One ecosystem. From idea to founder.
Students apply with ideas. We test them, sort them, train them, team them up — and turn the best into funded founders. Mentors, investors, interns, developers, sales and marketing all live inside the same building.
How a student becomes a founder
Any student with an idea, a half-built product, or just hunger.
- —Single form, 8 questions
- —30-second voice note: why you
- —No CV. No college brand filter.
Founder Aptitude Test — written + live panel.
- —Problem-solving under pressure
- —Communication & storytelling
- —Ownership signals, not IQ
Shortlisted into one of three tracks.
- —Dreamers
- —Builders
- —Founders
Track-specific tasks, sprints, mentors, and reviews.
- —Weekly assignments, graded by operators
- —Industry mentors on speed-dial
- —Cross-track team formation
Top performers graduate into real founders with a real cap table.
- —Incorporation support
- —Co-founder matching
- —Pre-seed cheque from Empire
Investors meet founders. Real work begins.
- —Curated investor introductions
- —Sector-specific demo rooms
- —Term-sheet & due-diligence support
Three tracks. One ecosystem.
After the exam every applicant lands here. Tracks are not rankings — they are training routes.
Dreamers
60%Raw spark. Big imagination. No artefact yet.
- •Idea sprint workshops
- •Founder mindset bootcamp
- •Mentor 1:1s, twice a month
- •Team-up days with builders
Builders
30%Can ship. Have prototypes. Need a problem worth chasing.
- •Paired with a dreamer + a founder
- •MVP studio: 8-week build cycles
- •Design / engineering reviews
- •Internship in active startups
Founders
10%Have a thesis, a team, a v1. Ready to take real punches.
- •Office space in our hub
- •Investor intros & SAFE rounds
- •Sales, growth & ops embedded team
- •Demo day every quarter
Three programs. One ladder.
Founder Discovery Program
- — Students with ideas
- — Problem solvers
- — Ambitious individuals
- — Future entrepreneurs
- •Founder Assessment
- •Idea Validation
- •Startup Fundamentals
- •Mentor Guidance
- •Founder Mindset Development
- •Team Formation Support
Startup Builder Program
- — Validated ideas
- — Committed founders
- — Early-stage teams
- •MVP Development
- •Customer Discovery
- •Business Model Design
- •Product Strategy
- •Sales & Marketing Guidance
- •Industry Mentorship
Incubation & Growth Program
- — MVP completed
- — Active team
- — Initial traction
- •Advanced Mentorship
- •Growth Strategy
- •Investor Readiness
- •Demo Days
- •Industry Partnerships
- •Funding Opportunities
Everyone under one roof.
The day a founder is born, the rest of the ecosystem moves into the same office.
The students who ship.
Builders learning by doing inside live startups.
Operators who've shipped before. On call, not on stage.
Angel cheques, seed funds, family offices.
Embedded engineers for the first 90 days.
Growth pods to spin up the first 1,000 users.
Outbound, partnerships, the first ten enterprise logos.
A real desk, a real team, a real war-room.
What the funnel actually looks like.
Real conversion across a single cohort, from inbound to funded.
- Dreamers60%
- Builders30%
- Founders10%