For the past month I’ve been involved in the Founder’s Institute NYC Winter 2009 program. The program’s aim is to train founders in the art of building a business so they can avoid common missteps and give them a better shot at being successful. There are about 40 founders in the NY session, representing a good cross section of industries and skill sets.

I haven’t written much about it yet because I wasn’t sure what to say. The process of applying and getting accepted was incredibly condensed and emotional (read: delusions of grandeur). As those hopes and dreams slowly adjust back to reality I’m seeing both the good and the bad. It’s mostly good, but not entirely. One thing I struggled with going in was what I expected to get out of it. I spoke to other founders informally about that question and the answers varied widely. My initial impression was that no one really new what to expect. That can be both a challenge and and opportunity.

I’m reserving final word for later – there’s a long time to go and many things could change – but so far I think the experience has been helpful in a number of ways, both intended and unintended. One of the first things Adeo Ressi said was that Founder’s Institute is not going to make or break my business. It will give me some tools that will help, but it’s still up to me. I think that’s very valuable advice and something I have to keep in mind as I go through process.

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