Founder Certification Program

Structural literacy is the knowledge that sits between your term sheet and your outcome. It means understanding how cap tables shift wealth, how governance provisions transfer control, how negotiation dynamics determine who wins, and how exit structures decide who gets paid. Most founders learn these lessons by losing: equity, control, or their entire company. Structural literacy means learning before the stakes are real.

It is not a comparison. It is a different category entirely. MBA programs do not teach this material. They teach you to analyze markets, manage teams, and read financial statements. They do not teach how cap tables shift wealth, how governance provisions transfer control, how to negotiate when investors have better lawyers, or how to structure an exit that captures what you built.

This is what is missing from every MBA program. If you have an MBA, this makes it actionable. If you do not, this gives you what matters most. Strategy and implementation. The full picture traditional education never provided.

We created this program because no comprehensive, tested curriculum exists. YouTube has scattered advice. Podcasts have inspiring stories. Blog posts have tips. None of it is integrated, sequenced, or pressure-tested by founders who have done it at scale.

This is seven courses built as a complete operating system, each module building on the last, taught by instructors with $10B+ in transaction experience. Free content tells you what. This program teaches you how.

More relevant than ever. Every round added complexity: governance provisions, liquidation preferences, board dynamics, protective rights. Most founders do not realize the structural traps they already agreed to. We help you understand where you stand, what leverage you have, and how to optimize from here.

Most founders have. That is why this program exists. Knowing where you stand is the first step to improving your position. We teach you to audit what you signed, identify remaining leverage, and make smarter decisions going forward. It is not too late. But every future decision made without this knowledge compounds the problem.

Your lawyers document deals. Your accountants track numbers. Neither is responsible for your outcome. You are. Lawyers confirm legal soundness. They do not tell you whether a deal serves your interests strategically.

This program teaches you to be the expert on your own deal, to direct your advisors rather than defer to them. The founder who understands structure commands the room. The founder who does not gets commanded.

The program combines on-demand video lessons, case studies, tactical exercises, and live cohort sessions. Work through core content at your own pace. The Founding Cohort includes scheduled sessions with Chris and Christos for real-time Q&A and coaching on your specific situations.

Three to five hours per week. The program fits around your company, not the other way around.

Seven courses spanning the full entrepreneurial journey: building an unbreakable mindset, creating brand authority, mastering capital and value creation, high-stakes negotiation, boards and governance, scaling and expansion, and exit strategy. This is the tactical playbook for starting, building, running, and exiting a company while keeping what you build.

Because the cost of not knowing this material is measured in millions. Founders routinely accept terms that strip their control, agree to governance structures that remove them from their own companies, and walk away from exits with a fraction of what they expected.

This investment is less than ten hours with a startup lawyer. It gives you knowledge that compounds across every deal you will ever do.

Founder Seat ($4,500) provides full access to all seven courses and cohort sessions.

Founder + Operator ($7,500) includes two seats so your co-founder or key operator learns alongside you. Aligned knowledge means faster decisions and fewer internal conflicts.

Founder + Advisory ($11,250) adds private strategy sessions with Chris for founders actively navigating raises, board situations, or exits.

Installment options may be available throgh Klarna (Klarna.com) at checkout. Klarna approval is subject to eligability, and may not be available to all applicants. A limited in-house payment plan of 3 payments is available for the Founder + Strategy Tier.

Yes. Many founders expense this as professional development or executive education. The tuition is typically reimbursable or tax-deductible as a business expense. Check with your accountant. This is a standard professional education investment, no different from executive programs at major business schools. Except more relevant to what you actually need.

You will be able to:

• Build resilience that separates founders who survive from founders who quit
• Create brand authority that commands premium positioning
• Manage the capital lifecycle strategically, from raise to exit
• Negotiate effectively with investors, boards, employees, partners, and acquirers
• Govern your board instead of being governed by it
• Scale without the traps that destroy most growing companies
• Structure exits that capture the value you created

You will stop hoping your advisors are protecting you. You will know exactly what you are signing and why.

Yes. Graduates receive the AEIOU Founder Certification. It demonstrates your commitment to structural mastery and signals that you understand the game at a level most founders never reach.

Founders, CEOs, and their management teams. Anyone who benefits from understanding how entrepreneurship, venture capital, and exits actually work. The battles you face as a founder are won and lost before they are ever fought. This program gives you the knowledge to win those battles before you step into them.

People looking for pitch deck templates, growth hacking tactics, or motivational content. This is advanced, tactical education for people who want command of their entrepreneurial journey. Not inspiration from the sidelines.

February 2026. Early applicants receive priority consideration and access to pre-program materials. The Founding Cohort is limited to 20 seats.