Six in-person evenings with entrepreneurship instructors, mentors, and alumni peers.
ACC Program ArchiveSpring 2026 · New York City
Created with Founder Institute
Startup
Ideation
Bootcamp
Six weeks for alumni who were done wondering “what if?”—and ready to find out.
The Bootcamp gave aspiring founders a disciplined way to explore problems, test their instincts, speak with customers, and decide whether a startup direction deserved further pursuit.
What participants said6In-person sessions
35Alumni places
40Approximate hours
NYCMidtown Manhattan
A documented program
One cohort. Six weeks. A deep bench of people willing to help.
The archive now preserves the people and institutions that made the Spring 2026 Bootcamp possible, alongside the process participants worked through.
- 16
- Mentors and experts
- 3
- Alumni communities
- 1
- Final pitch showcase
01 / The program
From a problem worth exploring to a direction worth testing.
The Spring 2026 cohort brought together degree-holding alumni of Columbia University, Cornell University, and M.I.T. Participants arrived with a problem area or rough hunch—not necessarily a finished startup idea—and worked through a structured process of ideation, market research, customer validation, and expert feedback.
Generate and compare possible ideasInterview prospective customersEvaluate market opportunityTest assumptions with mentorsBuild a concise validation pitchDecide whether to keep going
The format
Structured enough to create momentum. Practical enough to change your mind.
Five to ten hours each week of research, interviews, validation, and pitch development.
Founder Institute’s learning system, templates, frameworks, and AI-enabled tools.
A closing pitch event with feedback from judges and a $1,000 award.
02 / Six-week journey
A progression from curiosity to evidence.
Kickoff & ideation
Entrepreneurial thinking, problem areas, and a first set of possible directions.
Market opportunity
Initial market research, idea comparison, and early customer conversations.
Customer validation
Deeper interviews, a sharper startup story, and iteration based on evidence.
Validation pitch
A concise case for the problem, customer, opportunity, and proposed direction.
Expert feedback
Focused conversations with experienced founders, investors, and advisors.
Pitch showcase
Presentations to a judging panel from New York Angels and the wider cohort community.
03 / Mentors
Guidance from experts who have BTDT.
The cohort learned from experienced entrepreneurs, investors, operators, and educators connected to the participating university communities.
Carly Chase
Business builder, startup advisor, and entrepreneurship educator
Jeremy Kagan
Early-stage investor, professor, strategist, and author
Peter Dolch
Investor, advisor, serial founder, and M.I.T. alumnus
Ari Paparo
Serial entrepreneur, product leader, and author
Ross Goldenberg
Founder, CEO, and entrepreneurship educator
Brendan Burns
Founder, growth executive, and Columbia professor
Rose Pember
Founder, operator, and Cornell entrepreneurship facilitator
Steve Winshel
Serial entrepreneur, professor, and business coach
Bruce Hack
Board director, advisor, angel investor, and former media executive
Owen Davis
Venture investor, former founder, and Columbia professor
Dmytro Pokhylko
Columbia Engineering innovation leader
Geraldine Wu
Management and entrepreneurship professor
Tyler Rhorick
Director of Entrepreneurship Programming at Cornell Tech
Shashi Srikantan
Investor, accelerator founder, and startup advisor
Haroon Chohan
Investor, founder, and Cornell venture advisor
Kate Nadolny
Retail executive, AI advisor, and founder
The work continues
Our current program starts earlier—with the problem itself.
All Night Diner grew from what we learned about how ambitious people choose what to build and what gets lost when the answer arrives too quickly.
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