There's a better way to build.
Hands-on mentorship. Step-by-step playbooks. Tight-knit founder community.
Our 10-week program is designed for early-stage founders to level up as entrepreneurs, build valuable networks, and accelerate your path from zero to one.
Join 1k+ other founders and sign up for our mailing list to stay up to date on all things Day One.
Since we launched in the summer of 2020
130 Fellows
exploring and accelerating the next wave of startups
50+ companies
founded by Fellows in the last 12 months, like these 👇
"I highly recommend Day One and their superstar team. If you are an entrepreneur looking for a strong and supportive community to help you go from zero to 1, then this is the place for you!"
Olivier Moingeon
Formerly CEO, Bastide - Cohort 1 Alumni
Day One is a 10-week, cohort based program designed for early-stage founders.
Community
Starting a business is hard. Don't do it alone. Join top founders from across the world in a tight-knit community that has your back and propels you forward. Tap into advice, connections and amplification from founders who are all cheering each other on. Find your tribe and set yourself up for a long run of success.
Guidance
Take away the guesswork. Follow proven, step-by-step playbooks created at world-class venture studios. Receive tactical guidance from experienced coaches while you put the playbook into action. We've removed the fluff so you can cut through the noise and execute. We provide hands-on feedback so you course correct in real time.
Expertise
Avoid rookie mistakes. Save yourself time, money and heartache with advice and hard-won, real-world lessons from experienced operators. Every week we host mentor sessions, talks, office hours, and pitch reviews so you can level up and learn from some of the greats. Access select perks and discounts to save $1,000's.
After 10 weeks...
🚀 Pressure test your startup ideas
🚀 Refine your business model
🚀 Collide with your market
🚀 Ship something
🚀 Craft your narrative
🚀 Build a killer pitch deck
🚀 Grow your network
🚀 Find your tribe
🚀 Pitch to hundreds of people
What's going on inside
Workshops
Expert led workshops that teach startup fundamentals, alongside Fellow-led workshops that unpack the leading edge of what's new.
Projects
Follow step-by-step playbooks to guide you as you ship projects every week - go further and deeper with peers and experts to guide you.
Sharing
Every week Fellows give and receive feedback on projects and discuss learnings together. Grow while accelerating forward.
Accountability Groups
Opt in to small groups that collaborate together and keep you on track.
Office Hours
Informal working session with experienced founders & operators from the Day One network.
Coaching Sessions
Fellows receive 1:1 guidance and coaching from Day One Mentors and coaches.
Networking Sessions
Virtual community is hard, but we make it easy & fun to meet your peers and grow your network.
Pitch Practice
Pitch top tier VCs and get live feedback and advice multiple times throughout the program.
Fireside Chats
Intimate talks with investors, founders and folks who have startup stories to share.
Cohort 3
Application Deadline
April 5
Program Dates
Apr 25 - July 2
Who is Day One for?
Day One is for early-stage founders who haven’t hit product-market fit yet. You can be right at the starting line, or somewhere in the messy middle. Day One will help you get down to business and accelerate forward.
Day One is for collaborators who want to build momentum. by being a part of a community. That doesn't mean you have to be an extravert, but you do need to have a community-first orientation.
Day One is for founders building all kinds of business. Whether you're VC backed or bootstrapped or something in between, Day One is here for all the different entrepreneurial journeys - especially if you're not sure.
Day One Fellows come from the world's top companies:
"Day One is high touch, unlike any other program out there. We would share what we're working on, share the challenges that we're facing, and get feedback and ideas from the group and mentors and solve the problems together. That's been incredible as we build this new venture. I would definitely recommend Day One to any person who's thinking about becoming an entrepreneur."
- Berta Argente, Business Designer at Polymath Ventures, Cohort 1 Alumni
"I'm amazed at the depth and breadth of experience across the cohort. Day One did an amazing job at gathering a diverse, inspiring group of entrepreneurs and mentors."
- James Clements, Founder, Old Friends, Cohort 1 Alumni
"I came to Day One with the goal to really learn how to do customer discovery the right way, and to be able to know if I was working on something that people wanted - because I think you can spin your wheels trying to solve a problem that nobody really cares about. And with Day One, I was able to learn from both my peers and experts and come away knowing "this is what we're going to do."
- Julia Hutchins, Founder, Bell Bird, Formerly co-founder, Apostrophe Health, Cohort 1 Alumni
"I love having such a great community to lean on. Although it's giving me the classic existential crisis - did I really need to go to MIT? Day One is more than enough!"
- MIT Sloan MBA Student, Cohort 1 Alumni
Mentors & Speakers
Learn from serial founders who have achieved $1B exits and investors who manage $50M+ venture funds. These are just a few of the founders, operators and investors who guide, support, advise or teach within Day One.
