Founder Fellows Program

A 10-month program for leaders of high-growth tech companies, focused on building high-performing, culturally healthy organizations

COMPANIES LED BY OUR ALUMNI

Immersive learning, real-time feedback, and a lifelong community of peers.

4-Day Leadership Retreat

An intensive, experiential kickoff modeled after Stanford’s famed “Touchy Feely” course. You’ll explore how others experience your leadership style and learn what makes you most influential.

Intimate Peer Learning Groups

Get supportand accountability as you deepenand apply your insights into your current work and personal challenges over the next 6 months.

Expert Facilitation

The program is guided by Leaders in Tech co-founder and Stanford GSB master teacher Carole Robin and each group is led by a pair of hand-picked Stanford-trained facilitators.

"Best program I've ever done. Highly recommend."

Daniel Kan

Cruise

,

Co-founder

“LIT reshaped how I lead in days and built real trust with exceptional peers. Best ROI I’ve made in my growth.”

Daniel Fukuba

Co-founder & CTO

,

Hyphen

Transform how you lead through practice, not theory

Built on Stanford's Interpersonal Dynamics curriculum, 
our program has earned a world-class 92 NPS.

Cultivate
Self-awareness


Identify blind spots in your leadership style and understand exactly how you need to grow to have greater impact.

Build interpersonal
fluency

Learn how to strengthen relationships with cofounders, colleagues, investors, customers, and partners.

Master group
dynamics

Learn what makes teams psychologically safe, high-performing, and accountable to each other.

Am I a fit?

We invite those who have been or currently are founders, co-founders, or CEOs of any pre-seed to pre-IPO startup to apply for Fellows.

Applicants should be committed to growing as leaders and creating culturally healthy organizations.

We are committed to identifying a diverse group of participants who bring a range of backgrounds and perspectives to their businesses.

How do I apply?

Most participants are nominated by our network of industry leaders though it is also possible to apply directly and many successful applicants have found us that way.

Applications opened for 2026 cohorts of Fellows in October 2025. You can always submit a nomination or your own interest for the program here.

What does it cost?

Tuition for the Fellows program is $19,850 and includes the 4-day retreat (with accommodations, meals, program materials), monthly learning groups, and the graduation dinner.

We offer financial assistance for participants who are unable to pay full tuition. In addition to financial assistance, we also offer payment plans over four quarters. If you are interested in participating in the program and concerned about cost, we encourage you to apply anyway and we will work with you to try to make it possible.

Please note that the majority of our participants have their companies pay for their enrollment, as they would with an executive coach.

Our upcoming cohort dates

Full attendance expected for all sessions in a cohort.

Spring 2026 Cohort

March 5th-8th

Retreat

(

Los Gatos, CA

)

Apr 8th, 12-2pm

Virtual Session

May 13th, 12-2pm

Virtual Session

Jun 2nd, 9am-5pm

In-Person (Bay Area)

Jul 8th, 12-2pm

Virtual Session

Aug 5th, 12-2pm

Virtual Session

Sep 1st, 9am-5pm

In-Person (Bay Area)

Oct 7th, 12-2pm

Virtual Session

Nov 4th, 12-2pm

Virtual Session

Dec 8th, 9am-5pm

In-Person (Bay Area)

Summer 2026 Cohort

July 23rd-26th

Retreat

(

Santa Cruz, CA

)

Aug 5th, 9-11am

Virtual Session

Sep 2nd, 9-11am

Virtual Session

Sep 30th, 9am-5pm

In-Person (Bay Area)

Nov 4th, 9-11am

Virtual Session

Dec 9th, 9-11am

Virtual Session

Jan 13th, 9am-5pm

In-Person (Bay Area)

Feb 3rd, 9-11am

Virtual Session

Mar 3rd, 9-11am

Virtual Session

Apr 7th, 9-11am

In-Person (Bay Area)

Apply now

“The insights I gained from this program ignited a spark in both my life and mind. I never imagined that these revelations would connect the dots so swiftly.”

Ferhat Babacan

Co-founder & CEO

,

Bluedot Technologies

“This is the best thing a leader could do for their company.”

Harj Taggar

Triplebyte

,

Co-founder & CEO

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