Founder-to-Founder Lab
A founder-to-founder program for experienced operators making the move.
From Earned Insight to a Venture You Can Build
Who This Lab Is For
- You have spent 15 or more years working inside an industry, building the kind of understanding that only comes from being in it day to day. You know how it actually operates, where the real problems live, and what it would take to change them.
- You see a specific opportunity and have the expertise and credibility to go after it.
- You are ready to take what you know and test whether it holds as the foundation for a startup.
- You want a practical process to build real conviction and get to a clear answer.
Why Second-Act Founders
What you have built over a career is an asset. When channeled with the right orientation and judgment it is the most powerful thing a founder can bring to the table.
Most founder programs are built around getting to the next round. The F2F Lab is built around getting to the right answer.
The moment for the second-act founder has never been more clear. Industries under pressure create exactly the kind of opening that deep domain knowledge is built to exploit.
You arrive with experience and a clear view of what needs to change. Over five weeks, the Lab applies structure and peer challenge to that conviction. You leave with a position you can articulate, defend, and act on.
What You Leave With
a clear position
Why you, why now, why this market.
A Viable Hypothesis
Your perspective translated into a venture idea.
a market thesis
Where the opportunity sits and why the timing holds.
sharper judgement
Frameworks for objectively evaluating direction.
your Founder Narrative
Your story, grounding the venture.
GO or NO-GO
A commitment to proceed (or a clear reason not to.)
Format
Format
5 sessions / 1.5 hours each
Cadence
Weekly
Delivery
Live, synchronous
Location
Online
Workstyle
Individual focus, p2p dynamic
Cohort
Experienced operators
The Sessions
Founder Position & Industry Orientation
- Articulate your unique standing: why you, why now, why this domain
- Map your experience, credibility, and network advantage
- Understand the venture landscape and where operator-founders fit
- Identify what you see that others don't—and why that matters
From Experience to Hypothesis
- Translate operating insights into venture hypotheses
- Distinguish between improvement opportunities and venture-scale transformation
- Identify industry inflection points and structural opportunities
- Frame problems worth solving with venture-backed solutions
Venture Direction Mapping
- Map multiple potential venture directions within your domain
- Evaluate founder-market fit for each direction
- Assess competitive dynamics and timing considerations
- Identify which hypotheses warrant deeper exploration
Evaluation Frameworks & Judgment
- Apply structured frameworks to compare venture directions
- Evaluate capital requirements, business models, and go-to-market fit
- Understand when to pivot, persist, or abandon a hypothesis
- Develop judgment for making direction decisions under uncertainty
Narrative, Readiness & Next Steps
- Build a defensible narrative explaining your founder transition
- Articulate your venture direction with clarity and conviction
- Assess your readiness: resources, risk tolerance, commitment
- Define concrete next steps or make the decision not to proceed
The Difference
Where industry knowledge becomes founder advantage
Unlike programs built for general audiences, every session, framework, and output in this Lab was designed with this specific founder in mind.
designed by practitioners
focused on developing clarity, judgment, and conviction
designed to jumpstart through condensed, intensive work
builds on operational competence
Addresses the transition from operator to founder
Who Runs the Lab
The F2F Lab is run by the founders of FORMER—two practitioners who have spent careers working at the most consequential stages of companies and industries around the world.
Jae Hwang
Experience across strategy, operations and business development spanning multiple industries and geographies. Jae has worked alongside first-time founders, established enterprises and institutional leaders—consistently at the stage where direction gets set and foundational decisions carry the most weight.
LinkedInDiego Kolsky
Systems thinker and venture builder at the intersection of design, product and business strategy. Diego brings the architecture of how a company positions itself, structures its model and aligns its story with how it actually operates—from the earliest idea through to execution.
LinkedInOther Practitioners
Experienced operators and founders participate in select sessions to provide perspective and feedback. Their role is to challenge assumptions and sharpen thinking.
Investors and participation does not imply future funding relationships.
About FORMER
FORMER is a venture studio that co-builds with career professionals turned founders at the earliest stage of company formation. Before the pitch, before the product, before the team.
We develop the thesis, the strategy, and the go-to-market alongside founders who have real domain depth. Then we build together.
The F2F Lab is built on that same conviction. That the most important ventures come from professionals who understand their market from the inside.
The F2F Lab operates independently of FORMER's studio and investment activities. Participation carries no commitment to FORMER and does not imply or guarantee future investment or studio engagement.
No one is going to tell you it's time. You already know what needs to change. You've known for years. The F2F Lab exists for the moment you decide to be the one who changes it. What comes next is harder than anything you've done—and a lot more rewarding.
What are you doing tomorrow?
Stop thinking about it. The next move starts here.