About us
Startup Founder 101 brings together aspiring and experienced tech entrepreneurs to discuss, meet, and collaborate to build great new startups, and to push the local startup ecosystem forward.
This group hosts numerous free events throughout the year where you can learn the best practices of starting a company from people who have been there and done that. You’ll have the opportunity to meet local founders and investors, exchange ideas with experts, get feedback on your idea, participate in startup workshops, and more.
Typical startup event topics include:
• Coming up with a strong startup idea
• Startup legal basics
• How to pitch your startup
• Starting a company without quitting your day job
• How to raise funding for your startup
• And much more!
Join the group to be invited to our next event!
Upcoming events
3
U.S. Visas & Immigration 101 for Startup Founders
·OnlineOnlineBuilding a company in the U.S. is hard enough. Doing it as a non-citizen founder means navigating an immigration system that was never designed with startups in mind. This 101 session breaks down the essentials in plain English. You'll get a clear map of the visa paths open to founders, how they differ, and what each one actually asks of you when you're the one building the company. We'll also look at how milestones like fundraising and revenue shape your options, and the mistakes that quietly put a founder's status at risk. Bring your questions for a live Q&A at the end.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/405316/meetup to get your link and join us live!
This event is hosted in partnership with Manifest Law , a modern immigration law firm helps founders and companies get the visas they need to build in the U.S. — O-1A, E-2, L-1, H-1B, and green cards. Learn more at: https://gomanifestlaw.com/founderx
❯ What You'll Learn:
- Which U.S. visas are actually open to founders, and how the main options differ
- What "self-sponsorship" really means, and when it's possible
- How fundraising, revenue, and traction can strengthen or complicate your case
- The status risks hiding in a pivot, a down round, or a slow start, and how to plan ahead
- Where to start if you're building in the U.S. without a visa strategy yet
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Non-citizen founders building, or planning to build, a company in the U.S.
- Founders already on a visa who are fundraising, pivoting, or scaling
- International entrepreneurs deciding which visa path fits their plans
- Anyone who wants the immigration basics before sitting down with a lawyer
.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/405316/meetup to get your link and join us live!
7 attendees
From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset
·OnlineOnlineHave you ever wondered why some people take the leap while others stay stuck? The difference isn't luck, resources, or timing — it's the way founders think. Join Jonathan Greechan, Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, for a fascinating deep-dive into the psychology behind entrepreneurial action. In this live session, you'll unpack the cognitive patterns that hold aspiring founders back and explore the mental frameworks that top entrepreneurs use to push through uncertainty. With practical exercises and a follow-up networking session, you'll leave with both insight and momentum.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24087 to get your link and join us live!
❯ What You’ll Learn:
- How to move from hesitation to action and stop waiting for the "perfect time"
- The 4 core mental barriers that keep you stuck in the startup journey
- The key mindset shifts from “It’s not my fault” to “What can I do differently?”
- How to train your mind to embrace progress and overcome excuses with clarity and confidence
- Practical exercises to leave the event feeling empowered and ready to take the next step
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CEO at Founder Institute: Since 2009, Jonathan has grown and scaled the world's largest pre-seed accelerator to chapters in over 200 cities and 100 countries, producing over 9,000 portfolio companies with an estimated value of $2BN. He also serves as an Advisor to Oxford Entrepreneurs (Oxford University), Horasis, and the USC Incubator (University of Southern California). Previously, Jonathan was a Partner of TheFunded.com, the first website for founders to rate and review venture capitalists, and an Executive Producer of the Founder Showcase. This leading Silicon Valley startup conference hosted speakers like Elon Musk. Jonathan’s writing has been featured in Fortune, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur Magazine, and he has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Aspiring founders with an idea but who haven’t started building yet
- Entrepreneurs looking to break through mental blocks and move forward with their ideas
- Early-stage founders who feel stuck in analysis paralysis or waiting for the “right moment”
- Anyone eager to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and gain the confidence to move from idea to execution
.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24087 to get your link and join us live!
1 attendee
How to Use AI to Position Your Startup to Buyers
·OnlineOnlineYou built the product. The market isn't buying it yet. Usually the gap is positioning: buyers don't see themselves in your pitch. In this hands-on session, Jonathan Grover shows you how to use AI to fix that. You'll build a synthetic version of your ideal buyer as an AI agent, then let it tear into your pitch in real time, surfacing the objections and gaps a real buyer would raise. You'll leave with sharper positioning that actually converts, plus a Claude skill you can take home and reuse on your next pitch. Come with a product and a pitch you're willing to put to the test.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/405381/meetup to get your link and join us live!
❯ Featured Speaker:
Jonathan Grover — Founder & Fractional Chief Product Officer, Supergrover- Jonathan Grover is a product, AI, and go-to-market leader who helps founders and executives turn a built product into real market traction. A former Fortune 50 executive, he has managed billions of dollars of product roadmap and shipped AI products that scaled to $100M+ ARR across 180+ countries. He has structured go-to-market deals worth more than $150M, holds patents in AI, and across 60+ early-stage ventures has helped raise $500M+ in funding and taken part in multiple exits. Today he runs Supergrover, advising CXOs and product teams on product strategy, go-to-market, and AI transformation.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- How to turn your ideal customer into a synthetic buyer persona you can interrogate with AI
- How to pressure-test your pitch against that AI buyer and surface objections before real buyers do
- What separates positioning that converts from features that fall flat
- How to spot and close the "traction gap" between building a product and selling it
- A reusable Claude skill you can take home to sharpen future pitches
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Founders whose product works but isn't converting buyers yet
- Early-stage founders refining their positioning, pitch, or messaging
- Technical founders who need to sell to non-technical buyers
- Anyone who wants to use AI to sharpen how they go to market trends.
. ❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/405381/meetup to get your link and join us live!
2 attendees
Past events
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