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Validate your startup in 4 weeks — unlock $200,000
Applications close May 2nd!
The days of massive teams, slow product cycles, and bloated funding rounds are over. For every company building things the old way, there's a new breed of founder leveraging AI to build from day one—leaner, faster, smarter.
Forum Foundry brings together top percentile founders and domain experts looking to build toward this future and solve the world’s biggest problems. Go from 0-1 surrounded by like-minded individuals who challenge you to push, fail fast, and build something enduring.
Build alongside, collaborate with, and learn from an outlier community of your peers as well as Forum’s expert team of former founders.
A tight knit founder cohort, and direct access to Forum's network of best in class B2B SaaS founders, AI experts, investors, and operators.
5 person teams are operating with the efficiency of 50 person companies. Instil the DNA to scale with a hyper-lean approach.
Spend 4-weeks pressure-testing your idea with real customers, unlocking early demand signals, and tapping into Forum’s AI-powered startup stack. Work alongside ambitious founders and learn directly from those building at the frontier — including operators from Clay, Mercury, Perplexity, and more.
Founder Led Discovery: Learn from GTM experts and seasoned founders to run structured validation sprints.
A World-Class Community: Build alongside a handpicked group of high-caliber peers with generational ambition.
Access to AI-First Tooling: Get discounts on high-signal AI tools to build and test smarter, and faster.
Free NYC Office Space: Work from our New York City space during the sprint.
You've validated the core insight behind your idea, landed early customer interest or design partners, and are ready to pitch a clear, compelling case for investment.
At the end of the sprint, you’ll pitch Forum’s Investment Committee for the opportunity to unlock $200,000 in pre-seed funding and join the Forum portfolio. We back founders who move with urgency, operate with clarity, and execute like it’s instinct.
Live Pitch to Forum’s IC: Present to Forum’s decision-makers with direct, transparent feedback.
Clear Next Steps: Whether you receive funding or not, you’ll walk away with clear feedback, tactical advice, and next milestones.
Once funded, you’ll be matched with a Forum Managing Director — a former founder who joins you as a fractional co-founder, working alongside you to scale faster and smarter.
You’ll also gain full access to Forum’s platform: expert GTM support, investor networks, tactical support, and founder community.
To date, we have made 500+ pre-seed and seed investments globally. Those founders have gone on to raise $1B+ in follow-on funding from funds like Kleiner Perkins, A16z, General Catalyst, NEA, Emergence Capital, Craft Ventures, Founders Fund and more.
1:1 Partnership with a Forum MD: Navigate early growth with someone who’s built before — venture-backed or bootstrapped.
Full Access to Forum’s Platform: Tap into expert GTM support and curated networks of operators, customers, and investors.
Community of Builders: Join a portfolio of relentless builders creating iconic companies — from those who reached profitability in under a year to those who’ve raised millions.
Funding for the 4-week validation sprint so you can move fast and pressure test your ideas.
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For founders who prove demand, and demonstrate real hustle, secure $200k for 9.5% equity.
Early teams with a promising idea, but no clear validation.
You prioritize traction over theory and are obsessed with execution.
You're open minded, resilient, and willing to move fast.
You see AI as a force multiplier and paradigm shift for how modern startups are built.
You want to work insanely hard alongside other best-in-class founders.
Submit a quick application and video explaining the problem space and founder motivation.
If selected, participate in a live interview with the Forum Ventures team.
The Forum Foundry is built for B2B SaaS founders who are in the earliest stages — maybe you just left your job to pursue an idea, or you’re still figuring out what exactly to build. This sprint is for people with deep conviction or unique insight into a problem space — even if you haven’t validated your solution yet. You're not here to theorize; you're here to test, learn, and move fast.
There isn’t a magic KPI that guarantees the $200K investment – the decision is ultimately a holistic judgment by Forum’s investment committee. As a general rule, the more you can prove real demand and demonstrate urgency during the 4-week sprint, the more likely you are to secure the $200K. This can look like tangible customer interest, a waitlist, securing design partners or beta users, or even high-intent qualified leads.
Ideally, you should plan to be in New York City for the entire 4-week sprint. This is an in-person residency program, and it will be intense. However, we understand life is not always that flexible. The expectation is that you’ll be on-site, working shoulder-to-shoulder with the cohort and Forum team, at a minimum Monday to Wednesday every week of the sprint. You are welcome and encouraged to use the $2,500 investment for relocation and travel costs.
No – you’re not obligated to take Forum’s $200K if you secure other funding during the sprint. We will never force a founder to accept an investment that doesn’t make sense for their situation. The primary goal of the sprint is to help you validate and ideally position you to take our $200K and join the accelerator, but if, mid-sprint, you close an alternative pre-seed round or get an investor offer on better terms, we’ll have an open conversation. In many cases, a founder who raises money independently might still choose to take Forum’s investment in addition – extra runway and our partnership can be very valuable.
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