About us
The Startup Traction and 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.\
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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.\
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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!\
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Join the group to be invited to our next event!
Upcoming events
6
What Startup Ecosystems Get Wrong, and How to Fix Them
·OnlineOnlineMost governments are getting startups wrong, and this is the conversation they've been avoiding. If your city is celebrating trivial startup events while founders quietly leave... if your programs optimize for attendance instead of outcomes... if capital keeps flowing but nothing compounds - then you're not building a sustainable ecosystem. On this live event, "Startup Economist" Paul O'Brien will provide a sharp, unapologetic deep dive into his new book, 'Startup Ecosystems' - already being called "the long-overdue operating manual for fixing how cities approach entrepreneurship".
❯ What You’ll Walk Away With
A completely different lens on how startup economies actually work (and why most don’t):- Why treating startups like small businesses quietly destroys both
- Why capital follows value (and what founders keep getting wrong about fundraising)
- Why copying Silicon Valley guarantees failure
- Why job creation targets kill early-stage innovation
- Why talent doesn’t follow programs — it follows optionality
- What metrics actually matter (and why most cities avoid them)
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Paul O'Brien - Author of the book Startup Ecosystems: Paul is the Founder of MediaTech Ventures, former Director of Founder Institute Texas, Writer at The Startup Economist, and has spent his career at the intersection of startups, venture capital, and public policy. As a founder, investor, accelerator leader, and policy strategist, he has built ecosystems from the inside and developed a rare, firsthand understanding of why most of them fail. His work spans legislative strategy, coalition building, and founder support across public, private, and civic sectors. Startup Ecosystems is the culmination of everything he has learned.
The Startup Ecosystems Book is an architectural examination of why startup ecosystems fail structurally, why capital behaves exactly as it is designed to, and why most regions are measuring the wrong things entirely. The patterns he documents don't point to bad intentions. They point to misaligned incentives, flawed design, and a stubborn unwillingness to distinguish innovation theater from actual value creation.
❯ Who Should Be There
If you have any role in shaping entrepreneurship, this isn’t optional:- Founders tired of performative ecosystems
- Investors trying to understand why regions stall
- Policymakers and economic developers funding the wrong things
- Accelerator and program leaders ready to be challenged
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/24281 to get your link and join us live!
4 attendees
Solo-Founder 101: How Anyone Can Start a Business Using AI
·OnlineOnlineSavvy entrepreneurs are using AI to augment their capabilities and move faster than ever before, with less resources. On this webinar with Jonathan Greechan (Co-Founder & CEO of Founder Institute, GP at Founder Capital), we'll share the prompts and processes solo-founders are using to supercharge processes like customer development, market research, product scoping, and more. Don't miss this opportunity to level up your toolkit and connect with fellow builders.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- How to use AI to stress-test your startup idea and run faster customer development.
- Specific prompts and tool combinations for market research, competitive analysis, and prototyping.
- How to craft and practice your pitch using AI, including building a full pitch deck with Claude Skills.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23951 to get your link and join us live!
❯ 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 over 100 countries, producing over 8,900 portfolio companies with nearly $[total funding] 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.
❯ Who Should Attend?
- Aspiring founders who want to start a business but lack technical skills
- Entrepreneurs exploring how AI can accelerate their startup journey
- Professionals considering launching a side project or solo startup
- Early-stage founders interested in AI-powered workflows
Additional Resources:
Find more Startup Events, check our AI Tools for Startup Ideation and Validation, learn about the Entrepreneur DNA test or sign up for the Insights Newsletter to get the latest startup tips and trends.❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23951 to get your link and join us live!
3 attendees
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!
4 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!
2 attendees
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