Vancouver Startup Founder 101

❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/407532/meetup to get your link and join us live!

❯ What We’ll Cover:

• Mac’s path from Baltimore software engineer and two-time founder to building one of the most community-driven funds in venture
• How he raised a $10M Fund I on Twitter with 194 LPs and $10K minimums, and what emerging managers can borrow from that playbook
• Finding “rare breed” founders outside the big tech hubs, and why overlooked markets and legacy industries are full of opportunity
• What he looks for in a pre-seed check, and why customer acquisition matters more than having the best product
• Lessons from building the first state-backed pre-seed fund for underrepresented founders, and from testifying before Congress on access to capital
• Raising Fund II in a reset market, including the Series A gap, AI-or-nothing capital, and his advice for emerging managers building enduring firms

❯ Who Should Attend:

• Emerging managers raising Fund I or Fund II, especially those building an LP base from scratch
• Pre-seed founders building outside major tech hubs or in overlooked industries
• Angels and accredited investors interested in backing emerging funds
• Ecosystem leaders and economic development organizations working to expand access to capital in their regions

-> About Venture Trailblazers: Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that educates and connects operators and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Network communities. Each edition spotlights a leading voice from the ecosystem in a candid conversation on what’s driving the next wave of innovation in venture capital.
-> About VC Lab: VC Lab is the leading venture capital accelerator worldwide for new and emerging managers. 900+ funds have successfully completed the program, building ethical and enduring venture capital firms around the world. The program provides all the tools needed to launch a fund and close on capital in six months or less. Managers participate in weekly fund-building sprints, receive tactical advice from experienced domain experts, and join a collaborative, global community of peers. VC Lab also develops essential fundraising skills and offers access to Decile Hub, the trusted venture platform for VCs to generate top decile returns. .

❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/407532/meetup to get your link and join us live!

When you are the whole team, every lead you don't qualify and every customer email you answer at 11pm comes out of the hours you should spend building. You can't hire yet. An AI agent can take one of those jobs now. In this live session, Seth Ward, Founder & CEO of 4142, builds an AI agent from start to finish: connected to a real model, doing a single real job like qualifying a lead or drafting a follow-up, and deployed where it actually runs. No slides, and questions are open throughout. Register now and leave with a clear plan for your first AI hire.

❯ What You'll Learn:

• How to pick the one job in your company an AI agent should take on first;
• How to turn that job into instructions an agent can actually follow;
• How to connect the agent to a real AI model and give it the information it needs;
• How to deploy it somewhere it runs on its own, beyond a demo;
• How to repeat the same build for sales, support and follow-ups as your company grows.

❯ Featured Speaker:

• Seth Ward - Founder & CEO @ 4142, an AI foundry behind Squidgy, Handled, YEAA and FanatIQ. Through Squidgy, his team lets entrepreneurs and small businesses describe a task in plain English and turn it into an AI agent with no code. In 1995 he co-founded i, one of the first web marketing agencies, and went on to work with Vodafone, AOL and News International before serving as CEO of Pynk. Based in London, he runs live AI agent build sessions for founders, including at Nomad Cruise and Bansko Nomad Fest.

❯ Who Should Attend:

• Aspiring founders who want to see what an AI agent can do inside a real business;
• Solo founders handling sales, support and admin on their own;
• Professionals with deep industry expertise planning the move from employee to entrepreneur;
• Anyone curious about AI who wants to build with it, not just read about it.

.

❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/407649/meetup to get your link and join us live!

AI has made it faster than ever to build a product. It has also made it faster for everyone else. When a competitor can copy your features in a weekend, what sets you apart is how well you go to market: who you serve, how clearly you explain why you’re different, and whether people trust you enough to buy. In this session, award-winning founder and brand strategist Daniel Francavilla shares how founders can build a sharp go-to-market plan for a crowded AI market. Bring your questions for the live Q&A.
.
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/409002/meetup to get your link and join us live!
.
❯ What You'll Learn:

• Define a customer so specific that your messaging almost writes itself
• Turn your own expertise into content that builds your brand and drives demand
• Use AI to speed up research and content, without sounding like everyone else
• Pick one or two channels and test your launch with small bets before you go all in

❯ Featured Speaker:

• Daniel is a Certified Brand Strategist and a professor at OCAD University. Through his studio, Clarity Content, he helps founders and leaders turn their expertise into content that builds their brand and drives demand. He founded his first agency in 2013, which was acquired in 2021, and led brand strategy there until 2024. In 2026, The Peak named him one of its Emerging Leaders for Entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Canadian Marketing Association and RGD, and founded The Good Growth Company and the nonprofit ACCESS.

.
❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/e/409002/meetup to get your link and join us live!