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
9
From Idea to Startup Team: Meet Your Future Co-Founder
·OnlineOnlineStarting a company has never been more accessible. With AI, one person can validate ideas, build prototypes, and launch faster than ever before. But one thing hasn't changed: choosing the wrong co-founder can quickly derail a startup. In this Founder Institute event, you'll learn practical frameworks for evaluating co-founder fit and then meet other builders through structured networking and speed matching. Whether you're a professional exploring entrepreneurship, a solo founder with an idea, or a builder looking to join a startup, this session will help you connect with people who are serious about building.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23950 to get your link and join us live!
❯ To get the most out of this Co-Founder networking event:
- Come ready for live video networking
- Prepare by visiting our Guide to Find a Co-Founder
- Fill out our Co-Founder Networking Worksheet
To access all of the networking features of this event, please join using Chrome or Firefox from a desktop or tablet, or download the Airmeet Mobile App.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- A practical framework for evaluating co-founder fit
- How to align expectations around roles, equity, and commitment
- Common mistakes founders make when forming partnerships
❯ Featured Host:
- Jonathan Greechan - CEO & Co-Founder of Founder Institute, General Partner at Founder Capital - Jonathan Greechan is the Co-Founder and 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 100 countries. The Founder Institute's mission is to activate entrepreneurial potential and empower communities across the globe to build ventures with positive economic and societal impact. He is also a General Partner at Founder Capital, the Founder Institute's Global VC Fund; and serves as an Economic Development and Innovation Advisor to several governments and organizations; like Oxford Entrepreneurs, Horasis, the USC Incubator, and a Fortune 500 company. Jonathan's writing has been featured on Fortune, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur Magazine, and he has been a Keynote Speaker at business conferences on five continents.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23950 to get your link and join us live!
2 attendees
Fundraising in a More Disciplined Capital Environment
·OnlineOnlineWith investors more selective than ever, this discussion breaks down how first‑time founders should approach fundraising today. The panel covers timing, storytelling, valuation expectations, and alternative funding paths—so founders can fund growth without sacrificing long‑term flexibility.
❯ Guest Speakers include:
- Amit Bhanot (Venture Partner, Loyal VC)
- Arcui Usoara (Global Board Advisor and Brand Strategist, Founder, Iaculus)
- Stephan Thomas (Managing Partner, Artimon3D)
- Don Samoil (Managing Partner, Trusted Scale)
- Karen Robinson (Pitch Deck & Data Room Advisor, Karen Robinson Consulting)
❯ What You’ll Learn:
- How investor expectations have shifted in today’s market
- How much capital to raise and when
- What makes a compelling founder pitch right now
- Alternatives to traditional venture capital
❯ Who Should Attend:
- First‑time founders preparing to raise capital
- Bootstrapped founders considering outside investment
- Early founders navigating angel, seed, or pre‑seed rounds
❯❯ This is a live, interactive online event, so be sure to RSVP at https://fi.co/e/393769/meetup to receive the Zoom URL to join us live!
2 attendees
Building the Right Team as a First‑Time CEO
·OnlineOnlineEarly hiring decisions shape a company's future. This panel addresses how first‑time founders can identify critical early roles, build culture intentionally, and transition from individual contributor to effective leader as the company grows.
❯ Guest Speakers include:
- Arcui Usoara (Global Board Advisor and Brand Strategist, Founder, Iaculus)
- Stephan Thomas (Managing Partner, Artimon3D)
- Irina Cozma (Owner | Coach | Consultant , Irina Cozma Consulting LLC)
- Don Samoil (Managing Partner, Trusted Scale)
- Oluyomi Ojo (Founder, Cova)
❯ What You’ll Learn:
- Which roles matter most in the first 10–20 hires
- Common hiring mistakes first‑time founders make
- How to assess talent without a big brand or budget
- How to evolve your leadership style as the team scales
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Founders making their first hires
- CEOs leading small but growing teams
- Technical or product founders stepping into leadership roles
❯❯ This is a live, interactive online event, so be sure to RSVP at https://fi.co/e/393772/meetup to receive the Zoom URL to join us live!
2 attendees
How Multiple Pivots positioned Checkbox as the Legal Front Door for Corporations
·OnlineOnlineSome startups fail because they pivot too late. Others fail because they pivot too often. The rare ones survive long enough to pivot intelligently and catch a market wave at exactly the right moment. Join us for a candid fireside chat with Evan Wong (Co-Founder & CEO of Checkbox) on how multiple pivots — plus years of bootstrapping and persistence — positioned Checkbox at the forefront of the fast-growing legal AI industry. Checkbox recently raised $23MM in funding from top investors, and counts top corporates as customers, like Hitachi, SAP, PepsiCo, and more.
❯ You’ll leave with:
- A framework for evaluating pivots
- Real examples of what didn’t work
- How positioning unlocked enterprise traction
- Lessons from bootstrapping before raising capital
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23325 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Evan Wong - Co-founder & CEO @ Checkbox: Evan began building companies at 17 and co-founded Checkbox nearly a decade ago to help non-technical teams automate complex workflows. Today, Checkbox is used by global legal teams at companies like SAP, Hitachi, and Elastic, delivering 50–80% fewer low-value requests and up to 85% faster turnaround times. Evan is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and LegalTech CEO of the Year, and recently led Checkbox’s $23M Series A to scale its product, AI, and global team. Evan began his company-building journey at seventeen and has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and LegalTech CEO of the Year. As CEO, Evan leads Checkbox’s strategy and execution, guiding the development of its legal intake, automation, and reporting platform used by in-house teams globally.
❯ About Checkbox:
Checkbox is the AI-powered Legal Front Door for in-house legal teams. Its no-code platform centralizes legal requests from every channel, enables AI-driven self-service for routine work, and gives teams visibility into all legal activity—helping legal operate faster, smarter, and with more confidence. Named in Gartner’s 2025 Hype Cycle™, Checkbox highlights how modern legal teams can drive efficiency and strategic value through intelligent intake, triage, and AI legal chatbots. Checkbox is also a graduate of the Australia-NZ Founder Institute. Learn more at www.checkbox.ai.❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23325 to get your link and join us live!
1 attendee
Past events
393
