Kochi [Kerala], September 5: Founder-Being LaunchPad has announced the first cohort of its 16-week venture-building program for young people aged 15–25 who want to move from an idea to a real-world test.
Cohort 1 begins on Sunday, 4 October 2026, at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi. Sessions will be held once every Sunday from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM for 16 weeks.
Applications close on 25 September 2026.
Founder-Being LaunchPad is built around a practical belief: founders learn by doing. Participants are expected to work on one venture throughout the program, speak to customers, test assumptions, build early versions of their solution, measure what happens, and improve based on evidence.
The Last 1% Push
The program describes its role as the “1% push.” It is not a reference to selecting the top 1% of applicants. Instead, Founder-Being LaunchPad is looking for young people who are already willing to do most of the hard work themselves — to show up, test an idea, and keep going when the first answer is no.
The program provides the remaining push through structure, mentors, deadlines, accountability and evidence-based execution. The handbook describes this as helping a founder who is already roughly “99% ready” take the final step into disciplined building.
Applicants do not need a funded company, technical background or polished pitch deck.
Four Phases. Sixteen Modules. One Venture.
The programme progresses through four stages: Discover, Design & Build, Find the Market, and Become Venture-Ready.
The 16 modules cover:
1- Founder Mindset & Problem Selection;
2- Customer Discovery;
3 – Idea Validation;
4 – Business Model & Value Proposition;
5 – Market Research & Competition;
6 – Wireframing & User Experience;
7 – Minimum Viable Product (MVP) & Prototyping;
8 – Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Founders;
9 – Branding & Storytelling;
10 – Marketing & Customer Acquisition;
11 – Sales & Negotiation;
12 – Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Retention & Referrals;
13 – Startup Finance & Unit Economics;
14 – Legal Foundations & Intellectual Property (IP);
15 – Fundraising & Investor Relations;
16 – Go-to-Market (GTM), Pitching & Demo Day.
What Happens Between Sundays Matters
Founder-Being LaunchPad is not structured as a weekly lecture series.
Each week combines a focused working session, practical workshop, fieldwork, a build assignment, mentor review, peer feedback, progress tracking and a commitment for the following week. Participants then use the days between sessions to speak with customers, test assumptions, build, sell and bring new evidence back to the programme.
What Participants Build
By the end of the 16 weeks, participants may have developed customer interview evidence, a validation report, business model, competitor map, user journey, wireframes, an MVP or proof of concept, a responsible AI workflow, marketing experiments, a sales pipeline, financial models, legal and IP readiness materials, an investor narrative, pitch deck and a 90-day execution plan. The programme does not assume every idea should become a company. A founder may decide to continue, modify, pivot or stop after seeing the evidence.
Built From Founder and Investor Experience
Founder-Being LaunchPad is led by Jimmy James and Jithin Mammen, bringing complementary experience across building companies, investment, fundraising, mentoring and startup communities.
Their experience includes:
- Building PlantShop.ae, backed by 500 Global
- Building 1trepreneur, a Middle East founders community with 4,000+ members
- Working with and mentoring 1,000+ founders and aspiring entrepreneurs
- Y Combinator Startup School and Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) Accelerator experience
- Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Middle East recognition
- Startup investing and founder mentoring
- Co-creation of 1Tank
- Co-founding Toolbox Agent — an AI-native construction procurement platform
Jimmy brings an operator and fundraising perspective, while Jithin brings an investor and founder-mentor perspective focused on questioning assumptions and developing independent judgement.
Demo Day in Front of Real Investors
The program culminates in a Demo Day pitching competition, where selected founders will present their ventures in front of real investors and startup ecosystem participants.
Founders are expected to present more than an idea. Their pitch should show the problem, product, market, business model, evidence gathered during the programme and a specific next ask. The program handbook frames Demo Day as a public deadline for showing what has actually been built and learned.
After Demo Day, participants receive an additional 90 days of post-programme support, including venture reviews, fundraising preparation and guidance identifying and applying to relevant grants, incubators, accelerators and funding opportunities.
Cohort 1
Starts: Sunday, 4 October 2026
Frequency: Every Sunday for 16 weeks
Time: 11:30 AM–2:30 PM
Venue: Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi, Kerala, India
Age: 15–25 years
Applications close: 25 September 2026
Post-program support: 90 days
Website: https://www.founderbeinglaunchpad.com/
LinkedIn — Jimmy James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/planterjimmy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/founderbeinglaunchpad/
Media Contact
Jimmy James
Founder & Program Lead
Founder-Being LaunchPad
E-mail: hello@founderbeinglaunchpad.com
Kochi, Kerala, India
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