CMU Future Founders Program for Aspiring Startup Founders
Announcing our boldest initiative yet!
CMU Future Founders
CMU Future Founders is a 6-week program designed for CMU alumni
who aspire to start a company in the near future.
Over the course of 6 weeks, you’ll engage with a community of like-minded peers and learn from experienced CMU founders who have been through it all. By the end, you’ll be equipped with the best frameworks to make decisions, common mistakes to avoid, and a trusted group of friends & mentors to help you succeed.
We want to get you from “I’ll start a company someday” to “I’ve got a game plan.”
There will be 3 separate tracks, founding CEO, technical founder, and founding designer, each independently operated with their own programming and cohort. Each cohort will have ~20 participants selected based on their applications and interviews. During the six-week span from October-November, you will gather (fully virtually) with your cohort every week for 2 hours to attend a series of virtual group discussions, talks, and AMAs, which feature a lineup of stellar CMU founders.
If you are ready to take the big leap from sharpening your skills to taking on the title of Founder, apply now to be part of the bright and talented October 2020 cohort!
More information about each track below.
Founding CEO Track
Program Dates: Thursday, October 15 - Thursday, November 19
Time: Thursdays 5-7 pm PT
Location: All virtual
Application Deadline: Saturday, Sept 19th, 11:59 pm PT
The Founding CEO Track is for alumni still in their full-time roles, who are contemplating the ambiguous challenge of starting something new. You’ll learn about the big mistakes to avoid, the nitty-gritty details you need to know, frameworks to make more effective decisions, and first-hand experiences from CEOs who’ve been in your shoes before. We’ll give you the guidance and access you need to go from “I’ll start a company someday” to “I’ve got a game plan.”
Featured speakers:
Amanda Bradford - Founder/CEO at The League
Adam Gross - Founder/CEO at Cloudconnect (acq Salesforce)
Jon Gray - Founder/CEO at Cask Data (acq Google)
Abhi Sharma - Founder/co-CEO at Relyance.ai
Technical Founder Track
Program Dates: Wednesday, October 14 - Wednesday, November 18
Time: Wednesdays 5-7 pm PT
Location: All virtual
Application Deadline: Saturday, Sept 19th, 11:59 pm PT
The Technical Founder track is for alumni who are ready to take the big leap from sharpening your skills as an engineer to taking on the title of Co-Founder and CTO. As a technical leader, you are the business partner who brings the skillset of technology to the startup. Being effective requires a strong handle on the fundamentals of building a robust, testable, and scalable system. This would involve thoughtfully answering the question of “What to build?” and more importantly “What not to”. This program will equip you to handle the same issues better and also provide you with a thriving community to reach out to.
Featured speakers:
Aditya Agarwal - Early engineer at Facebook, former CTO Dropbox
Eugene Marinelli - Founder/CTO at Blend
David Murray - Founder/CTO at ReferBright (acq Doctor.com)
S. Diana Hu - Founder/CTO at Escher Reality (acq Niantic Labs0
Ben McCann - Founder/CTO at Connectifier (acq LinkedIn)
Founding Designer Track
Program Dates: Tuesday, October 13 - Tuesday, November 17
Time: Tuesdays 5-7 pm PT
Location: All virtual
Application Deadline: Saturday, Sept 19th, 11:59 pm PT
This program is for CMU designers who aim to be startup founding members. Being the first design hire at a startup could mean many things, often more than the exciting journey of building a product from 0 to 1: navigating company strategy pivots, taking on ad-hoc design asks for an ads banners or swags, bargaining budget for research and content strategy... In other words, messes, and chaos. This program will give you guidance on how to better position and strategize yourself in startup environments by hearing from CMU alumni have great takeaways to share with the community.
Featured speakers:
Jessica Ko - First Designer at Opendoor
Tatyana Gruver - Sr. Design Manager at BetterUp
Steve Selzer - Head of Design at Bungalow
Quintin Carlson - Early Designer at Flexport
Sam Hashemi - Cofounder at Remix
Please Help Us Spread the Word!
We'd really appreciate your help spreading the word about the CMU Future Founders program and CMU T&E alumni group.
It'd mean the world to us if you reshare our social media posts linked below and tag who you think may be interested in the program.
About CMU T&E
CMU T&E is an organization run by CMU alumni that focuses on connecting the community, building an entrepreneurial culture, and providing resources for our community to succeed. We empower entrepreneurs, industry experts, technologists, and startups through our resources, opportunities, and events. Regardless of your experience, background, or location, we welcome all CMU alumni and students! There are currently 11 chapters based on geographical locations, ranging from the San Francisco Bay Area to Asia.