Apply to join Day One today
You get
10-Week Program
Flagship startup-building curriculum
Collaborate daily with tight-knit cohort of world-class founders
Active guidance from mentors and investors
Weekly expert-led workshops and talks
Participate in investor + mentor showcase
+ lifetime access
Lifetime Alumni Access
Connect to fellows across all cohorts through fellow-only Slack + directory
Monthly speakers and workshops
Connections across Day One network
Access to library of recorded sessions
Templates, tools and resource library
Members only perks
Join the next cohort
Cohort 3
Application Deadline
April 5
Program Dates
Apr 25 - July 2
Tuition: $1,199
Apply by March 1st for $200 early applicant discount
Satisfaction guaranteed. If you find that Day One doesn't meet your expectations, simply let us know and we'll issue a 100% refund, no questions asked.
The application takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Real people making real progress
Got questions? We've got answers.
Am I a fit for Day One?
Our name is Day One for a reason, so you can't be too early in your entrepreneurial journey. You might be too late if you have achieved product-market fit and are more focused on scaling than you are on getting close to your customer, developing your first product(s), and raising your first rounds of capital. Because we provide 1:1 guidance that takes into account your context, and have developed playbooks for the common fundamentals of building a startup, almost every founder who is looking to accelerate, expand their network, find support, and learn is a fit.
Day One is also a fit for entrepreneurs who are building all kinds of businesses - whether that's a venture-backed startup, a bootstrapped business, a side hustle, an agency, or anything in between. The early days are a special kind of hard and we're focused on helping founders navigate these treacherous waters when they need the most support.
What do you look for in applications?
We try to infer through your application the slope of your (personal) growth curve. We are far more concerned with your drive to learn and motivation than we are with your years of professional experience. Do you take (and seek out) feedback? Do you understand that feedback is what makes you better (even if it is sometimes hard to hear)? Do you realize that entrepreneurship is a marathon and not a sprint? Do you value community and strive to contribute as much as you receive? We are looking for people who answer yes to these questions. As you can imagine, it isn't always easy to infer this from a written application. Don't overthink the application - just keep these things in mind.
What's the application process?
Every application is reviewed by our team. If we think there's potential to be a great Day One Fellow, we'll invite you to a 30 minute interview where we'll look to get to know you beyond the application, and give you a chance to get to know us and ask questions. We make almost all decisions after this first interview, within a couple weeks of applying.
What level of time commitment is required?
We suggest reserving 5-10 hours a week to make the most of the program. You'll want to make time for sessions like workshops, office hours, mentor sessions, networking events and talks, as well as time to work on your business and connect 1:1 with your peers.
The program is designed to be flexible and no session is must-attend. Many Fellows work full time and do this program on the side, while others are busy building full time. If a busy week comes up and you have to prioritize elsewhere, you'll be able to catch recordings of sessions, collaborate asynchronously, and get back to live sessions the following week. And in the end, if you find that the workload is too heavy, you can always defer to a later program or get a refund.
Speak to us if you have concerns.
Is Day One completely virtual?
Yes! Even before the pandemic made virtual communities a must, Day One was designed to be virtual so that we could extend support and opportunity wherever we could find entrepreneurs... meaning, everywhere. When local activities come back, we're excited to build local chapters, but for now, Day One is fully virtual.
If I want to do this program with my cofounder, can I get a discount?
Yes! Here is how it works. The first founder pays full price. Any other founder after that (up to three) pays 50%.
Do you offer any other discounts or scholarships?
We offer early applicant pricing which allows you to join for a significant discount. We also have a limited number of partial scholarships to offer. You can indicate on your application that you'd like to receive financial aid.
What happens after the 10 week program?
After the 10 week program, you'll continue to be a part of the growing and vibrant Day One Fellowship Alumni community. Inside this community, you'll be able to connect with Fellows from every cohort, and access all the content we produce, playbooks we create and the sweet, sweet perks we aggregate for you. You'll also get access to talks and events just for Fellowship alumni.
What's the story behind Day One?
Day One was first conceived by Andrew Hutton while he was launching new startups at Human Ventures, a startup studio. During the spring of 2020, as a pandemic was setting in, the thesis behind Day One came together: create a virtual community for early stage founders that was focused equally on bringing people together AND guiding/pushing/accelerating them through their entrepreneurial journey. The question Andrew was trying to answer was "how can we scale a venture studio, what would that look like?" The answer is Day One. Shortly thereafter, Rahul Brahmbhatt joined as co-founder and COO, and the rest is history. Together, Andrew and Rahul have advised hundreds of founders and supported and invested in dozens of businesses. With Day One, the mission is to support thousands more.
More questions?