Startup Summit

Check in, enjoy breakfast, and connect with fellow founders, speakers, and partners before the day’s programming begins.

Start the day with an official welcome, an overview of what to expect, and guidance for making the most of the Startup Summit.

The market cannot buy a story it cannot quickly understand. This session helps founders clarify what they stand for, why it matters now, and how to communicate their value in language that earns attention, trust, and action.

In this candid fireside chat, participants will hear from a successfully exited founder reflecting on the decisions, challenges, and lessons that shaped the journey from building to scaling.

Over lunch, founders will connect with mentors and peers through topic-based conversations focused on their goals, challenges, and next steps. It’s a chance to build relationships, exchange practical insights, and reset for the second half of the day.

Learn how to design an event strategy that drives pipeline, sharpens product and go-to-market decisions, and builds stronger customer relationships. Participants will leave with a practical framework for choosing the right events, maximizing engagement before, during, and after each activation, and measuring real business impact.

In this small-group session, legal experts will address some of the most pressing legal issues startups face—from founder agreements and intellectual property to fundraising, hiring, and regulatory risk. Participants will gain practical guidance and best practices for avoiding common mistakes and building a stronger legal foundation for growth.

What makes an investor lean in—and what causes a promising company to miss the mark? This session takes founders inside the investment decision-making process, using real-world examples to unpack the signals, questions, and strategic considerations that shape an investor’s assessment, followed by an open Q&A about getting—and staying—on an investor’s radar.

Through a real-world case study, this session examines how a founder can identify a genuine market problem yet commercialize it incorrectly by choosing the wrong entry point and failing to validate how customers will adopt and purchase the solution. Participants will trace the small, seemingly reasonable decisions that compounded over time—ultimately leading an experienced operator from seed funding to shutdown while pursuing a Series A.

A strong product does not create momentum on its own. Founders will leave this workshop with either a sales-ready positioning statement grounded in customer research or early company data, or sharper customer interview questions to uncover the message that will convert.

Raising a seed round is a milestone—but reaching Series A can take longer and prove harder than founders expect. This discussion draws on Carta’s seed-to-Series A graduation data to explore how timing and market conditions shape the path to the next round. Speakers will examine what investors need to see, where companies can get stuck, and how to align traction, milestones, and runway with a realistic fundraising plan.

Accelerators can provide founders with mentorship, capital, credibility and networks—but getting into the right program isn't the same as building the right company. A candid conversation between an experienced accelerator leader and a founder who's been through the process about when accelerators actually create value, when they become a distraction, and how founders can determine what their company really needs next.

Take a brief pause to refresh and connect with other attendees before we close out the day.

Join us in the Gallery to close out the day with refreshments and meaningful networking among fellow founders, mentors, speakers, and partners.