Agenda
July 8th
More than Capital – Value Add Investing
There is a wide variety of capital outlets available for entrepreneurs to consider. Today more than ever, founders are seeking out investors that can deliver value add services to support startups throughout their growth journey. Dell Technologies Capital’s Chris Hillock will discuss the firm’s Portfolio Development Practice, and how their team of company builders helps founding team’s establish and hone product market fit, develop scaling strategies, and provide unique access to the Go to Market capabilities of the Dell Technologies Organization.
Growth Hacking, Product Fit and Pricing
Superhuman’s Rahul Vohra shares strategies for early-stage founders on topics like hacking your way to product-market fit, driving user sign-ups without breaking the bank on paid ads, and identifying your product’s price point.
Nailing Your Pitch
Companies aren’t started at the moment of fund raising begins but they can often end there. Nailing your pitch is integral to success. Hear from Adina Tecklu on how to tell your story and leave investors wanting more.
Iterating More Effectively with Feedback
A great product alone is not enough. To be successful, early-stage companies need to optimize all phases of the customer journey. This session will include tactics, best practices, and case studies on how to use customer feedback to understand customer needs, craft more compelling messaging, and improve all phases of the customer experience.
Growth Marketing 101
“Growth” is a concept that is inconsistently defined and operationalized across startups. Mike has built Growth teams at early-stage and growth/IPO-stage companies, and will talk about how companies should think about organization design for growth, best practices in scaling performance marketing practices, and how investors deconstruct healthy vs unhealthy growth.
How to Line Up Your Growth with Your Goals
Unlike giant brands, startups need to use their marketing spend wisely and efficiently. Sound Ventures’ Susan Su is a growth marketing expert and will share how to define growth based on your startup’s goals, and how to take a framework-based approach to growth, rather than relying on old playbooks that aren’t relevant.
Networking Break!
Achieve Hyper-Growth in Japan as a B2B SaaS
On a journey to build a virtual real estate, learn about the success story behind oVice. Join our session to hear about how oVice was able to dominate its Japanese market as a startup and in under a year. Understand the B2B SaaS market in Japan and explore the best practices presented by our CEO, CFO, and Investor.
How to Drive Your Business Forward: The Power and Opportunity of Leveraging Corporate Venture Capital
When raising capital as a startup, it’s important to find the right partner to help drive your business forward. Corporate venture capital (CVC) firms present startups with several unique advantages including market validation, distribution support and a customer point of view. While it’s important to find the right venture capital partner for your company, CVCs can provide knowledge and experience if leveraged properly. In this session, Arvind Purushotham, managing director and global head of venture investing at Citi Ventures, will discuss his background and how he came to start Citi Ventures ten years ago, as well as the benefits and company support that startups can expect from working with a CVC.
Product Market Fit is All About Tempo
Sequoia’s Mike Vernal understands that the most successful companies are not necessarily the ones with a great idea, but the ability to learn from their customers and adapt quickly. Hear this seasoned venture partner explain how customer feedback loops, product iteration tempo and mindset not only affect fundraising, but the overall trajectory of the company.
How Founders Can Think Like a VC
Though there is more capital flowing through the market than ever before, the world of fundraising can still feel like a black box to many founders. Hear Norwest Venture Partners’ Lisa Wu explain how founders can get in the mind of a VC, framing their company’s narrative in terms that VCs love. Be the ball, as they say.
Online Fundraising 101
SeedInvest is at the heart of equity crowdfunding. With over $300M raised, 500k+ investors and hundreds of successful startups launched, learn from CEO Ryan Feit on how your business can raise substantial funding online.
Networking Break!
How to Capitalize on Being Coached
Ted Wang, partner at Cowboy Ventures, comes from the legal world where he was a partner at Fenwick. In short, he’s seen his fair share of startup success and failure. At Early Stage, Wang will explain the value of coaching for startup founders, including the different types of coaches one might utilize, how to choose between them, and how to get the most out of a good coach.
Inspiring High-performance Teams: The Movile Way
Big dreams – unbelievably big ones – can really help people see the future. And, they will rally your team to move faster, together. Learn the proven methodology taught at universities like Harvard and Stanford to create a highly effective, “can do” culture to catapult your startup to the next level. And, continue to attract and retain talent, because sizable ambitions inspire teams based on Movile’s wildly successful “Mobile Dream” internship and recruitment program.
How to Navigate the Ever-Changing World of Early Stage VC
With over 25 personal investments, AngelList Venture CEO Avlok Kohli knows a thing or two about early stage fundraising. At Early Stage, Kohli will explain the landscape of the early stage fundraising market and how to take advantage of the changes in the VC world over the past year.
Nail the Narrative
Storytelling is a critical skill for startups. Coatue Management partner Caryn Marooney, formerly head of comms for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, will share how to frame the narrative for a startup depending on the audience and ensure that when you’re talking about your company, people are not only listening, but they want to learn more.
What's Your Story?
You can have a compelling product, but it’s a compelling story that puts your company into motion. In this session, Doug Landis, former Chief Storyteller and GTM leader from Box, Salesforce, and Google, will share the core storytelling mechanics to help you nail your origin, product, and customer stories that will get your company in motion.
Standing Out During Your Fundraising Process
Fundraising is never easy – but the right preparation can make all the difference. Three-time founder Waseem Daher shares the KPIs investors look for, which questions they ask, and what you need to succeed at the various stages of investment. Currently CEO of Pilot, which specializes in bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services for high-growth startups, Waseem is a three-time entrepreneur with two successful exits.
Design Matters
Design has never been more important. Users have been spoiled and startups, along with big brands, are offering designers many more seats at the table. Hear from Designer Fund’s Scott Tong on how to think about design from the early stage and how it can impact everything from UX to brand awareness to long-term vision.
How to Get Ready to Fundraise
The process of fundraising doesn’t start with your first meeting. Setting a timeline, preparing your deck, warming up investors and understanding your strengths are key to a successful fundraise, and need to happen well before you start filling up your calendar. Cleo Capital founding partner Sarah Kunst will outline how to get ready to fundraise and answer your most burning questions.
Deep Tech: How to Raise Early in a Notoriously Tough Category
The greatest evolutions in our history have not come from small technological steps, but giant leaps. Frontier tech is the future, but it’s not particularly accessible to average folks. Hear from IndieBio partner Pae Wu and HAX partner Garrett Winther on how to fundraise for your deep tech startup.
