Who is the AEIOU program for?

The AEIOU Founder Certification Program is designed for founders who have raised capital (or are about to) and want to understand the structural aspects of building, governing, and exiting companies.

How long is the program?

The program spans 14 weeks and includes 7 courses with 9 live sessions. Students should expect to dedicate 3-5 hours per week.

What is structural literacy?

Structural literacy is the knowledge that sits between your term sheet and your outcome—understanding cap tables, governance, negotiation dynamics, and exit mechanics that determine who actually captures value at exit.

What does the Next Cohort include?

The Next Cohort is limited to 20 members who will become the charter membership of AEIOU's global community. Founding members receive the full certification program, lifetime community access, and recognition as dedicated leaders of the movement.

THE STRUCTURAL STANDARD FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The company exits; the founder receives less than junior employees. Not an anomaly. A predictable outcome of structural illiteracy.

We call it Structural Risk — the hidden danger inside the deals, governance, and decisions that fund and scale every venture. Preventable, but only if you’re trained to see it before you sign.

AEIOU trains entrepreneurs to eliminate it.

Explore the Program Not sure yet? Get Your Structural Score →

Founding Cohort · 20 Seats · May 6, 2026

You’re in the right place if you need…

To understand the structural mechanics of building, financing, governing, and exiting a company—before the stakes are highest

Governance that works for the company instead of against the founder

Negotiation skills that level the playing field against repeat players with greater resources

The resilience that elite-level entrepreneurship requires—trained, not assumed

Training that no business school provides—whether you went to one or not

Access to operators who’ve been at the table as bankers, investors, and founders when billions were at stake

Internationally Recognized Instructors

Wall Street Journal

LSI

CNBC

ACG

MedTech Breakthrough

Tested and Delivered Globally

Christopher Velis keynote speaker at Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair after Nobel laureate Aaron Ciechanover

Christopher Velis, Porsche racing team ambassador

Christopher Velis presenting at Harvard-MIT Health Science and Technology Program

Dr. Christos Kelepouris teaching entrepreneurship at US Embassy Tunisia

Christopher Velis mentoring founders at Harvard Innovation Lab President's Innovation Challenge

AEIOU Academy team with Dr. Christos Kelepouris at executive education program in China

Dr. Christos Kelepouris at the Acropolis Athens Greece

$Christopher Velis interviewing entrepreneur legend Manny Villafa\u00f1a at LSI Emerging MedTech Summit$

Dr. Christos Kelepouris with China executive education team

AEIOU Academy Dubai UAE government education desert retreat

Christopher Velis interview at Entrepreneur Ventures studio

Christopher Velis receiving recognition from UAE Ministry of Health at Dubai Innovation Week

Dr. Christos Kelepouris teaching entrepreneurship at European Campus Italy

Dr. Christos Kelepouris leading China executive education program

Christopher Velis keynote at Chengdu GIEF

Dr. Christos Kelepouris at US Embassy Tunisia

Christopher Velis at Harvard Innovation Lab

AEIOU Academy team China executive program

Dr. Christos Kelepouris at the Acropolis

$Christopher Velis with Manny Villafa\u00f1a at LSI$

Christopher Velis at Entrepreneur Ventures

Christopher Velis UAE Ministry of Health

Dr. Christos Kelepouris European Campus Italy

The Framework

Two Risks. One You Know. One You Don’t.

The Risk You Expect

Elephant Risk

The product-to-market challenge every entrepreneur signs up for. Building something people want and delivering it at scale. This is the risk that should define the journey.

Inherent to the venture. Cannot be eliminated.

The Risk That Kills

Structural Risk

The deals, governance gaps, and architectural failures that destroy companies from the inside. Signed, negotiated, and locked in — often before anyone realizes.

Preventable. Trainable. Eliminable.

Capital architecture Board composition Investor negotiations Contracts Regulatory IP & patents Licensing Lawsuits Exit mechanics

Luck, hype, hidden terms → Clarity, control, structural competence.

The failure rate for entrepreneurs is unacceptable—and the reasons are identifiable. Founders fail not because they lack ambition or talent, but because nobody trains them for the second risk. By the time they discover it, the damage is structural and often irreversible.

AEIOU exists to eliminate your Structural Risk—so your only exposure is to the risk you chose to take.

The Evidence

The outcomes are not what most founders assume.

