Forum Ventures, the early-stage B2B venture studio, accelerator, and pre-seed fund, today released performance data from its most recent accelerator cohort, revealing that 64.1% of founders reached early revenue during the 16-week program. The data also highlights that 58.3% of founders were first-time entrepreneurs and 25.6% were solo founders, challenging common industry beliefs that favor repeat founders and co-founding teams.
Michael Cardamone, CEO & Managing Partner of Forum Ventures, said in a statement, "Most accelerators are subconsciously filtering out the founders who need them most. Solo founders, first-timers, founders without a product yet - those are exactly the people we built Forum for. The data shows they can deliver."
The findings are based on Forum's most recent accelerator cohort, which provides a $100K investment for 7.5% equity via a post-money SAFE. Each company receives a dedicated Managing Director who works with them one-on-one weekly, focusing on go-to-market strategy, customer traction, and fundraise readiness. The program does not follow a rigid curriculum but instead meets founders where they are.
Forum's approach pairs each company with an experienced operator, providing the operational support and accountability that a co-founder would typically offer. This model appears to benefit solo founders disproportionately: 25.6% of the cohort were solo-founder led, a demographic often viewed as higher risk by other accelerators and early-stage funds.
The data also shows that first-time founders are not a risk factor in Forum's model. Despite 58.3% of the cohort having never founded a company before, the cohort's revenue and follow-on outcomes are consistent with Forum's three-year averages, including a 65% fund-through rate and an 80+ NPS score across the portfolio. The program offers 15 hours minimum of one-on-one Managing Director time and 40+ investor introductions per showcase, which helps first-time founders achieve traction.
Kory Kelly, founder of Legal Karma, which raised $6.8 million to date, commented, "The $100k is nice... but the real value comes from having the MDs on your team. Their perspective, energy, and introductions as you grow are worth the investment. Especially for first-time founders who need someone to walk the journey with. I know in 4 years I can still call up my MD and he'll jump on a sales call or help me wordsmith messaging."
The 64.1% of founders who reached early revenue during the program demonstrate that revenue during the program can serve as a real traction benchmark, regardless of what traction a founder had when they joined. Forum's model focuses on go-to-market and customer traction from week one, designed to produce this outcome.
Forum Ventures, founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco and Toronto, has backed over 550 portfolio companies and 1,000+ founders, with more than $1 billion in follow-on funding raised across the portfolio. The firm offers three investment strategies: the AI Venture Studio ($250K at formation), the Accelerator ($100K, 16 weeks), and the Pre-Seed Fund ($250K-$1M), making it the only early-stage firm investing from pre-idea through early growth.
More information is available at forumvc.com.
