Mission
Every year, collegiate founders graduate and leave the states that educated them. The companies they build, and the jobs those companies create, go with them. The state where today's companies choose to build should also be the state where the next generation's companies are born.
League play changes the decision. A season of structured competition gives founders capital, mentors, and a community rooted where they already are. The League is built so that competing at home leads to building at home.
The Institute exists to set the standard. We define the charter, hold the governance, and measure the results, so every chapter runs one proven model.
The Model
Charter
The Institute defines what a league is: eligibility, competition format, capital terms, and reporting standards. One charter governs every chapter.
Chapter
A state league operates the competition: universities, sponsors, judges, and events. Chapters raise and deploy capital within their state.
Season
A founder experiences one season a year: qualify, compete, advance. Capital is non-dilutive, and the standings are public.
Chapters
$575,000 in non-dilutive prize capital.
Live State Championship, May 19, 2027.
The largest statewide collegiate prize pool in America.
- The Ohio State University
- Case Western Reserve University
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Dayton
- Miami University
- University of Akron
- Baldwin Wallace University
- Bowling Green State University
- Youngstown State University
- Tiffin University
The next chapters.
The Institute charters its next chapters for the 2027–28 season. Tell us where the next league belongs and who should be at the table.
Governance
Board of Directors
Holds the charter and fiduciary responsibility for the Institute.
- Yon Raz-FridmanChair. Founder and Executive Chair, Founders League Institute. Serial venture-backed founder, New Albany, Ohio.
- Ted HillBoard Member. General Partner and Chief Financial Officer, B Capital. Formerly CFO at Santander and senior finance roles at JPMorgan Chase and Nationwide.
- Cari Van SenusBoard Member. Former Senior Vice President of Governance, Policy and Human Resources at the NCAA and chief of staff to the NCAA president. Indianapolis.
- Don TaylorBoard Member. Chairman and CEO, The Welty Companies, Akron. Chair of the Team NEO board.
- Additional directorsTo be announced.
Advisory Council
Founders, investors, and operators who advise on competition standards and capital terms.
University Advisory Council
Representatives of member universities who guide eligibility, academic calendars, and campus participation.
Founder & Executive Leadership
Yon Raz-Fridman
Founder & Executive Chair
Yon Raz-Fridman founded the Founders League Institute and the Ohio Founders League, its first chapter. He oversees the vision, strategy, and overall direction of the League, manages fundraising and strategic relationships with universities and partners, and chairs the Board of Directors.
Kevin Mackey
Founding League Commissioner, Ohio Founders League
Kevin Mackey runs the Ohio Founders League season day to day: campus visits, the platform, the timeline, nominations, mentors, and how the League connects to what founders are actually building.
Measurement
One number matters most: the share of league alumni still building an in-state company at three and five years.
Pending
Alumni building an in-state company at 3 and 5 years
Pending
Follow-on capital raised by league alumni companies
Pending
Full-time in-state jobs at alumni companies
The Institute publishes these figures in an annual report, audited chapter by chapter, beginning with Season 1. First annual report following the 2026–27 season.
Partners
Founding partners of a national institution, not sponsors of a season. Founding partner categories are exclusive. Partners underwrite the charter and each chapter's non-dilutive prize capital. The League takes no equity.
Partner, board and press inquiries: Yon Raz-Fridman, yon@foundersleague.co.
Contact
17 E. Gay Street, Suite 400
Columbus, Ohio 43215 institute@foundersleague.co