Founder Sprint, Batch 8
A 4-week, no-equity program in Gangnam for founders who want real demand, first customers and a go-to-market that works in the US.
Gwanghwamun Gate, Seoul37°35′ N, 126°59′ E
The four weeks
Many Korean teams lose in the US on positioning, not product. You rewrite how you introduce the company to buyers and investors.
“Understanding your customers comes before building a great product.”Ted Kim, BeSir, FS1
Founder-led sales: the right message, the right twenty people and the first real conversations, before marketing does anything.
“6 meetings set up in Korea, 4 replies, 3 held.”Joshua Kim, ORBT, FS1
KPIs, a funnel and a US price, benchmarked against how YC companies package and charge.
“Before: KRW 500K to 700K per customer. Now: approximately KRW 10M per customer.”Jessy Yoon, in10s Lab, FS3
Why this problem, why now, why this team. A deck reviewed slide by slide, then small rooms with investors instead of a demo day.
“We went from building blindly to talking to customers, generating revenue, and raising investment.”Joshua Kim, ORBT, FS1
Curriculum
Run in this order across the four weeks, two or three a day on Mondays and Thursdays, next to the guest sessions and office hours. Hover or tap a session to see what it covers.
How startup capital, VCs, customers, founder mindset, and talent differ between Korea and the US, and what Korean founders should change to compete there.
How to write a testable startup hypothesis, run it, and keep evolving it consistently, with three golden rules for lasting long enough to win.
Why founders must talk to users directly at every stage, three interview rules, and how to run trust-based interviews in Korea's high-context culture.
How user interviews change from idea to prototype to post-launch, and the five questions that surface real problems, competitors, and willingness to pay.
How to test demand before building, using XYZ hypotheses and pretotypes like fake-door ads and facade launches that collect real payment signals.
Why startups should copy a proven business model, which models dominate top US startups, and what makes revenue durable: fund flow, recurrence, moats.
How to turn what you track into KPIs: metrics vs KPIs, the AARRR funnel, finding your one metric that matters, and a weekly dashboard.
Why early startups must charge premium prices from day one, by solving an urgent problem for a narrow group that values it highly.
Five pricing rules from top US startups: charge early, price on value not cost, stop undercharging, raise prices over time, keep it simple.
What venture capital is and how a VC firm raises funds, picks and supports startups, and returns profits, using 500 Global as the example.
How US VCs decide, through 500 Global's Korea thesis, the T6 evaluation framework, and Pioneer Fund's accelerator-linked model.
When to raise, which investors fit, how to land the meeting, and how each VC meeting stage works from intro to decision.
Why founders should be on LinkedIn for sales, credibility, global reach, and accountability, and how to set up a profile investors and customers trust.
What IR is for, how to write a fundraising strategy with fallback plans, and which materials to prepare, from a blurb to a data room.
The different deck types Korean and US investors expect, a standard 11-slide pitch order, and how to write the cover and closing slides.
How to judge and find startup ideas: avoid solutions without problems and tarpit ideas, and use nine tips to find real, paid-for problems.
How to handle hard team decisions: common hiring mistakes, and how to restructure or lay people off with transparency, using Airbnb's layoff as the case.
How Peter built a daily LinkedIn writing habit: why to write, finding your place, time, and medium, and a repeatable formula for posts.
Who teaches
Peter teaches every core session himself and sits with each team in office hours. He co-founded QueryPie (YC W20) and led its enterprise sales before starting Outsome. These are from FS4 and FS6.
Inside the room
Every session happens , . These photos are from FS1 to FS7.
Mentors
17 mentors have joined Founder Sprint batches so far: YC founders, operators and investors. Each team gets 1:1 office hours with a mentor on top of Peter's.
The last day
, product demos, a group photo and dinner. These are the last days of FS1, FS2, FS6 and FS7.
Results
Counted from our own records and founder surveys, updated every batch.
Completed: startups that finished Founder Sprint or US Track, all batches since May 2025.
Raised: alumni that raised outside investment after the program, including follow-on rounds. Most alumni are less than 18 months out, so this rises over time. Benchmark: 8% of accepted ventures raised equity in their program year across 17 Asia-Pacific accelerators (GALI, 2020).
New revenue: alumni that made revenue from a model built in the program.
Surveys: 143 weekly survey responses across FS1 to FS7, US Track and the US Healthcare Track. Recommendation scores on 10-point scales are converted to 5.
Apply
FAQ
Yes. Pre-founders and solo founders use the same application. If you do not have a product yet, pick the Pre-MVP option in the form.
Two in-person days, Monday and Thursday, 9:00 to 15:00 with lunch. Up to three co-founders per startup can attend. Across the four weeks you get 6 group office hours and 4 one-on-ones with Peter, and 4 one-on-ones with a mentor. Silicon Valley mentors join online.
Short answers to three questions: what problem you solve, how you plan to solve it, and how many people have it. No deck. A one-minute pitch is enough.
We recommend founders and co-founders attend the first interview, and all co-founders join the in-person sessions if accepted.
Instead of a large demo day, we run small rooms: internal batch demos, investor update sessions and targeted introductions from a network of 30+ partners in the US and Korea, including Pioneer Fund, 500 Global, Third Prime, GS Ventures and Berkeley Ventures.
Yes. Founders from other accelerators are welcome.
Teams with strong global ambition can be invited to the US Track, two weeks in Silicon Valley living and building with other founders. Every alumnus keeps Bookface access and monthly group office hours.
We take no equity and no revenue share. Fees and scholarships are shared during the diagnostic interview.
A 15 minute diagnostic call with our team. If Outsome is not the right fit, we will tell you and point you somewhere better.