This is Structural Risk

56%→36%→23%

Median founder ownership after priced seed, Series A, and Series B. Each round, the structure takes more than the market does.

Carta Founder Ownership Report, 2020–2024

This is Structural Risk

~75%

Venture-backed companies that never return investor capital. Even companies that build working products can lose everything to deal structure.

Shikhar Ghosh research, Harvard Business School

This is Structural Risk

81%

Founders who believed their chances of success exceeded 70%. The same confidence that builds companies prevents founders from seeing structural danger.

Cooper, Woo & Dunkelberg, Journal of Business Venturing, 1988

Research shows that for nearly half of entrepreneurial households, at least 75% of total net worth is locked in a single illiquid company. No diversification. No liquidity. One bet.
Moskowitz & Vissing-Jorgensen, American Economic Review, 2002

Your Path Forward

Choose Your Track.

For Entrepreneurs

Individuals · Teams · Advisors

The seven-evolution structural operating system covering cap tables, governance, negotiation, and exits. For individuals, teams, and advisors who want to understand what they are signing and keep the value they create.

Explore the Program

For Equity Investors

Enroll your portfolio founders in the same seven-evolution structural literacy program. Cap tables, governance, negotiation, and exits—taught live by the same operators. When your founders understand the structure, they protect their outcome and yours.

Learn More

For Healthcare Professionals

Physicians · Clinician-Innovators · Hospital Systems

Structural literacy plus clinical translation: IP, regulatory pathways, reimbursement, compliance, and exit mechanics built specifically for physician-entrepreneurs.

Coming Soon

Built by Operators. For Founders.

Meet Your Instructors

Christopher J. Velis NACD.DC

NACD.DC · Serial Founder · Board Director · Venture Investor · Lead Inventor

Founded Auris Health leading to a $5.75 billion exit to Johnson & Johnson—the largest acquisition of a venture-backed medical device company on record.

See full credentials

Dr. Christos Kelepouris

DBA · JD · Fulbright Specialist · UAE–Stanford Innovation Fellow

Selected by the UAE Prime Minister’s Office as a Stanford Innovation Fellow. 15+ years developing founders and advising across four continents.

See full credentials

What Leaders Say

Real Results from Real Operators.

Utilizing what I learned as a guide, the company I founded had a successful exit. The fundamental knowledge Chris provided was instrumental in navigating challenging Board matters, building consensus, and ensuring a successful outcome for all.

Mark Johanson

CEO, Scandius, Inc.

In my career evaluating training and leadership programs across the U.S. Army and beyond, very few met the level of rigor, structure, and real-world execution I see in AEIOU. This program stands out immediately.

Dr. Tamas Horvath

Former Chief Quality Assurance & Accreditation Officer, United States Army

The Structural Literacy Diagnostic™

Find out where you stand—
before the market does.

Most founders don’t fail from lack of ambition. They fail from blind spots they never measured. The Structural Literacy Diagnostic evaluates your structural readiness across seven critical domains—the same dimensions that separate operators who scale from those who stall.

Questions

Domains

Minutes

Get Your Structural Score Free

Ownership

Dilution

Governance

Board

Negotiation

Valuation

Exits

The Vision

More Than a Credential.
A Global Community.

We’re not just building a certification. We’re building a global community of structurally literate entrepreneurs—and we’re looking for our dedicated leaders.

The Next Cohort isn’t just the first class. It’s the program membership of a movement to change how entrepreneurs are educated, how they negotiate, and how they capture the value they create.

Twenty seats. Not for spectators. For builders.

Lead Programs That Matter

20 seats · Next Cohort · May 6, 2026

Apply for the Next Cohort Or take the free Structural Literacy Diagnostic first →

Next Cohort begins May 6, 2026 Get Your Structural Score

The company exits; the founder receives less than junior employees. Not an anomaly. A predictable outcome of structural illiteracy.

You’re in the right place if you need…

Two Risks. One You Know. One You Don’t.

Elephant Risk

Structural Risk

The outcomes are not what most founders assume.

Choose Your Track.

For Entrepreneurs

For Equity Investors

For Healthcare Professionals

Meet Your Instructors

Christopher J. Velis NACD.DC

Dr. Christos Kelepouris

Real Results from Real Operators.

Find out where you stand—before the market does.

More Than a Credential.A Global Community.

Lead Programs That Matter

DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE

Find out where you stand—
before the market does.

More Than a Credential.
A Global Community.