Johannesburg Founder Institute to help aspiring entrepreneurs

In four years of operation, the Silicon Valley-based program has launched over 875 companies across 45 cities worldwide, creating an estimated 10,000 new jobs.

The Johannesburg chapter is just around the corner, as the four-month programme is slated to start on 12 August. The program is open to existing and prospective technology founders of all kinds - with or without an idea, young or old, and with a full-time job or unemployed.

A collaborative, mentorship-driven approach to training

If you or someone you know could benefit from expert training and feedback to launch a technology startup in Johannesburg, apply today at http://fi.co/apply/johannesburg. Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft BizSpark, if you complete your application and enrollment by the final application deadline on Sunday, 4 August, you can enroll in the programme for free.

In addition, the CEO of the Founder Institute, Adeo Ressi, will be hosting a special, live webinar exclusively for aspiring entrepreneurs in South Africa on Thursday evening, 1 August. During this interactive webinar, participants can get live feedback from Adeo on their startup ideas. Sign up for free today at http://fi.co/e/3379.

The Founder Institute selected Johannesburg for its newest chapter, and first entry in Africa, because the city is a major business centre and gateway for many other countries on the African continent, leading the way in most of the major business and consumer sectors. In addition, the startup community in Johannesburg as a whole is quite fragmented, and the collaborative, mentorship-driven approach of the Founder Institute can help create a unifying platform where budding and experienced entrepreneurs can work together to launch great new companies.

"It's been clear in our research and testing that the part-time nature of our programme is particularly suited well for Johannesburg", says Adeo Ressi, founder and CEO of the Founder Institute. "Talented IT and business professionals are in high demand in the region, and thus have a very strong support system in the large company realm. We are hoping to provide a support structure for these talented individuals to begin building their own companies, and my goal is to help launch over 20 meaningful and enduring technology companies per year in the city."

Leaders and mentors

Leading the Founder Institute's efforts in Johannesburg, are local leaders Keith Jones (director, Bowside) and Odette Jones (director, Xanadu Properties).

Helping our founders in Johannesburg with critical feedback and guidance are:

• Adeo Ressi, CEO, TheFunded.com
  
• Alan Burger, CEO/founder, Infoslips
  
• Anthony Stonefield, managing director, Africa, Gramercy Venture Advisors
  
• Christoph Sollich, The Pitch Doctor, startup consultant
  
• Elton Bondi, director/founder, The Cyest Corporation
  
• Gareth Ochse, founder, ValuationUp.com
  
• Geoff Garrett, CEO, SalesRehab Pty Ltd
  
• Jonathan Crisp, CEO, IDI Technology Holdings
  
• Justin Spratt, CEO, Quirk
  
• Rob Sussman, joint CEO/founder, Integr8it Group and Zunguz
  
• Warren Van Wyk, director/founder, Payspace
  
• And many more to be announced.

For more information, go to http://fi.co/about/johannesburg.