founder university
Curriculum (Updated frequently)
DAY 1
Morning Session
10:00aM-12:00PM
Pitches & Perfecting your Presentation
Moderator: Jason Calacanis & Jenny Lefcourt, Freestyle Capital
Founders get 2 minutes to pitch their startup to Jason & Jenny & then receive candid feedback to make it 20x better.
afternoon Session
12:00PM-5:00PM
LEGAL LUNCH & LEARN
Speakers: Dave Brekke & Nico Kerr, WSGR
Free legal advice. Get your startup legal questions answered by Attorneys at WSGR over lunch.
Communications: crushing your pr
Speaker: Eitan Bencuya, Square (prev., DoorDash, Google)
Tricks of the trade on telling your startup’s story as you scale: what, how and to whom.
go to market strategy
Speaker: Roland Ligtenberg, Housecall Pro
Learn what it really takes to scale your company, and what techniques work best for sales and growth.
Founder Lessons
Speaker: TBD
Lessons learned growing startup from Seed through Series A.
raising through crowdequity funding
Speakers: Chuck Pettid & Matt Melbourne, Republic
Crowdquity is a new fundraising vehicle for startups. Is it right for you? Find out the how and why of raising money online.
5 keys to negotiating a term sheeT & Panel Discussion
Speaker: WSGR
This discussion covers the most important elements of a Series A term sheet to prepare founders for the negotiation phase.
dinner & networking
Presented by WSGR
DAY 2
morning session
9:00AM-12:00PM
Pitches & Perfecting your Presentation
Moderator: Jason Calacanis & Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund
Founders get 2 minutes to pitch their startup to Jason & Clara & then receive candid feedback to make it 20x better.
afternoon session
12:00PM-5:00PM
LUNCH & networking
fundraising metrics
Speaker: Sara Desphpande, Maven Ventures
What are investors looking for? What metrics do you need to secure a Seed or Series A round? And, most importantly, how do you achieve them?
marketing to scale
Speaker: Aaron Magness, Brandless (prev., Betabrand, Zappos)
Marketing that works: best strategies from email to beyond digital into the physical world.
optimizing your sales pipeline
Speaker: TBD
Learn the art of cold calling, targeted emailing, and other secret strategies to acquire customers.
Fundraising through incubators & syndicates
Spearkers: Jason Demant, LAUNCH & Ashley Whitehurst, LAUNCH
Learn insider tips from the LAUNCH Managing Directors on how to fundraise, leverage our incubator, and raise through our syndicate.
happy hour
Presented by WSGR
DAY 3
optional off-site retreat: hiking, networking & startup challenges
