A 10-week pre-accelerator to build an MVP and get your first users. We invest $25k or $125k into the top graduates. Apply 👉 founder.university/x
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Founder University Cohort 11 applications are now open for Q1 2026!
Learn the foundations to build a venture-scale business with a community of founders for shared accountability.
@LAUNCH invests $25K to $125K into the fastest-moving founders in each cohort.
Apply above!
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Your TAM slide is probably killing your pitch This week at Founder University, we broke down why citing a McKinsey market size undermines your credibility and how to build a bottom-up TAM that investors actually trust👇
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3. Translate that TAM into how many customers you need to hit $10M and $100M ARR
4. Frame those customer counts as a % of your market ("just 3% of our ICP gets us to $100M") to make the journey feel reachable, not delusional
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Credibility isn't built by quoting a $500B market; it's built by showing the path forward.
Want to dive deeper into your TAM? 👀
Apply to Founder University 👉 Founder.University/apply
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Here is Andrew’s Legal 101 for startups:
• File your 83(b) election within 30 days of getting your stock, or face tax penalties!
• QSBS (Section 1202) can make your first $15M of gain federally tax-free, with the right structuring
• Put vesting on founder shares from day one (4 years, 1-year cliff), it protects founder and investor equity.
• Watch for "dead equity" a departed founder holding 20–30% can block your next round
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Thanks Andrew Sparks and the @goodwinlaw team for the masterclass 🙏
Want to dive deeper into startup legal, fundraising, and everything in between? Apply to Founder University: Founder.University/apply
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Most early-stage teams obsess over one runway: cash.
But there’s a second clock ticking in the background: your credit runway. ⏰
And when it hits zero, reality hits fast.
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At Founder University, @JamesLeaverton from @backblaze broke down where founders get caught off guard:
1. You're running two runways (cash and credits). Ignore either one and you’re exposed.
2. Credits don't eliminate cost. They delay it. Credit providers are trying to lock you in.
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3. Build a modular tech stack to avoid lock-in to one provider
4. Separate compute from storage. Egress fees are the silent killer.
5. Treat credits like cash.
Thanks to @JamesLeaverton (@backblaze) for the candid breakdown 🤝
Want to dig deeper on infrastructure, scaling, and avoiding the credit cliff? Apply to Founder University: Launch.co/apply
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3. Build a modular tech stack to avoid lock-in to one provider
4. Separate compute from storage. Egress fees are the silent killer.
5. Treat credits like cash.
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Thanks to @JamesLeaverton (@backblaze) for the candid breakdown 🤝
Want to dig deeper on infrastructure, scaling, and avoiding the credit cliff? Apply to Founder University: Launch.co/apply
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The least glamorous part of your startup might be killing your fundraising.
This week at Founder University, we tackled accounting hygiene steps to take before fundraising (or tax season 🤕).
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Anand (@mercury) on fundraising 💰
• Map out your ideal cap table of investors and advisors before asking for money
• $10K from the right investor > $100K from a stranger
• Investors are not philanthropists; show them how money gets made
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Thanks Anand and @msavino, for this masterclass 🙏
Want to dive deeper into accounting, financial diligence, and fundraising? Apply to Founder University: Founder.University/apply
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