The Foundry: Forum's Studio Sprint (formerly Builders Between Ventures)

From startup idea to $250k in five weeks.

Work directly with Forum's Studio team to pressure-test your B2B startup idea and find out if it's venture-backable. Test early signals with real customers, run diligence alongside Forum, and build conviction faster than you could on your own. Then, pitch us for $250K.

Apply Now
Next cohort starts September 9!
Find out if it's fundable

What You'll Do

Spend 5 weeks working with our Studio team to validate your concept and understand whether your idea can become a venture-scale company.

Work 1:1 with our team

Test your assumptions, run market and customer diligence, shape early product direction, and learn how investors evaluate opportunities at this stage.

Find out if it's fundable

Get clear answers on market size, competitive positioning, and investor appetite. Work alongside a cohort of other founders to refine your thinking and build conviction.

Connect with other builders

Join a group of founders at the same inflection point. Share feedback, compare notes, refine memos together, and build conviction faster than you could on your own.

after the sprint

Three paths. No strings attached.

After our 5 weeks together, there are three options for next steps:

Build with Forum Studio

If your idea is ready and the fit is right, pitch for $250K in capital and full support from the Studio team. If we invest, you keep majority equity and board control.

Build It Solo

If your company is better built independently, you leave with a sharper thesis, a validated market, customer evidence, and a pitch-ready narrative. Full control, no obligations.

Stay in the Network

If the timing isn't right yet, stay close. Keep access to our founders and our team, and apply to a future cohort when you're ready. Some of our best companies came back.

"I'd been sitting on an idea for months when I found The Foundry. It was exactly the push I needed to take it seriously, and came with the support and accountability to validate it in weeks instead of months. Within weeks, I knew I had something real, and Forum backed it."

Katie Leininger, The Foundry Alumni → Forum Studio Company

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Who should apply

You've built or operated before. You're noodling on what's next but haven't taken the leap. You want structured time to figure out if this one is real.

You're employed and testing an idea on the side. This doesn't require full-time commitment, just a few focused hours a week and the willingness to talk to customers.

You’re a senior operator or domain expert with a real insight you can't shake. You’re seriously evaluating the venture path but want to pressure-test before committing.

The Details

Duration: 5 weeks

Time Commitment: 4 to 6 hours per week

Cost: Free to participate

Format: Remote. Weekly group sessions plus async support

Cohort Size: 6 to 10 founders

Applications Close: September 2, 2026

Cohort Start Date: September 9, 2026

opportunity areas we believe in

We are open to any B2B concept. But here's where we have a little extra conviction.

AI Compute

The economics of AI compute are reversing two decades of cloud migration, creating a massive infrastructure opportunity between public cloud and the enterprises taking ownership of hardware.

Skilled Labor

The US is losing 400,000+ skilled tradespeople a year to retirement with no replacement pipeline. AI can redefine these jobs by separating the knowledge from the physical work, expanding the eligible labor pool and accelerating upskilling.

Insurance + AI

As AI takes over physical operations, the risk profile of insurable assets no longer fits existing models, presenting an opportunity to rebuild the underwriting model.

Health Insurance

Employer health insurance is closing in on $1.7 trillion in annual spend, its steepest cost surge in 15 years, and it's still being managed through a brokerage model that hasn't materially changed in two decades.

Agent Infrastructure

Agents optimize for verified performance, price, and compatibility, and we're seeing the commercial stack getting rebuilt in real time around these metrics.

The Waste Stream

Waste streams are one of the last unmonitored physical flows in industrial operations, making them simultaneously an unpriced resource and an untapped data source.

BUILD WITH CLARITY

Ready to find out if your idea can be a real company?

No pitch deck required.

Subscribe to The Midnight Text

The real questions keeping founders up at (mid)night–– answered.

Over 8k subscribers

You are subscribed! Thanks for joining.