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2026 Founder Fellows Program
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Overview    |     ALUMNI    |     DETAILS    |     Price    |     Dates

Program Overview

Leaders in Tech Fellows is a 10-month experiential learning program helping founders build more successful companies by becoming better leaders.  Participants are nominated by a network of industry leaders and selected after a competitive application process.

The core program is conducted in small, deeply intimate groups in which participants discover for themselves how and when they are most influential, how their behaviors impact others and gain a richer toolkit for building trusting and powerful professional and personal relationships. Many former participants have described the experience as profoundly transformational.

Fellow Alumni now run companies valued at over $50B

Hear from our 500+ alumni

Our programs have a NPS of 92 and over 90% of alumni say LIT had a lasting impact on their effectiveness as a leader.

Andrew Mason

Groupon

“Having gone through LIT, I’m dumbstruck by the complete absence of opportunities to learn and develop these skills in life so far - but as obvious as that seems now, previously, I was equally as oblivious. It feels essential.”

Iman Abuzeid

Incredible Health

“This is a no brainer, just do it. Transformative. Incredibly insightful in helping me realize exactly what I do/say that influences others. I’m very hopeful that the strong camaraderie that emerged from this impressive group of CEOs will continue for the rest of my life.”

Logan Green

Lyft

“LIT is an experience of a lifetime: you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll learn more about yourself and the human-condition then you could imagine.”

Emmett Shear

Twitch

“If you’ve ever wanted to improve your ability to connect with those around you, build trust, and share authentically, attend this program.”

Sofia Elizondo

Brightseed

“LIT is the single most important thing I have done to further my personal development.”

Harj Taggar

Co-founder & CEO

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

Jay Graber

Bluesky

“Through LIT, I gained some fundamental insights on how I relate to others that were truly a breakthrough in my personal as well as professional life.”

Andy Chen

Coatue Management

“LIT transformed that way I think about leadership and influence. It’s life and career changing and I highly recommend all founders to be a part of it.”

Anita Koimur

LiveFlow

“LIT is the shortcut that helped me to save decades and find a way to my deeper, more compassionate, and empathetic self. I feel like I know have "a hack" to take interpersonal relationships to the next level.”

Annie Kadavy

Redpoint Ventures

“If you’ve never had a T-Group experience, you must. What you’ll learn about yourself and others will improve all of your most important relationships and potentially change your life in just 4 days.”

Ben Jackson

Upsolve

"After 20 years of bumbling around in my personal relationships and 10 years doing the same as a leader, I was exhausted. I had tried everything. It feels crazy saying it – but the four days of intensive work with the skillful, compassionate instructors at LIT "fixed me."...This was one of the top five learning experiences of my life, and you will not regret it."

Blake Pierson

Fathom

“While this is a big time commitment, it is by far the highest ROI course/event I’ve ever attended — by orders of magnitude.”

Chris Bennett

Wonderschool

“This was a mind blowing, impactful experience. I think I learned more about myself in that one weekend than I have over the last 8 years. Along with that I’ve made some awesome friends in the process.”

Claire McDonnell

True Link Financial

“This program helped me figure out how to grow myself as a leader so I can be what my company needs as we scale. ”

Daniel Fukuba

Hyphen

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

Ferhat Babacan

Bluedot Technologies

“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.”

Ian Bassin

Protect Democracy

“This was one of the most impactful four-day experiences I've ever had. Far and away worth the investment. I believe it will help me immensely in my personal and professional life and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to participate.”

Program Details

The Leaders in Tech Fellows program is based on T-groups, a form of experiential learning popularized by Interpersonal Dynamics, the most popular elective at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for over 30 years (commonly known and referred to as "Touchy Feely").

T-group is an experiential learning format focused on discovering when and how you are most influential, and how others really think and feel about how you act.

Most participants say their group has helped them make hard decisions, persevere, resolve conflict, fundraise, sell, hire, and lead more effectively. Again and again, they report building some of the deepest, most honest, and enduring relationships of their lives. Hundreds have called the experience "life-changing".

Kickoff retreat

The program begins with an intensive 4-day retreat.  Participants engage in open and confidential conversations that build deep trust within the group, creating a unique environment to gain insights into how others perceive you and how you understand yourself and practice giving and receiving feedback effectively.

Monthly learning groups

After the kickoff retreat, each learning group continues to meet throughout the year - with shorter sessions twice each quarter by zoom and once each quarter for a full day session in the Bay Area.  These monthly sessions continue to build on the insights from the kickoff retreat and also give participants an ongoing support and reinforcement structure as they begin to apply their learning into the most pressing challenges and opportunities in their business and in their life.

Graduation dinner

Participants will join together with their current Fellows cohort and Fellows alumni for an in-person graduation dinner at the conclusion of their program.

Ongoing Community

Once they complete the program, Fellows become part of the LIT Alumni community for life.  Many groups continue meeting in various formats for years after the program ends and there are regular formal and informal alumni community meetups and events in many locations as well as an active online community.

"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

Eligibility & Commitment

Qualifying applicants are leaders who have been or currently are founder/co-founder or CEO/President at a Series A (>$5M raised) to pre-IPO startup.

Not you? Check out our programs for earlier stage founders and oustanding executives.

The foundation of this program is interpersonal learning so the participation of each member impacts not only their own experience but the entire group. In joining the program, participants make a commitment to (1) attend the 4-day kickoff retreat in full, (2) attend each of the monthly peer learning group sessions, (3) enter the program deeply curious, willing to question existing mindsets and beliefs, and prepared to give and receive honest feedback in service of their own and others’ learning.

Apply now

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.

Leaders in Tech is a nonprofit and we do our best not to turn anyone away because of financial need.  Within our resources, 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. Check out our fact sheet for your board or cofounders.

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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

Resources

Please take a few minutes to learn more about what to expect before applying.

Please read The Power of T-Groups and Experiential Learning. This paper will help you better understand the pedagogy, the reason we use it, and how to best prepare to get the most out of a LIT program.

Check out some typical learning goals and skills for LIT programs.

Carole Robin and David Bradford’s website for their book Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues. There is a wealth of articles, podcasts, interviews, and videos that introduce the foundation of LIT’s programs.

Carole Robin was a guest on Lenny’s Podcast. She covers Touchy Feely, Leaders in Tech, T-Groups, and a lot more about building connection and strong relationships as a leader and in your personal life.

“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