Forum Ventures
How to get into Forum Ventures according to the founders who pulled it off
Our take
Best for pre-seed B2B SaaS founders who want a $100K check and a program built around their model, with sales mentorship, a fundraising playbook, and warm intros to dozens of investors. Weaker fit if you are pre-product, building consumer, or only want capital without giving up equity.
Acceptance
~1-2%
Equity
~7.5%
Funding
$100K
Duration
15 weeks
Stage
Pre-Seed
HQ
New York, NY
We asked the founders how Forum Ventures really went.
Every interview behind this page is one we ran ourselves. The numbers, quotes, and lessons come straight from founders who went through Forum Ventures. No press releases, no PR gloss.
Who Forum Ventures is for, and who should skip it.
Best for
- You are a pre-seed B2B SaaS founder who wants a $100K check paired with a 15-week program built entirely around your business model
- You need the fundraising machinery, a tested playbook, pitch practice, and warm intros to dozens of investors at a showcase
- You want sales mentorship from operators who have run enterprise sales, plus a managing director who gives you real 1:1 time
- You will keep using the alumni network for years, with customer intros, VC intros, and a Slack community that answers when you ask
Skip it if
- You are extremely early and need foundational help with product, user interviews, and hiring more than enterprise sales
- You are building a consumer product outside the B2B SaaS focus, where the mentors and network fit less cleanly
- You only want capital and would rather keep the equity, since the check alone is available elsewhere
- You cannot commit the time, since founders who tried to juggle major life events got less out of it
What it's actually like at Forum Ventures
Forum Ventures runs a roughly 15-week program built specifically for B2B SaaS, virtual or hybrid, with a managing director assigned to each company for weekly 1:1 deep dives plus workshops twice a week on pitch decks, go-to-market, and sales. The thread founders describe is the specialization. Every speaker, mentor, and resource maps to a B2B model rather than spreading thin across industries, and the back half of the program tilts hard toward fundraising.
This specialization meant that every speaker, vendor, and aspect of the program was directly relevant to our needs.
The application varies more than founders expect. Several came in through a warm intro or an office-hours conversation with a managing director rather than a cold form. Kaylee Lieffers went through four conversations before an offer, and Guillermo Salazar met Jonah Midanik at local office hours and applied after some blunt feedback. What founders agree on is that Forum weights the founder and the size of the market over early traction.
At this early stage, it's less about the specifics of your business model or traction and more about the people behind the ideas.
The money, and what it actually costs
Forum's standard deal is a $100K check on a SAFE for a small slice of equity. Founders in these interviews described options around $50K for 5% or $100K for 7%, and the current standard sits near 7.5% on a post-money SAFE. One detail founders repeat is that every company accepted into the accelerator gets funded.
The options were either $50,000 for 5% equity in the company or $100,000 for 7% equity.
What founders credit most is the fundraising machinery around the check, not the check itself. Blanka went in targeting $1.5M and closed an oversubscribed $2M seed in 10 weeks using Forum's playbook. Debtle drew interest from around 40 investors through the showcase. XILO was introduced to 80 to 90 VCs across its two 2020 raises.
- The standard check is $100K on a SAFE, historically $50K for 5% or $100K for 7% and now closer to 7.5%, and every accepted company is funded.
- Blanka raised an oversubscribed $2M seed in 10 weeks against a $1.5M target using Forum's fundraising playbook.
- The investor showcase put founders in front of 40 to 90 VCs, cutting out most of the cold-outreach legwork.
The sales coaching and the network are what founders keep
Ask what lasted and founders point past the money to sales mentorship, investor access, and a community that keeps answering years later. XILO called Forum a sales accelerator and credited it with the architecture of its whole sales organization. IrisCX still drops into Forum's offices to brainstorm with managing directors four years after graduating.
The most transformative aspect of the program was its assistance in developing the architecture of our sales organization.
The emotional support came up as often as the tactical. When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed mid-raise, Blanka's managing director and general partner acted as much as confidants as advisors. For Ascent, a platform contact named Olivia kept making customer introductions long after the program ended.
Forum's ability to be a source of light during the darkest times for a startup sets them apart.
The founders we talked to.
Alumni include Fireflies.ai, Arkestro, Firstbase, Blanka, XILO, IrisCX, Ascent.
Want the mentorship without the accelerator?
An accelerator's real value is the people who have done it before. GrowthMentor gives you that on its own. Unlimited 1:1 calls with founders and operators, from $50 a month, no equity, no relocating, and no 1-in-50 application. Not a replacement for a $100K check, but if what you're really after is someone who has run enterprise sales or raised the round you're chasing, you can start those conversations today.
RecommendedFormat
Live 1:1 calls, on demand- Forum Ventures
- 15-week B2B SaaS accelerator, virtual or hybrid, cohort-based
Cost to you
From $50/month, no equity- Forum Ventures
- ~7.5% equity via SAFE
Capital
None, it's mentorship, not funding- Forum Ventures
- $100K investment
Commitment
As much or as little as you want- Forum Ventures
- Structured programming several days a week for 15 weeks
Acceptance
Open to any member- Forum Ventures
- ~1-2%, highly competitive
Best for
Founders wanting targeted advice from operators who've done it- Forum Ventures
- Pre-seed B2B SaaS founders wanting capital + sales coaching + investor intros
Relationship
Pick your mentor, book again whenever you need- Forum Ventures
- Managing director + alumni community over years
From $50 a month · no equity.
Questions founders ask about Forum Ventures.
Roughly 1 to 2%. Forum reviews thousands of B2B SaaS startups a year and invests in only a small fraction. Founders describe a process that rewards a clear founder story and a big market over polished early traction. Several got in through a warm intro or an office-hours conversation rather than a cold form.
The standard deal is a $100K check on a SAFE. Founders in our interviews described options around $50K for 5% or $100K for 7%, and the current standard is roughly 7.5% on a post-money SAFE. Every company accepted into the accelerator is funded.
About 15 weeks, virtual or hybrid, built specifically for B2B SaaS. Each company gets a managing director for weekly 1:1 deep dives plus workshops twice a week on pitch decks, go-to-market, and sales, ramping toward a fundraising push and an investor showcase near the end.
Two things come up again and again. The B2B SaaS focus that makes every mentor and resource relevant, and the fundraising support. Blanka closed an oversubscribed $2M seed in 10 weeks, Debtle met around 40 investors, and XILO was introduced to 80 to 90 VCs while crediting Forum with building its sales organization.
Early-stage founders wanted more foundational help with product, user interviews, and hiring rather than enterprise-sales content aimed at later teams. One founder wished for structured help turning mentor meetings into a standing advisory board. Blanka joined before Forum ran cohorts and missed the peer connection, though Forum has since moved back to a cohort model.
