4Founders gives selected business and university partners a private place to introduce real projects, identify promising contributors, and move from interest to scoped work.
Currently operating through selected partner pilots. Projects and member profiles require authenticated, invitation-based access.
Share appropriate real-world problems with a defined cohort, see who engages thoughtfully, and begin with a low-risk starter task.
Students see why a project matters, choose work aligned with their interests, and build evidence through concrete contribution—not a résumé drop.
I'm Brad Daugherty. I built 4Founders to make the step after a plant visit, classroom introduction, or partner meeting useful: a real project, clear context, a safe first contribution, and accountable follow-through. Every pilot is set up hands-on.
— Brad · hello@4founders.dev · what I build
This example is illustrative; live partner projects remain inside their invited cohort.
The host explains the operational outcome, constraints, available evidence, and what must remain confidential.
Students explain why the problem fits, what they can bring, and the small first contribution they can realistically own.
The host shortlists promising responses, offers a starter task, records the next step, and closes the loop.
Explore real projects, choose where you can contribute, and take one useful first step. No résumé drop into a black box.
Work on an authentic problem, learn from practitioners, receive written feedback, and create evidence of how you think and deliver.
Find people who engage with the problem, evaluate thoughtful responses, and begin with a scoped task before making a larger commitment.
Projects can be limited to a verified university or private subgroup. Sensitive plant data, credentials, employee information, and confidential operational details should never be posted.
Good introductions should lead to meaningful work.
4Founders gives businesses and universities a trusted place to turn an introduction into project contribution and follow-through.
Organizations have real problems that deserve more than a job post or a forgotten spreadsheet.
Universities need credible industry pathways that go beyond a tour, job post, or résumé drop.
Students need a fair way to show capability through judgment, curiosity, and follow-through.
4Founders brings those partners around real work—and makes the next step visible.
By creating an account, you agree to respect members’ work and follow our Terms and Privacy Policy.
This account is scoped to the cohort and role shown in your invitation.
Five short questions. Everything you write here shows up on your public profile so people can decide whether to reach out.
Four quick questions. Your answers help project hosts understand how you can contribute and help us route relevant work to you.
Two short questions about you, then you’ll create the workspace for the problem you want people to understand or help move forward.
The project form keeps sensitive context separate from your public profile and lets you choose who can access the work.
Explore active work, recent progress, and projects inviting thoughtful input.
4Founders is currently invite-only and seeded with a curated list of universities. If yours isn't on the list yet, drop the details below — we'll review and follow up by email when we add it.
Project access stays closed until an approved coordinator or host sends you a cohort invitation.
Trusted spaces for partner programs, classes, project teams, and industry collaboration.
Platform administrators approve the organization before connecting it to a cohort.
Track scores, feedback, and launch readiness.
Invite a trusted collaborator, mentor, builder, or project host.
Give invited people enough context to respond thoughtfully or take a useful first step. * marks required fields.
Leave a field blank and that button won't show on your project page.
Screenshots, product shots, diagrams. JPG or PNG up to 5 MB each. Up to 8.
Specific decisions you want feedback on. Up to 3—contributors see these prominently and can answer directly. Open = free text, Poll = pick one of 2 to 5 options.
Articles, research, videos, or references—anything that gives collaborators useful context. Up to 5.
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Find active work where your perspective, skills, or curiosity can be useful.
One useful project at a time, prioritized by where thoughtful input is needed.
Invite someone whose perspective or skills would make a project stronger.
Suggest a concrete next step to the project host. They’ll see your name and can accept it into the project board or respond with a note.
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Live projects and their reviews. Remove anything that doesn't belong.
Last updated: 2026-04-18
These terms govern your use of 4Founders ("the service"). By using the service you agree to them. If anything is unclear, email hello@4founders.dev.
4Founders is a private collaboration platform where businesses and universities organize real projects, invite the right students and mentors, evaluate interest in context, and move promising contributors into clear next steps.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity under your account. We do not store passwords in plaintext. You may close your account at any time.
You retain ownership of everything you submit: project descriptions, code links, reviews, and comments. By submitting, you grant us a limited license to display that content to other users consistent with the visibility mode you selected.
Do not: submit content that infringes others' IP; post abusive, discriminatory, or illegal content; attempt to scrape private data; interfere with other users' access; reverse-engineer anti-copy safeguards.
Paid plans (Founding Supporter) bill in advance and renew automatically until cancelled. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see your card details. Refund requests are reviewed individually; contact us within 7 days of a charge.
Feedback and contributions provided by members are their personal views, not professional advice or an employment commitment. We do not guarantee a project, internship, hiring, or commercial outcome. The service is provided "as is".
To the maximum extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.
We may update these terms. Significant changes will be announced via email or an in-app banner.
This is a plain-English placeholder. For production use at scale, have these terms reviewed by a lawyer familiar with your jurisdiction.
Last updated: 2026-04-18
We keep this short because we collect little and share less.
You can edit your profile, change your email, reset your password, and permanently delete your account from the Account page. Deletion is immediate and cascades to your projects, reviews, and comments.
Our database is hosted on Supabase in the United States. Hosting and CDN are provided by Netlify. Payment processing is provided by Stripe.
Questions, data requests, or deletion help: hello@4founders.dev.
JPG, PNG, or WEBP. Up to 3 MB. Shown next to your name everywhere.
You'll get a confirmation link at both addresses.
This permanently removes your account and all data — projects, reviews, comments. Cannot be undone.
Update your project details. Editing doesn't reset reviews.
Links (all optional). Clear any field and its button won't show on your project page.
Screenshots, product shots, diagrams. JPG or PNG up to 5 MB each. Up to 8.
Specific decisions you want feedback on. Up to 3. Open = free text, Poll = pick one of 2 to 5 options.
YouTube demos, blog posts, Twitter threads, podcast episodes. Up to 5.
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Enter your email and we'll send you a reset link.
Free forever for the core loop — feedback, reviews, discussion. Upgrade when you're serious about launch.
Earned through real work — shipping, reviewing, and growing the community. No leaderboards. No streaks. Just milestones.
Manage accounts, admin access, and founding recognition.
First-party. No third-party scripts. Data stays in your Supabase DB.
Share what you notice. Clear, specific input helps the project host decide what to do next.