Mentor Program

The role of mentors is to help accelerate members' journeys,
and meet amazing founders along the way.

about

We are looking for mentors with successful founding or domain expertise

Requirements:
- Past Exit
- Domain Expertise (eg: grew TripAdvisor from 1m to 80m ARR)
- VC Expertise (eg: Partner at Pear VC)
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Apply to be a Mentor

Example Mentors

We help founders grow

Marty Bickford
CEO of BOSS Startup Science
Janitor to 4x 100m+ Exits

Ben Sand raised 100m, solo founder from Austrialia

Ben Sand
CEO of Strong Compute
Raised 100m from Sequoia+

Christina
CEO of Causal Labs
Raised from Pear VC, & 3 more

Nils Bunger
CEO of Home3
1 Exit, prev Partner @ Pear VC

Mentor-Driven results

Raised 8.1m after joining

Subbu Rama
CEO of Balkan ID

Raised 1.4m after joining

Luigi La Corte
CEO of Provision

Raised 2m after joining

Orri Bogdan
CEO of Vae Labs

Raised 820k after joining

Calum Bird
CEO of Trelent

Raised 7.5m after joining

Sarah Nagy
CEO of Seek AI

Raised 2M after joining

Mackie
CEO of Woo More Play

Raised 4M after joining

Pat Yiu Founder of Vals.com Raise 4 million Tech Stars Web3

Pat Yiu
COO of Valts

Raised 7m after joining

Alexandre Jais
CEO of HeyWear

Raised 7.8m after joining

Ben Sand
CEO of StrongCompute

Raised 2M after joining

Ananya Jain
CEO of Full Circle

Apply to be a Mentor

The Mentor Program

The role of mentors is to help early stage founders, and meet top tier founders and VCs along the way.

All mentors will
- Contribute 1 hr/week for mentoring
- Answer questions in private forum

Our team will
- Fill up your 1 hour block with mentees each week
- Tag you in the private forum if we need your help
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You can expect to meet ~4 mentees each month.

The Secret Sauce

The biggest benefit for Mentors is meeting VCs, Mentors, and other top tier members. Each month, our team will curate select intros based on your goals. As an added perk, your membership will also get discounted from $1890/year to $600/year.

For Example:

‍1. Christina (Product Mentor) raised 2m with the help of Nils, another mentor here 🙂
2. John (Raised 100m) founded Inception, a venture studio, through the help of Maddie & Ananya
3. Vaibhav (Tech Mentor) got into YC with the help of Ben Sand (2x YC mentor)
4. Mars (Partner @ PearVC) made investments in two companies here

You can expect to meet ~5 top tier members, Mentors, or VCs each month.

‍

Apply to be a Mentor

Timeline

Adrian
Bootstrapped to 1M in profit.

1. Apply

We are looking for mentors with successful founding or domain expertise

2. Onboard

1. Share your goals & expertise
2. Setup a calendly for your mentees (max 1 hr/week)
3. We setup 5 intros with founders who can help you (VCs, top dogs, mentors)
3. Join our private community to get support from our team & community

3. Grow your network

1. Each month, we check in on your goals
2. We setup 5 intros (VCs, top members, mentors)
3. We send mentees to your calendly (max 1hr/week)
4. Get continued support on our private community

‍

Apply to be a Mentor

Results

Raised $2m after joining

I love the community I've built at FC. Nils (mentor) was instrumental in my fundraise. He helped me prepare my pitch deck, meet Pear VC, and close the round.

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Christina Pawlikowski
CEO of Causal
2M Raised
Product Mentor

Made two investments in FC members

Founders Cafe introduced members to us, which led to PearVC making investments in two companies here.
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Mar Hershenson
Partner of Pear VC
Runs FC events

Founded my company after joining

When I first joined, I had just exited my company. I had so many ideas, but I wasn't sure which one to pursue next. Meeting Maddie, Ananya, and other FC members gave me the inspiration to build Inception, Venture Studio.

I'm so grateful for FC. We just ran our first pilot and it was super successful.

John Whaley from Stanford raise 100m from a16z and more

John Whaley
CEO of Inception
Runs FC events

Membership

Mentor

Contact us

Expectations:

- Block out 1 hour per week for mentoring
- Answer questions on the private forum

Exclusive Access to:

- All benefits in Executive Plan ($5,000 value)

‍

Apply to be a Mentor

Member Love

Bobo

Harvard Alum, Ex-Facebook

‍Founders Cafe is an invaluable resource. We're a giving focused community and the people bring a special blend of knowledge and generosity. I get answers to questions in minutes that used to take hours of googling, and with the benefit of experience behind the answers

Pat

Raised 4m, Tech Stars

Founder's cafe has been a great way for me to chat quickly with other founders and share ideas / support them. Meeting other founders, bouncing ideas in the subgroups, learning about topics I'm not familiar with. There's a mix of serial entrepreneurs and new founders and it's really cool to see both sides.
‍

Charles

1 Exit, Raised 8M

I built a good network in Founders Cafe to take Buji next level. Network from SF to which helps me get introes to investors. Additionally, I learned new things from other founders that I wouldn't have learned by myself.

Heidi

5-20k MRR

The value I get from the Founders Cafe community is a group of successful founders who already have revenue. Every time I ask a question, multiple people will respond with customized answers and options. Since everyone is pre-vetted, I know it's information I can trust from people who understand my position. And since its only founders - no investors or mentors - I can ask "dumb" questions freely and get the help I really need.

I love the community of people who genuinely want to help and learn from other founders. Its nice to feel like you are working on a team when you are a solo founder.

For who should join: Anyone in the startup space that is working solo. They have to value being committed and your annual fee helps weed out the people who don't. I think you are on to something.

View all

"By far the most active, supportive community I've been in"

- Orri, 2M Raised

Tried Launch House, On Deck, and 4 other founder communities.

Apply to be a Mentor

Maddie Wang

Gay / Stanford / Made $180k through Minecraft & Amazon
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I'm building Founders Cafe because being a solo founder can be really isolating. When I left Stanford to work on another startup, I lost 4 co-founders and a best friend. I woke up with anxiety, coded all day alone, and slept alone.

Now I wake up surrounded by friends -- Charles, Selena, Tom, Max, Heidi & more -- who helped me hit 10k MRR in 1 year.
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If you're interested in joining the Founders Cafe, let's talk and if it's a good fit, down to invite you!

Apply to be a Mentor

FAQ

When did you start Founders Cafe? Founders Cafe was founded 1.5 years ago, and quickly grew to 180 members. Many of our members are from YC, Stanford, a16z, and more.
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Can member around the world join? Yes! We have members across the world in USA, London, India, and more. All events are recorded.

Contact us: Send any question to maddie@founderscafe.io or jump on a 10m call

Apply to be a Mentor

Blog

How to get 15 calls a week as a Founder

Sep 27, 2023

Learn how to go from 2 calls per week to over 15 calls per week! :D

How to deal with uncertainty as a founder (Can’t sleep!)

Aug 9, 2023

These strategies help me survive the horrors of uncertainty. I hope these would help you too!

Strategies for Startup Triumph: Maddie's Expert Guide to Product-Market Fit

Jul 25, 2023

Learn about the PMF engines that will pave the way towards your startup's success.