni community has grown 1592%.

FG Graduates are building world-class companies.

Founders in FG Cohort 13 are developing a variety of solutions across a wide array of industries. Here are a few examples:

• A FUN resource app for parents and families with children on the autism spectrum and with special needs.
• An impact-driven platform for authentic culture and cultural data.
• A same-day return and delivery service for fashion retailers and shoppers.
• A platform that helps companies support and retain diverse talent by matching employees to mentors and resources within their company.

But, as underrepresented founders, they face unique challenges.

In a recent study, it was reported that only:

• 1% of venture-backed founders were Black
• 1.8% of venture-backed founders were Latinx
• 2.4% of venture-backed founders were Middle Easterners

Another report revealed that women received only 2.8% of venture capital.

This is why we built Founder Gym.

For six weeks, we provided 19 select founders with an intense virtual training experience led by industry leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond. Founders had access to a robust library of video content featuring Founder Gym’s robust network of investors, founders, lawyers, and financial experts. Now, after completing the rigorous graduation requirements, we are excited to officially introduce the graduates of FG Cohort 13.

But before you meet the founders, take a look at the numbers.