Location: Virtual

*SUMMER 2020 PROGRAM HAS ENDED*

Borderless Series is the Founders Embassy’s newest hybrid program for early-stage founders interested in taking an in-depth look at Silicon Valley. Borderless Series is a one-week-long virtual intensive course, centered around Financial, Social, and Human Capital topics, led by Silicon Valley-based founders, investors, and industry experts.

Why “Borderless”?

As the government continues to try to build new walls, Founders Embassy’s mission has always been to break down barriers for international entrepreneurs. While Founders Embassy will continue to focus on these groups through its flagship Acceleration Program, the intention for Borderless Series is to open doors even further to other underrepresented minorities, including those in its back yard.

What to Expect?

• A select group of early-stage founders will be invited to participate in a complete virtual course that include ~ 15 different sessions for the duration of one week

• Interactive, off-the-record daily sessions led by select Founders Embassy Thought Leaders

• Bespoke “Founder’s Playbook” including both pre-course and post-sessions materials

• An opportunity to meet Thought Leaders and each other in person in San Francisco at a later date at Borderless Summit

What Do Founders Receive?

Participating founders receive access to private virtual sessions led by Founders Embassy Thought Leaders, a network of some of Silicon Valley’s most respected investors, entrepreneurs, and experts in their respective industries. Additionally, Borderless Series alumni are welcomed into the Founders Embassy alumni network and are given priority consideration for the flagship Founders Embassy Acceleration Program. Finally, founders receive mentorship from the FE team, Thought Leaders, and their peers.

July 19th - 25th, 2020

*Applications are Closed*

Have specific questions? Keep scrolling down to see FAQs.

Curriculum

The Borderless Series curriculum is designed around the topics that fall into these main categories - Financial Capital, Human Capital, and Social Capital, including sessions on fundraising, investor relations, growth, talent, company culture, sales and marketing, and others.

In addition, you’ll be diving deep on the specifics of Silicon Valley: how to build your network here, how to handle introductions, how to find the right investors for your company, how to position yourself, and more.

The Experts

Borderless Series is led by a select group of Founders Embassy Thought Leaders that represent some of Silicon Valley's most successful entrepreneurs, investors, and experts in their respective industries. Through a series of curated roundtable discussions, workshops, and breakouts they provide feedback and offer the next generation of entrepreneurs a leg up in the startup scene. 

Borderless Series Summer 2020 Featured Speakers

Borderless Summit

Founders Embassy understands how important live interactions are for entrepreneurs, so we have created an opportunity to not only learn from Founders Embassy Thought Leaders virtually, but also meet them in person later in the year. Borderless Summit will serve as a culminating event for Borderless Series, where the program graduates will have an opportunity to meet Founders Embassy Thought Leaders along with other experts, investors, and fellow founders in person in San Francisco. The next Borderless Summit dates are TBD. (given the COVID-19 restrictions).

First Borderless Summit took place in San Francisco in June 2018. The full-day lineup included founders of Robinhood, Twitch, Zum, Indiegogo; partners from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Social Capital, Village Global, General Catalyst, and others. Programming addressed provocative topics and challenges that the global startup community was facing, from conversations on the current political landscape and cross-border collaboration to fundraising opportunities, disruptive technologies, and emerging markets. Check out some videos from Borderless Summit 2018 below and read a full recap here.

FAQ’s

Can ANYONE ENROLL IN BORDErless series?

• While Pre-Seed/Seed-funded startups would be the best candidates for the program, we encourage founders from all early-stage tech-enabled startups from all industries and all countries to apply.

DO i have to have an international background/be based abroad in order to qualify?

• While Founders Embassy Acceleration Program is designed exclusively for international and immigrant entrepreneurs, with Borderless Series we’re opening our doors even wider and offering this opportunity to founders from the US as well as abroad.

WHat is the selection process?

• Founders may be nominated or invited to apply. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Startups are encouraged to apply early as only a select few founders will be offered an opportunity to enroll in the course to keep the interactive nature of the curriculum.

does founders embassy take any equity?

• Nope! Founders Embassy programs are equity-free. We believe that all too often, founders give away far too much equity in the early stages of their companies. Instead of offering ~100K for ~9%, we invest in our founders by helping them gain access to the knowledge and resources needed to leverage the skills they already have and build successful global businesses.

IS THE ENTIRE program VIRTUAL?

• Borderless Series as a whole is designed to act as a hybrid between a virtual program and an in-person event. We understand how important live interactions are for entrepreneurs, so we created an opportunity to not only learn from our Thought Leaders virtually during Borderless Series, but also meet them in person at Borderless Summit. 

How do you accommodate different time zones?

• We understand that Silicon Valley is not the center of the universe, and we have done our best to accommodate the majority of founders from all over the the world. That being said, we have scheduled our sessions around the schedules of our Thought Leaders who are based exclusively in Silicon Valley. Given the nature of live, not-recorded sessions, unfortunately, we can’t adjust these sessions to fit every time zone - which means that for some attendees courses are either late at night or early in the morning. For reference, most sessions are held between 8:15AM and 11:45AM PST.

How Many sessions does borderless series include?

• There are 2-3 sessions per day, back-to-back for the full week.

what if i have to miss a session? CaN i get a recording?

• The Borderless Series sessions are intended to be interactive, informative, and off-the-record so no recordings will be provided. Thought Leaders are able to speak candidly about their experiences and offer advice while founders are able to ask questions and get feedback in a private setting. So, we encourage founders to attend all sessions in order to get the most out of the course.

What do founders receive during borderless series?

• Accepted founders receive access to knowledge relevant to their specific stage of growth, the opportunity to become a part of a growing alumni community of diverse founders from around the world, and a network of inspiring Thought Leaders. Additionally, participating founders will receive access to curated resources and prep materials.

What is Borderless Summit?

• Borderless Series graduates are invited to attend Borderless Summit - an intimate, two-day “retreat” in San Francisco - at a later date. Attendees receive an opportunity to pitch live on stage, participate in dozens of 1:1 investor meetings, topic-specific small breakout sessions, and attend fireside chats and keynotes from some of Silicon Valley’s most respected investors and technologists. Check out a full recap of Borderless Summit 2018 here to learn more.

WILL COVID-19 POTENTIALLY IMPACT IN-PERSON BORDERLESS SUMMIT? WHAT IF IT DOESN’T HAPPEN?

• The safety of our participants is and has always come first, so we are closely following all government guidelines in regards to in-person gatherings and events in San Francisco. Should next Borderless Summit be postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions, all attendees will be notified in advance.

How is BORDERLESS SERIES different from Founders Embassy Acceleration program?

• Founders Embassy Acceleration Program is designed exclusively for international and immigrant entrepreneurs at the Pre-Series A stage, while Borderless Series was created for startups at a slightly earlier stage. For Founders Embassy Acceleration Program, we select a small group of founders from all over the world and bring them to San Francisco for an in-person 2-week bootcamp-style program filled with roundtables, workshops, mentor meetings, networking events, followed by a demo night. Selected founders receive a bespoke curriculum based on their specific needs as well as curated introductions to Silicon Valley-based investors, founders, and technology leaders. The selection and interview process for the Acceleration Program is more robust than for Borderless Series and involves multiple interviews. Learn more about Founders Embassy Acceleration Program here.