Phase 1 · OMS2’s first program
OMS2 Founder Builder Program
The OMS2 Founder Builder Program is a free startup-building program designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs use AI, coding tools, no-code platforms and modern startup methods to move from an idea to a working product or early business.
Applications are not open.
The pilot is being prepared and funded. Cohort dates, the venue and the application window will be published once they are confirmed—no dates have been set.
Join the interest listFree to participants. No payment is required at any stage of the interest list.
Proposed pilot structure
What the first cohort is designed to look like.
These are working planning assumptions for the proposed pilot. Cohort size, duration, format, dates and venue are not final and are subject to funding, partnerships and board approval.
- Participants
- 25–50 foundersProposed cohort range
- Length
- Approximately 8 weeksProposed duration
- Cost to participants
- FreePlanned; delivery depends on funding
- Location
- Chicagoland firstProposed pilot region
- Remote access
- Optional, where operationally practicalIn development
- Prerequisites
- Beginner friendly · no coding background requiredProposed eligibility
Weekly workshops on startup skills and modern building tools
Guided startup-building sessions where founders work on their own idea
Mentor support and office hours
Customer validation work with real prospective customers
MVP development using AI-assisted coding, no-code and low-code tools
Go-to-market preparation for first customers
A final founder showcase and demo event
Who it is for
Built for people without a technical background.
The Founder Builder Program is designed primarily for first-time and nontechnical founders who have promising ideas but lack access to startup networks, technical skills and early-stage support. No prior coding background is required.
AI lowers the technical barrier to entrepreneurship, but successful businesses still require problem selection, customer understanding, execution, discipline and market validation.
- You have an idea—or a problem you keep noticing—and no clear way to start.
- You have never written code and assume that rules you out. It does not.
- You want to test whether a business is real before spending money on it.
- You are building something outside software: a service, a shop, a food business, a local company.
- You want structure, deadlines and people to build alongside.
The toolkit
Skills founders are expected to leave with.
AI tools
Use current AI tools for research, planning, writing, analysis and everyday operating work.
AI-assisted coding
Build and change working software with AI coding assistants, starting from a nontechnical baseline.
No-code and low-code tools
Assemble sites, apps, automations and internal tools without writing everything from scratch.
Software prototyping
Turn an idea into something a real customer can open, use and react to.
Customer discovery
Interview prospective customers and separate real problems from assumed ones.
Business-model development
Define the customer, the value proposition, pricing and how the business actually makes money.
Startup validation
Test demand with evidence before committing time and money to the wrong build.
Basic financial planning
Work through simple costs, pricing, runway and unit-economics literacy.
Go-to-market fundamentals
Reach first customers through channels, messaging, landing pages and direct outreach.
Proposed curriculum
Eight weeks, idea to launch.
Each week combines a workshop with guided time building on your own idea. The sequence is proposed and may be refined as the curriculum is finalized.
Week 1
Founder Mindset and Problem Selection
Identify meaningful problems and the customer groups who have them.
- How to evaluate a problem worth solving
- Choosing a specific customer group instead of “everyone”
- Turning a vague idea into a testable starting point
Week 2
Customer Discovery
Interview prospective users, validate pain points and test assumptions.
- Finding and reaching people to interview
- Asking questions that produce honest answers
- Recording what you learn and deciding what it changes
Week 3
Business Model
Define the value proposition, customer, revenue model and operating model.
- Mapping how the business creates and delivers value
- Pricing approaches and revenue models
- What it takes to actually run the business day to day
Week 4
Building with AI
Use modern AI tools for research, planning, development, automation and productivity.
- Practical AI workflows for founders
- Where AI genuinely helps and where it misleads
- Automating repetitive work in a small business
Week 5
MVP Development
Create a working prototype with AI-assisted coding, no-code, low-code and APIs.
- Choosing the smallest version worth building
- Assembling a prototype with modern development tools
- Getting the prototype in front of a real user
Week 6
Go-to-Market
Develop acquisition channels, messaging, landing pages, sales workflows and early customer outreach.
- Choosing channels that match your customer
- Writing messaging and a landing page that convert
- Running a first customer outreach and sales workflow
Week 7
Startup Operations
Cover basic financial planning, legal considerations, metrics, pricing and operational discipline.
- Simple financial planning and pricing discipline
- Metrics that tell you whether the business is working
- General awareness of common legal and administrative considerations
Week 8
Launch and Founder Showcase
Present the product, customer validation, business model, lessons learned and next steps.
- Preparing a clear, evidence-based founder presentation
- Presenting at the founder showcase
- Planning the next 90 days after the program
Measurement and impact
How the pilot will be judged.
These are the measures OMS2 plans to collect and publish after the first cohort. No results exist yet, and OMS2 will not publish an outcome it has not measured.
- Founders enrolled
- How many founders start the cohort.
- Program completion rate
- How many founders finish the full program.
- Prototypes created
- Working prototypes built during the program.
- Customer interviews completed
- Discovery conversations founders actually conduct.
- Businesses launched
- Founders who open for business during or shortly after the program.
- First customers acquired
- Founders who reach a first paying or committed customer.
- First revenue generated
- Founders who record initial revenue.
- Continuation into the accelerator
- Founders who move into later-stage OMS2 support once it exists.
- Participant satisfaction
- Structured feedback collected from participants.
- Skills gained
- Self-reported and demonstrated skill change across the curriculum areas.
- Founder confidence
- Change in founder self-efficacy from start to finish.
- Mentor participation
- Mentor hours and coverage across the cohort.
Results will be published after the first cohort is delivered and measured.
Being clear about limits
What this program does not do.
- OMS2 does not guarantee business success, revenue, funding or investment.
- OMS2 does not provide legal, tax, investment or financial advice.
- Program education is general and is not a substitute for your own professional advisors.
- Joining the interest list is not an application and does not guarantee admission.
Help make the first cohort happen.
The pilot runs when the funding, mentors, instructors and space are in place. Founders can join the interest list now; everyone else can help build the thing they would want to exist.
Founders who validate a business here are the intended pipeline into the future OMS2 accelerator.