[vdibart]

With regards to incorporation, I would only say the word "pressure" (at least in NY) might be too strong. They put it out there and make it clear - incorporate or clear out of the way. But in no way do they force you to do something you don't think you're ready for.

As for awolf's statement that it wasn't clear that it was a requirement, it's obviously meaningless to refute that subjectively. I will say that there's an entire section in the Founder's Guide (which you have access to once you're accepted) covering incorporation. The very first line is:

"Forming a company before the end of the semester and issuing the Bonus Pool Warrant is required to graduate."

Granted, that section might have been edited mid-year, but I remember understanding the point clearly before entering, mostly because I had an LLC and knew I'd have to convert it. It might suffer a bit from being right after the "Fundraising" section, which I'll assume most founders fast-forward to and reread over and over :)

[awolf]

The main complaint many of my classmates had was that the guide said "before the end of the semester" yet we were told we needed to be incorporated one week after the Incorporation session (half way through) or we would have to step aside.

FI has been iterating their process as they go along. I'm glad to hear there wasn't confusion in the New York session.

[vdibart]

I hear you. I'm also glad to hear they're tweaking the formula. I think we can agree it's not only fair but important to set the incorporation requirement a little earlier in the session.

From the Institute's perspective, there are some (although not many) who saw the program as an easy means to gain access to mentors and investors for little or no commitment on their part. As such, they have no intention of graduating. Forcing them to decide sooner weeds them out.

From the founder's perspective, those not planning on graduating detract from the overall experience because they're not contributing positively. In some cases they're actually they're making it difficult for others. In NY I found the program started to become more relevant to me as the less-committed and less-advanced founders started dropping out.