Introducing Founder Academy

November 10, 2024 • 3 min read

My adventure with Kris began like it did for a lot of entrepreneurs… We got laid off. It wasn't the first time for either of us, and neither was it the first time we had aspired to self-employment, but this time was different. This time we were in the same place, at the same time, and we became aware that we could be much, much more powerful than the sum of our parts if we built something together.

Flashback to 2009. I was revisiting the web foundations program where I'd graduated college just a year prior. Regularly invited back as a guest speaker, doing this sort of mentorship was very important to me. I felt strongly that college students, entrenched in their programs, many of them committed to the high levels of student debt, weren't given enough visibility into their career pathways of choice. Many industries were already gathering rather sad data sets of fresh graduates who had entered the workforce in junior roles that were relevant to their respective fields of study, only to realise that they hadn't been adequately prepared at all for the realities of life in those careers. Many industries were reporting high turnover rates, even though opportunities for young professionals were few and far between at the time.

They didn't call it “the lean and mean early 2000s” for nothing.

Meeting Kris

I'll always remember meeting Kris that day at Fleming College — a self-taught full-stack developer who was there to get a piece of paper, but also to better understand design processes, workflows, user experience, digital business questions, and more. I told him that if he could be both a great dev and a dev who valued those cross-functional disciplines that he would set himself apart among his career competition. We stayed in touch, and although we never really worked together on anything, we followed each other's careers and regularly chatted on the phone to discuss project challenges, different opportunities, toxic bosses, and more. I managed to introduce Kris to a recruiter who fenced him his first few full-time gigs and it got his career started!

Sometimes, when I'm working — or more likely, when I'm not — I become overpowered by what I've come to call my 'network notions'. In short, I develop a nagging feeling that two people I know well should probably be introduced, and I usually make it my business to initiate such introductions. And so I introduced Kris to Chris Gostling, a great friend and collaborator. Gostling, a gifted communications strategist and design thinker, needed a reliable, knowledgeable, and atypical developer to assist with the clients of his business, Momentum Visual. I knew that Kris would be his guy. That introduction sparked a working relationship between the two that still exists today! Gostling has regularly thanked me for introducing him to Kris, and it always made me so proud to see the long-term validation of my powerful initial feeling that if the two met something awesome would happen.

Mass Layoffs in Tech

Fast-forward to spring 2024. Let's face it, a lot of talent in tech was getting the axe. Not because they were dead weight, or hadn't proven themselves capable of solving their employers' problems… but because the world was still changing after Covid. Company models were still in flux. A lot of bad market bets about what the post-Covid landscape was going to look like put many companies in a position where they had to tighten their belts, resulting in preferential hiring of younger, less experienced, and yes, cheaper talent.

Many of us even got to endure the frustrating experience of realising that we had even trained our eventual replacements, and I've even heard an increasing number of these accounts in recent weeks.

Like a lot of experienced and talented professionals in that boat, we took some time to disconnect, recharge, and do some real career soul-searching. Still, every week, I'm seeing more and more professionals who are tired of their hard work not being rewarded, frustrated in their search for employment that seems to value their capabilities and expertise. Let's be honest, in 2024, the search for workplace cultures that inspire loyalty can be long and lonely. I believe that it is this very tipping point that drives a lot of workers to want to stop investing in others' businesses and start investing in themselves instead.

This was very much the tone of conversation between Kris and I when he suggested to me the idea that Founder Academy was built on. I was passionate about continuing my work in educating and upskilling young professionals and he was keen on his mission to continue delivering digital tools at affordable pricing to small business owners. I shared with Kris a common thread of feedback received from the learners of entrepreneurial training programs — namely, that too many of them taught theory in a vacuum. While they may talk about tools, do a demo, or even recommend some best-in-class SaaS telling learners to sign up for a trial, never do they put these tools in their hands and teach them how to apply what they've learned, doing the necessary work of growing their early-stage startups with hands-on guidance using these tools.

Then we thought “What if we could give them these tools at no cost for an entire year?!?” Once that piece was figured out, we knew we had our unique value proposition.

The Challenges Facing Startups

Let's be real and listen to the data… While numbers differ, it is estimated that as many as 50% of startups fail in their first year. While the list of reasons ranges from inadequate market assessments to poor leadership, among the most common are lack of cash flow, lack of affordable resources, and lack of experience in their market of choice. We knew that these were problems we could help solve. In fact, we had each already been solving them in the employ of others. We not only had a great idea, but we had the experience to back it up.

And so — with a good deal of paperwork and time spent on branding and digital collateral — Founder Academy was born! I'm writing this as we prepare to launch and we already have keen interest from one partner who is overseeing the needs of entrepreneurs who fit under their mandates. We couldn't be more excited. And yes, more than a little nervous. But we hope that you'll follow us on this journey.

We are Founder Academy. And we're here to help you invest in your business.

Adam McNeill

Adam McNeill is is an experienced, senior-level educator, digital strategist, and business consultant. He is also the President and Co-Founder of Founder Academy — a rapid growth, tool and knowledge-based program for startups and those launching them.

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