From Idea to Investment: Takeaways From Founder School

In the beginning of July 2025 Harbour.Space hosted Igor Ryabenkiy’s one-week intensive class  – the first edition of Founder School which offers hands-on experience, expert mentorship, and practical workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs, with 3 people competing for each place out of 30. Igor is a seasoned investor and a founder of AltaIR Capital, a global VC firm with 350+ tech startups, assets totaling $600M under management, and 10 unicorns in its portfolio. Beyond investing, Igor actively shares his insights on venture capital, based on his knowledge and his vast experience.

During the course Igor shared the core principles of starting and owning a successful startup, with each day of the class focusing on one aspect. The attendees were guided through things like refining your idea, building a strong team, creating and promoting the product and getting investable. They all correspond to the 3 core principles of success:

• It is essential to focus on the main thing and not try to pursue multiple ideas at once
• A strong team of like-minded individuals is essential in order to avoid miscommunication
• Learning to create specific and clear pitches that all team members understand is a must.

All of the core principles to success were not only thoroughly explained but also showcased using real-life examples as this non-theoretical approach helps understand them to the fullest.

The course provided its attendees with helpful insights, but one of them clearly stood out.

“One big takeaway that truly stuck with me: focus matters more than anything. Whether you're building your product… Entering a new market… Planning your lead generation channels… Or designing your product roadmap… It's always better to do ONE thing exceptionally well than to spread yourself thin trying to do many things.”