My Coversation WIth the Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is an American Business Incubator, entrepreneur training and startup launch program that was founded in Palo Alto, Carlifornia in 2009. Although based in Silicon Valley, the Founder Institute maintains chapters in over 110 cities and more than 40 different nations across the globe. - Wikidpedia
The founder Adeo Ressi wants to globalize Silicon Valley and make entrepreneurial training available to everyone around the world. You can read more information about them here.
If you read our article titled '7 Steps to Building a Successful Tech Ecosystem in Jos', you will observe that accelerators and incubators are important factors in building a sustainable tech startup ecosystem anywhere in the world, you would also notice that reaching out to other tech ecosystem in other to learn new and better ways of solving problems is a crucial step in building a sustainable and successful tech ecosystem.
The Founder Institute empowers local startup evangelist to create thriving startup ecosystems in their city. About a week ago, I applied as a co-director to partner with entrepreneurs from Jos so we could lead a Chapter here in Plateau State.
By becoming a part of the exclusive network, Jos would be join over 110 cities around the world and would have access to a structured data-driven curriculum carefully constructed by Silicon Valley experts. We would also be provided with a suite of administrative tools.
Jos would also gain access to a collection of startups, mentors, events, services and partners based in Silicon Valley and spanning over six continents - Basically, we would have access to everything we need to build a successful startup ecosystem here in Jos.
I reached out to lead the Jos chapter of the program and was asked the following questions:
1. Are you local in the city that you are proposing to lead, and how long have you lived in the city?
2. How much time per week are you able to commit to the Founder Institute chapter in your city, how often do you travel for business?
3. What startup organizations are you involved with, and how would you describe your engagement in the local startup ecosystem? Have you mentored in other startup programs?
4. Have you founded a company before or raised money for a startup? If so, can you briefly describe each company and each fundraising?
5. Have you hosted or organized a public event? If so, how would you describe the events that you hosted?
6. Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?
I answered the questions to the best of my abilities and I received the mail below
Today, 15th of August, I received another Email
Why am I sharing this though?
Our startup/tech ecosystem here in Jos is still at it's infancy, but it's up to us to change that, so far there are individuals doing a great job about that already but I believe we can do more. Partnerships like this play a crucial role in how fast we grow. Like you read in the email I received above, they currently think we don't have what it takes to support a Founder Institute chapter just yet but the good news though is we have potential. I like that part.
I am sharing this to encourage everyone out there doing their best to make Jos a city to be proud of anywhere in the world. I am also calling out to other individuals to put in more effort so we can get to the point where organizations from every part of the continent would be looking to partner with us so we can create more value and also create more jobs, thereby raising the standard of living here.
For questions, suggestions, partnerships etc. You can send us an email @ Techiesinjos@gmail.com
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