Built for you
Unfair advantages from day one.
Founder Labs is a hands-on, six-month programme built by founders for founders. We combine deep mentoring, real customer access, AI-native building and investor-ready execution, so you can build faster, sell sooner and grow with momentum.
“Our business has been fundamentally changed during the programme. We attribute much of our growth to Founder Labs. The advice, and the support of our peers, has been phenomenal.”
Small team. AI stack.
Real customers.
Two founders with AI can now ship in a week what a team of ten shipped in a quarter. What still decides whether a company works is customers, price, focus and the people in your corner, and that is where Founder Labs puts its time.
AI-native from day one
From day one you become fluent in building with AI. Our entrepreneurs in residence, technical and non-technical, help you make the right technical decisions and build the right way. Our fastest founders last cohort built it themselves with AI. That is the standard now.
Global, not local
Northern Ireland is where you build, not the size of the market. Go-to-market and internationalisation experts, trips to Dublin, London and the US, and investors from well beyond these shores. The ambition is a company that can reach millions in revenue and hundreds of employees.
Support whenever you need it
A weekly 1:1 with entrepreneurs in residence who have built, shipped and sold, office hours with the Founder Labs team, weekly accountability, visiting founder stories, investment prep and diligence, and the rest of your cohort at the next desk.
Customers before decks
Price and pilot terms early. Closing from week one. Raise when it is the right move for your company, with the investors who back this programme in your corner.
The programme doesn’t let you hide.
I joined Founder Labs with an idea and 10 years of industry experience. I left with an enterprise product, committed pilots and a strategy I can execute against. It makes you prove demand, sharpen your story and do the uncomfortable work, which is exactly what a solo founder needs.
Built around
your cohort.
There is no fixed timetable. We shape the calendar around the companies in the room and what each one needs that month, and you get as much support as you can use. Companies on the same programme run on two tracks: execution-ready, with a product live and a pipeline to close, and foundation-building, validating before you build.
Your weekly 1:1
With an entrepreneur in residence who has built and sold. The spine of the programme: pricing gets fixed, pilots get signed and the hard calls get made here.
Entrepreneurs in residence
Technical and non-technical, there to help you make the right decisions and build the right way.
Office hours
Time with the Founder Labs team whenever a decision needs a second view.
The standup
Your numbers in front of the cohort, so progress is never a guess.
Go-to-market experts
Specialists on sales, pricing and taking the company international.
Visiting founders
Firesides and AMAs with founders and investors from Ireland, the UK and the US.
Investment
Investor readiness, a data room built with you, and introductions through our network.
Dublin · London · US
Trips for ambition, market understanding, go-to-market and raising capital the right way.
I came in with a business I believed in. I’m leaving with a stronger business, a team and a network that will stay with me.
Before Founder Labs I had a strong idea and a prototype, but very little understanding of the ecosystem around me in Northern Ireland. The programme changed that quickly. It sharpened the business, taught me to communicate it clearly and put me in the right rooms with founders, investors and people who have lived the journey.
Three months to build.
Three months to grow.
- Day oneLearn the programme and what is ahead of you.
- Become fluent in AIBuild with it, decide with it, run the company with it.
- Know your first motionYour customer, channel, price and pilot terms, on one page.
- Go to marketSales, pricing and internationalisation, with experts who have done it.
- Demo DayIn front of investors, mentors and the Northern Ireland ecosystem.
Your 1:1 carries on, so you have experienced founders beside you for the big decisions, when you need them.
Investor preparation for the companies raising, and support to stay lean for those who are not.
Then you join the Founder Labs alumni, and Invest NI's full range of support as a client company.
Founders who want customers
Apply if
- You are building a tech product and want to scale it beyond Northern Ireland.
- You want to build a company that can reach millions in revenue and hundreds of employees.
- You build it yourself with AI, or you are ready to learn how in week one.
- You can name the customer who needs it most, or you are close.
- At least one founder can work on it full time, in person in Belfast. You can apply while employed if you will go full time on acceptance.
It is not for
- Agencies, consultancies and other services businesses.
- Retail, food and other small businesses that are not built to scale.
- Lifestyle businesses.
- Anyone looking for a course. There is no curriculum to sit through here.
Full eligibility is in the FAQ, and you can book office hours if you are not sure.
Like having the insight of a second- or third-time founder built into your business.
Founder Labs is like having the insight of a second- or third-time founder built into your business. It helped us move faster, raise funding, think bigger, and even expand into the US.
In their own words
“Cadentia Clinical wouldn’t be where it is without Founder Labs. They’re laser focused on building with AI, and their introductions helped sharpen our story, get us into Europe and the US, and build health system and VC relationships. Network is so important. Ian, Layla and the team run a tight ship. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.”
“Six months. Collaboration. Focus. Build. Founder Labs was more than I expected: the generosity of the team with their knowledge and connections, Invest NI backing our ambition, the firesides, the 1:1s, the pitching. But above all, the people in the room. You will learn so much and be proud of the founders beside you. We have raised our ambition and validated our business to scale.”
“As a non-technical founder, Founder Labs was transformational. Being immersed in cutting-edge innovation and surrounded by expert knowledge challenged me to think bigger, strengthened WonderLeap and gave me the confidence to build for scale. I would highly recommend Founder Labs to any founder ready to push themselves and their business to the next level.”
“Founder Labs is like adding a super experienced set of co-founders to your team. We increased our MRR, raised capital and made our first hires in months.”
“Without Founder Labs we would’ve been back in day jobs long ago. FL raised our ambition levels, gave us structure and direction, warm intros you could only dream of and a group of other founders to be inspired and motivated by.”
“Clear thinking and rigorous execution. We shipped faster and spoke to more users than ever before.”
“Without founder labs I would still be validating a concept. Instead I’ve talked to over 100 customers, pivoted twice, built two small MVPs, and currently prepping for a fundraise with the help of the FL team.”
“Founder Labs gave me seasoned founders in my corner, giving me clear direction on what really mattered, the confidence to act on it, and the reassurance that I could achieve it.”
“Founder Labs unlocked more for us than just funding and knowledge. It was a launchpad for us to think bigger and showed us a pathway as founders. Since then we’ve raised more money, supercharged our network, and even expanded into the US.”
“Founder Labs believed in my idea, backed it with funding, mentorship, and world-class speakers, and gave me the confidence and pitch practice to walk into any room and talk about my business.”
“Between the core Founder Labs programme, wider ecosystem connections, international opportunities, and true inspiration from peer entrepreneurs in our cohort, I can't thank the Founder Labs team enough. I would strongly recommend all new NI founders get in contact with them.”
Seedcamp
ElkstoneAlbion VCPact VC
Scrub CapitalHaatch
The people in your corner
Hundreds of founders, operators and investors give their time to the founders in our network. These are a few of them.
Founder Labs Cohort 5
Applications close on Friday 20 November 2026. The programme starts on Monday 11 January 2027, with up to 10 companies.