Together these industry leaders will discuss the New York tech startup ecosystem, how it has responded to the disruptions of the last 18 months, and where they think opportunities for growth and expansion are likely to emerge. Here's a hint: Reports of New York City's demise have been greatly exaggerated, but it is pretty clear that changes are coming.

There are lots of ways for startups to raise the funds necessary to execute their business plan, including VCs, corporate partnerships, innovation labs, incubators, accelerators. venture funds, angel Investors, crowdfunding platforms, SPACS, friends, family and even their own credit cards. Do you know which source is best for your business? Join us to sort it all out; together we'll explore the benefits and potential drawbacks of each type of funding. This must attend-session will help you prepare for your next fundraise -- whether you are a first time founder or a seasoned veteran.

Let’s be honest. Founders know that tracking KPIs is important, no matter the stage of their company. However, it isn’t always clear what KPIs should be tracked. Or how management teams should track them. And how do savvy founders modify the KPIs they track over time? Join veteran founder Alison Goldstein Norup to learn about KPIs and much more, including: Sector and Stage specific KPIs Guidance about what to track now and what you should be tracking down the road The importance of creating KPI and reporting cadences

Join entrepreneur and Professor Jeremy Kagan as he presents a crash course overview of how to think about digital growth - - and shares real world growth hacks that use free tools from Google and others to answer key founder questions: How to baseline Customer Acquisition Cost; How to come up with ideas for Content Marketing; and how to find influencers and target competitor's followers. Not for people with huge budgets and plenty of time - scrappy founders only please.

Have you hit your first million? If not, this session will equip you with action items you can begin implementing immediately to keep you focused on your goal and avoid distractions. Moderator Cory Bray has co-authored 8 sales books, is a partner in ClozeLoop, a sales consulting firm, and is also a partner at 2.12 Angels, a seed-stage Venture Capital firm. Having worked with hundreds of early-stage startups, his goal with this session is to provide clarity around what you need to hit that first big financial milestone: $1MM ARR.

Laying a strong intellectual property foundation for your startup is not as complicated or expensive as you may think, but it is critical to start early. An early investment in your IP can save a lot of time and money in the long run, and help you secure investors for your growing business. Please join us to learn about the IP issues facing startups, including developing strategies for protecting your new technologies and growing brand.

Most founders are told that to create an acceptable pitch deck they will need 12 - 15 slides that move methodically from point to point, with a few well-crafted sentences and maybe some attractive graphics on each slide. But what they aren’t told is what might actually perk an investor's ears, make them lean, in and give serious consideration to making an investment in a company. Join Mike Maccombie, a behavioral scientist turned investor to learn about a different presentation framework that will help you better resonate in the minds of investors. Using real life examples he will deconstruct the typical deck and replace it with something much more compelling. Feel free to bring your deck with you ... there may be time for a few brave founders to have their decks reviewed.

There are few words as overused in business and tech as ‘the E word’. ‘Ecosystem’. You know it, you’ve heard it, and more likely than not, you’ve been befuddled by it. What the heck is an ecosystem, anyway? How do startups and corporations alike participate in it? And how might business leaders leverage ecosystems all over the world to launch innovative products and services. This panel aims to answer these questions and many more. Join moderator Matt Hooper as he sits down with a group of business leaders tasked with engaging, and creating, innovation ecosystems in both the startup and corporate realms.

You've built the best product that no one knows about; so how are you going to get people to sign up and use it? You've read about all the growth hacks that grew companies like AirBNB, DropBox, and Hotmail, but you don't know where to start in building out your own growth marketing program. In this talk, Mike King will share 15 years of growth marketing knowledge that he's used to grow unknown startups and help them get on the road to their next milestone.

Join us for an enlightening presentation by Canada’s tech and innovation think-tank on successfully scaling your business internationally and what factors play a key role in success on a business’s journey of growth. Dealing with the challenges of Covid-19, sourcing of talent, working remotely, and increased use of technology has impacted most businesses and also resulted in an acceleration of the adoption of technology globally. Businesses around the world are adapting to this new reality and learning business resilience and how to balance growth, remote work and international pressures in ways that allow them to focus on development for future growth and scalability.

Large companies and small businesses have always worked together. The large business seeks innovation and the small business seeks substantial revenue and growth. With the rise in notoriety of “the startup” and a steady rise in venture capital, working with a startup or even buying a future competitor could be the difference between sustained success or suffering the fate of the dinosaurs. In this session, Alex Trotta will share some of his personal experiences as a participant in conversations on both sides of the table and will explore the most common elements that lead to successful corporate/startup relationships.

In the midst of a global pandemic and "The Great Resignation" companies are confronting some of the biggest challenges in engaging and retaining their talent that they have ever faced. Join us for a conversation on how companies are navigating these new, complex dynamics in the workplace.

Equity. Diversity. Inclusion. Underrepresentation. Powerful words that if heard often enough might inspire change. Sometimes, however, when words fail to inspire us to action, numbers can be more compelling. Here are some you should know: Women-Led Startups Received just 2.3% of VC Funding in 2020, according to The Harvard Business Review In 2020 Black and Latinx founders raised just 2.6 percent of the total VC funding for U.S. startups, according to Crunchbase data, a slight increase from the 2.3% of all US venture dollars they raised in 2019. Clearly there is a problem. Everyone knows it. But there seems to be no consensus about how to fix it. While we do not expect to solve the problem of underfunded underrepresented founders in one afternoon, we do expect to discuss some concrete steps and plans that might move us closer to a place we all agree we need to go.

Long-term vision in a short-term world We all know that we need to think long-term, but how does one do that given day-to-day pressures? How will Covid impact the startup landscape long term?