---
title: 'Founder-To-Be, The Foundry at Forum Ventures'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/founder-to-be-the-foundry-forum-ventures-united-states-xfrz7xhwsmce'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# Founder-To-Be, The Foundry at Forum Ventures

- **Company:** Forum Ventures
- **Location:** United States
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-09-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/forum-ventures/cef8a96d-7147-44a5-aa8c-b666aa3c2f73

## Job description

Please note: this is not a job or an employment opportunity with Forum Ventures. The Foundry is a part-time, five-week program you can do alongside your current role, and it's open to those working full-time roles. Expect about 4 hours per week. Have a startup idea you can't stop thinking about? The Foundry: Forum's Studio Sprint is a five-week program where you validate your idea alongside Forum's AI Studio team. At the end, strong candidates can earn a $250K investment and a full team to build the company with us. How The Foundry works You bring the idea. We bring the same validation process we use internally to launch studio companies. Over five weeks, you work directly with our venture building, GTM, and product team to pressure-test your idea against real market demand, willingness to pay, and investor appetite. You'll leave with one of three outcomes: an invitation to pitch us for $250K, a clear answer that the idea isn't the one, or the clarity to go build it on your own. Forum derisks and accelerates the founder path by:

- Five weeks of hands-on work with our studio team, not a curriculum
- Market and customer diligence, ICP definition, and GTM validation
- Clear answers on market size, competitive positioning, and investor appetite
- A room of founders at the same inflection point
- For strong candidates, a $250K USD investment plus a CTO, designer, and GTM support by your side until you hire your own team
- A fundraising playbook and network to raise your Seed and Series A
- $100K+ worth of business perks

Who this is for: You might be one of these. You don't need to be all of them. The Repeat Founder. You've built before, you know you want to do it again, and you want structure and momentum to get back in fast. The Domain Expert. You know an industry's problems better than anyone and have an insight you can't shake. The Operator with a Technical Cofounder. You've got a builder in your corner and want to move from idea to something real. The Product or GTM Leader. You've shipped products or built pipelines at scale and are ready to do it for your own company. About you:

- An idea already in motion. You've started talking to customers, sketching the product, or testing the market
- Early-stage operator experience, and expertise in product, business, or a specific domain
- A real desire to be a venture-backed founder
- The ability to attract and lead a great team
- Able to commit [X hours per week] for five weeks, alongside your current role
- Able to collaborate in North American time zones

Next cohort: Cohort 5 Applications close November 4. Cohort 5 kicks off November 9. Applications stay open year-round, so if the timing isn't right, apply anyway and we'll slot you into a future cohort. If you're currently fundraising your first check, pre-seed or Seed round, please pitch our investment team [here](https://www.forumvc.com/pitch-us).

## About Forum Ventures

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Forum Ventures is a founder-first venture studio, accelerator, and pre-seed fund dedicated to helping early-stage B2B software founders go from zero to one.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture Capital / Accelerator / Studio)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (with offices in San Francisco and Toronto)
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Not publicly listed as a single founder; the firm was built by a team including Mike Cardamone (CEO & Managing Partner), Jonah Midanik (Managing Partner), James Murphy (Managing Partner), and others.

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Venture Capital & Private Equity Principals (B2B software startup ecosystem)
- **Target customers**: Pre-seed and seed-stage B2B software founders; also serves as a co-creator of new ventures through its studio arm.
- **Mission**: To make the startup journey easier, more accessible, and successful for early-stage founders.

## Products & Services
- **Accelerator**: A 12-week (or similar) program that acts as a fractional co-founder, providing hands-on go-to-market and fundraising support to help founders achieve customer traction and raise their first institutional round.
- **Pre-Seed Fund**: A dedicated fund that invests in early-stage B2B software companies, leveraging the accelerator’s team and resources to provide more hands-on support than a typical pre-seed fund.
- **Venture Studio**: An AI-first studio that co-creates new ventures from the concept stage, working with entrepreneurs to ideate, validate, launch, and scale B2B startups using a team of operators, product designers, and developers.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private entity)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $40M (LinkedIn estimate); total follow-on funding raised by portfolio companies exceeds $1B.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: The firm itself has raised a $20M venture studio fund (announced 2025). Portfolio companies have gone on to raise from top-tier funds including A16z, Bessemer, Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst, NEA, Emergence Capital, Menlo Ventures, Craft Ventures, and Founders Fund.
- **Growth Signals**: 430+ companies funded, 1,300+ founder community members, 10 years of operation, 25,541 LinkedIn followers (+43.9% YoY), and a recent acquisition of Vanse AI (Feb 2025).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Founder-first approach**: The team is composed entirely of former founders and operators who have built and scaled their own software companies, providing empathy and practical guidance.
- **Full-stack support**: Offers a continuum from studio (idea stage) → accelerator (early traction) → pre-seed fund (capital), making it a one-stop shop for early-stage B2B founders.
- **Massive community and network**: Over 1,300 founders in a deeply connected community, plus access to a wide network of mentors and experts.
- **Proven track record**: $1B+ in follow-on funding raised by portfolio companies from top-tier VCs.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI-first ventures**: The newly launched $20M venture studio fund is specifically focused on building AI-native B2B companies.
- **Expanding geographic reach**: While headquartered in New York, the firm has offices in San Francisco and Toronto, and portfolio companies are global.
- **Scaling the studio model**: Continuously looking for “studio founders” – individuals who have always wanted to start a company but need a co-creative partner to ideate, validate, and build.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: A team of “doers and connectors” that operates like a startup – fail fast, iterate quickly, and embrace ambiguity. The firm is built by founders for founders, so the environment is entrepreneurial and supportive.
- **Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Not explicitly stated, but roles are likely hybrid or in-office given the hands-on studio and accelerator model. The team is distributed across New York, San Francisco, and Toronto.
- **Notable perks**: Opportunities to work directly with early-stage founders, participate in venture building, and be part of a small but mighty team that has outsized impact. The firm emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- **Open roles**: Current openings include positions on the Forum team, studio founder opportunities, and portfolio company roles (see careers page).

## Sources
1. [forumvc.com](https://www.forumvc.com/)
2. [forumvc.com/careers](https://www.forumvc.com/careers)
3. [forumvc.com/team](https://www.forumvc.com/team)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/forum-ventures](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/forum-ventures)
5. [linkedin.com/company/forumvc](https://www.linkedin.com/company/forumvc)

## Other roles at Forum Ventures

- [Market Development Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/market-development-representative-forum-ventures-toronto-9g4fbc18kyhf) — Toronto, Canada
- [Demand Generation Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/demand-generation-associate-forum-ventures-toronto-syp39ne2etch) — Toronto, Canada
- [Supply Growth Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/supply-growth-lead-forum-ventures-toronto-a6435y5na16m) — Toronto, Canada
- [Operations Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/operations-associate-forum-ventures-cambridge-9pca9y7prdk0) — Cambridge, MA
- [Forward-Deployed Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-forum-ventures-chicago-3dq894cfdta0) — Chicago, IL
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-forum-ventures-ottawa-nneyj69z6nvw) — Ottawa, Canada
- [AI Founder, Physical Assets](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-founder-physical-assets-forum-ventures-united-states-j38vxk36bhgb) — United States
- [AI Founder, Edge Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-founder-edge-hardware-forum-ventures-united-states-qh2hzbj1q33q) — United States
- [AI Founder, Physical Cybersecurity](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-founder-physical-cybersecurity-forum-ventures-united-states-w0ryt2qkrctk) — United States
- [AI Founder, Real World Data](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-founder-real-world-data-forum-ventures-united-states-zy4ehphfj4xg) — United States