FORGE YOUR PATH TO product-market fit
Unusual Academy offers an elite, hand-picked cohort of founders the opportunity to receive personalized mentorship from top enterprise software founders and investors alongside an in-depth curriculum, accelerating their path to product-market fit.
Speakers
Learn from Industry Leaders
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Curriculum
Expert guidance on your path from insight to product-market fit
Day
1
From Insight to Product-Market Fit
On Day 1 of Unusual Academy, founders learn the Unusual Method built and proven by Jyoti Bansal and John Vrionis. Learn how many of the most successful enterprise software startups of the past 20 years executed in the early days and how to apply it to your startup. Jyoti and John cover the very best practices for customer discovery including ICP iteration, finding and working with the right design partners, and how to prioritize your product roadmap.
Day
2
Building an AI Startup
On Day 2, functional leaders and founders from the top AI startups dive deeply into the topics of pricing, partnerships, resources, hiring, new tools and how to approach funding.
Day
3
Managing, Hiring, Leadership & Fundraising
On Day 3, we focus on essential management, hiring, leadership and fundraising skills for early stage founders. Collaborate and learn from seasoned founders and leaders like Don Faul, Andy Rachleff and Abhi Sharma about how they’ve learned to hire, manage, lead and fundraise. Wrap up by pitching in front of the cohort and famous guest investors to receive real-time feedback.
Testimonials
Don't just take our word for it
I am really glad that we've followed the Unusual Academy playbook because I think it's been much more intellectually honest approach to evaluating our ideas in our market."
Priya Krisnan
Founder, Stealth (ex-Doordash, Wharton MBA)
Unusual Academy is optimized to help founders build successful enterprise software startups. Unlike other accelerators, it's not a one-size-fits-all approach."
Lydia Hylton
Founder, Stealth (Forbes 30U30, Stanford GSB alum)
Founders of iconic companies have learned from the experts who built Unusual Academy
My favorite thing about Unusual was that it helped me grow from engineer to entrepreneur and to understand the steps that I can take right now to build a strong GTM motion. It taught our team the most efficient ways to move forward."
Zach Smith
Founder & CEO, Nova Al
I attended Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and have participated in other accelerator programs but there is nothing like Unusual Academy. The hands on, customized collaboration and expert guidance are truly unique."
Dara Canavan
Stanford GSB alum, ex-LEK Consulting
Unusual does a great job of teaching you to be relentless with customer discovery. Engaging in cold outreach, reaching out to people. The program teaches you actionable skills to take your company to the next level."
Ash Ahmed
Founder & CEO, Axal (Harvard alum)
FAQ
Is this program for founders based anywhere in the world?
Unusual Academy is for companies incorporated in the United States. The sessions are in person so you must be able to attend all three workshops in Menlo Park, CA.
How far along does my company need to be for me to apply?
No idea is too early! We welcome teams at any stage from idea to prototype to production to apply to the program.
How much time will I need to commit to the program?
There are three full-day in-person sessions that are required for all participating founders. They are on 3/21/2025, 4/11/2025 and 5/9/2025. There are additional office hours and 1:1 mentorship sessions that you will schedule based on your availability.
What happens after Academy ends?
Every participant of Unusual Academy is invited to continue to indefinitely engage with the entire Unusual team including former Academy participants and the entire portfolio community. We host continuing education events with world class speakers, offer office hours with the investment Partners, provide office space for meetings, and welcome future participation in Academy events.
When will applications be reviewed and decisions made?
We will review applications and make decisions on a rolling basis.
FAQ
Is this program for founders based anywhere in the world?
Unusual Academy is for companies incorporated in the United States. The sessions are in person so you must be able to attend all three workshops in Menlo Park, CA.
How far along does my company need to be for me to apply?
No idea is too early! We welcome teams at any stage from idea to prototype to production to apply to the program.
How much time will I need to commit to the program?
There are three full-day in-person sessions that are required for all participating founders. They are on 3/21/2025, 4/11/2025 and 5/9/2025. There are additional office hours and 1:1 mentorship sessions that you will schedule based on your availability.
What happens after Academy ends?
Every participant of Unusual Academy is invited to continue to indefinitely engage with the entire Unusual team including former Academy participants and the entire portfolio community. We host continuing education events with world class speakers, offer office hours with the investment Partners, provide office space for meetings, and welcome future participation in Academy events.
When will applications be reviewed and decisions made?
We will review applications and make decisions on a rolling basis.