What we’re about
The Startup Traction & Funding Network 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:
• Refining your startup idea
• Startup legal basics
• How to pitch your startup
• How to launch a global company
• How to raise funding for your startup
• And much more!
Join the group to be invited to our next event!
For information about the investors, incubators, and tech events available, see our list of Startup Resources (https://fi.co/startup_resources). Interested in perfecting your pitch? Read our Pitch Deck Guide (https://fi.co/pitch_deck) and download templates.
Upcoming events (4)
See all- How to Quickly Establish Safe, Reliable, and Compliant AI StartupsLink visible for attendees
Are you a startup seeking to incorporate AI into your product? Wondering how AI startups ensure safety and compliance? Dive into the fast-paced realm of AI with us! Join our event to uncover real-life examples and learn practical steps to make your AI startup safer, more reliable, and compliant. Don't miss this chance to navigate the dynamic landscape of AI innovation!
❯ What You'll Learn:
- Speed up building safe AI in startups for quicker innovation
- Learn solutions from real cases to address AI issues
- Identify common AI hurdles in startup settings, such as safety and compliance issues.
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Fion Lee-Madan - Co-founder at Fairly AI: an award-winning pioneer in AI Governance recognized by industry analysts such as IDC and Gartner. Fairly's platform accelerates the adoption of AI technologies by ensuring they adhere to the highest standards of compliance and risk management with millions of automated testing agents. Fion spent the last two decades building software in high-tech industries and has been named one of the best executives in Canada by the Globe and Mail. Her experience living, working, and raising children internationally fuels a deeply serious commitment to support the fair and responsible use of technology around the world.
❯❯ This live, interactive online event promises valuable insights. Ensure your participation by RSVPing at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/17442 to receive the Zoom URL.
- What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science ResearchLink visible for attendees
Great companies start with great people, so the Founder Institute startup accelerator has been collecting social science data since 2009 to identify the personality traits that correlate with building great startups.
On this live and interactive online event, Jonathan Greechan (Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute) will share exclusive insights and data collected from over 15 years of research, 175,000 social science assessments, and 7,000 launched companies. If you are interested in the learning the components of "Entrepreneur DNA", then don't miss this candid and informative event.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- What defines a successful entrepreneur?
- Insights from FI's Entrepreneur DNA Assessment, including the 9 Entrepreneur Profiles
- How do you evaluate your potential as a startup founder?
- Specific steps to improve your Founder selection process
❯ Featured Experts:
- Jonathan Greechan - CEO & Co-Founder 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 6800 portfolio companies with an estimated value of $35BN. 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, a leading Silicon Valley startup conference that 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.
❯❯ This live, interactive online event promises valuable insights. Ensure your participation by RSVPing at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/17537 to receive the Zoom URL.
- Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with a Venture CapitalistLink visible for attendees
Do you want to ask questions to startup investors about fundraising in a friendly, judgment-free environment? Are you looking to raise funding in the future, and want to learn what investors look for and how they evaluate potential investments? Then join us for this live, interactive Q&A event featuring VC's and other investors from our FI Venture Network - the Founder Institute's global network of investors actively funding early-stage startups. Don't miss this opportunity to expand your network and ask in-depth questions.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- Key metrics and pre-requisites for raising funding
- How to make yourself more attractive to investors
- The best ways to source different funding resources, such as Angel investors, Venture Capitalists, grants, and loans
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Kalsoom Lakhani - Co-Founder & General Partner at i2i Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund for Pakistan, and the country’s first female-founded VC fund. Kalsoom is also the Founder of Invest2Innovate, which she launched in 2011 to support and unleash the potential of young entrepreneurs in growth markets like Pakistan. She has trained entrepreneurs and leaders worldwide, has spoken at events like the World Economic Forum, and is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. In 2022, she was named one of Rest of World's top 100 Global Tech Changemakers.
❯❯ This live, interactive online event promises valuable insights. Ensure your participation by RSVPing at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/17419 to receive the Zoom URL.
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- About the FI Venture Network
The FI Venture Network is an exclusive network of investors actively funding pre-seed and seed-stage startups before anyone else. Learn more by visiting the FI Venture Network page.
- Additional Resources:
Find more Startup Events, learn about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones, or subscribe for our Insights Newsletter for more startup tips.
- About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.75BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
- How to Come Up with Great Startup IdeasLink visible for attendees
Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be creative or have a magical 'aha' moment to find a great startup idea. In reality, anyone can come up with innovative business ideas by following a structured process. On this live event, Jonathan Greechan (Co-Founder & CEO of Founder Institute) will share a framework for crafting great startup ideas that he has learned from working with over 10K startups worldwide. Then, attendees will have the opportunity to share their ideas, get feedback from others, and meet aspiring entrepreneurs interested in their space. If you have rough ideas and don't know what to do next, this is the event to attend!
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Anyone who has an early-stage company or a startup idea
- Anyone who would like feedback on their idea or pitch
- Anyone that is interested in joining a new startup or looking for a co-founder
❯ What is the Agenda?
- Welcome and Socializing
- Common mistakes and misconceptions around startup ideas
- The methods startups use to consistently find great ideas
- Six frameworks to come up startup ideas
- Structured Networking and Idea-Sharing Session
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute: Jonathan Greechan is the Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, he has grown and scaled the organization to chapters in over 200 cities and 90 countries, producing over 7000 portfolio companies with nearly $2B in venture funding. In his long career in tech and marketing, Jonathan has advised thousands of startups on marketing, growth, and product strategy and has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
❯❯ This live, interactive online event promises valuable insights. Ensure your participation by RSVPing at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/17422 to receive the Zoom URL.