About FoundersForge
We believe nobody is born technical.
FoundersForge AI Academy exists because the distance between “I have an idea” and “my product is live” collapsed — and most people have not been told yet.
Built by Builders
We kept meeting the same person: smart, capable, sitting on a good idea, convinced they needed a developer or a computer science degree to act on it.
They did not. They needed six weeks, live instruction, and someone beside them when they got stuck. So we built the program we wished existed — no forty-hour video libraries, no expiring discount timers, no cohort of five hundred strangers.
Ninety-one people have trained with us. Every graduate who did the work has launched.
Our Teaching Partner
Ergon Insights
An AI transformation and executive technology consulting firm. Their consultants advise CTOs and founders on AI adoption for a living — and they co-teach with us, bringing that field experience straight into the classroom.
Learn more about Ergon Insights →✓AI transformation strategy for real companies, not theory
✓The same practitioners who consult also help teach your cohort
✓An independent partner — the Academy is ours; their expertise makes it sharper
The Instructors
David Nelson
Founder Track · Executive Director, FoundersForge
- 5x tech entrepreneur — 87+ products shipped, including VA data visualization used in White House briefings and a healthcare app used in the Olympics
- Leads FoundersForge, a nonprofit entrepreneur center mentoring startups from idea to exit
- ETSU Entrepreneurship faculty · Johnson City Chamber of Commerce board member
Jason A. Oglesby
AI Training Track · Founder, Ergon Insights
- Former CTO of Rev.io — led a 70+ person IT org through a full-scale AI transformation, shipping more software in his last 12 months than the prior decade
- 30+ years of software development experience; leadership roles at IQVIA and Healthcare Data Solutions
- MS in Business Analytics, University of Nebraska–Lincoln · Army National Guard veteran
91
people trained so far
12
products launched
100%
completion rate
15
seats per cohort
Come Build Something With Us.
