2021 Q4 Spotlight on Startups - Ascent Conference

Waseem Daher

CEO & Co-Founder

Pilot

Edith Yeung

General Partner

Race Capital

Bryan Rosenblatt

Partner

Craft Ventures

Vishal Sunak

Co-Founder & CEO

LinkSquares

2021 Agenda

*All times are in Eastern US time zone

View Sessions On Demand

11:00 am

How to Attract Investment & Approach a Fundraise

If you’re looking for investment to take your business to the next phase of growth, it’s essential to have a coherent strategy for fundraising. Our panelists will discuss how to incorporate feedback into your business plan/investor desks to reposition aspects of your business as well as taking the time to look at each angel syndicate and VC’s investment criteria and whether you’re a good potential fit. It’s all about finding investors that you would most like to work with or think are the best fit.

Juan Scarlett
Managing Director
OneValley

Edith Yeung
General Partner
Race Capital

Vishal Sunak
Co-Founder & CEO
LinkSquares

Nick Larson
General Partner
Driven Capital

Watch On Demand

12:00 pm

6 Tips to Scale from Founder-Led Sales to Fully Operational Sales Machine

1) Why founders should be their first salesperson 2) How to close your first 5 customers 3) How to set up your sales incentives 4) What to look for in your first sales hire 5 ) How to set your sales team up for success 6) How to operationalize, scale and future-proof your sales processes

Waseem Daher
CEO & Co-Founder
Pilot

Chloe Stewart
CRO
Pilot

Watch On Demand

1:00 pm

“I Wish I’d Known This Earlier”: Alternative Sources of Fundraising

Venture capital isn’t the only option for startups. Not only are there more financing options available than ever to startups, but alternative funding sources are now also allowing Founders to leverage more broadly defined assets. These market shifts are helping startups to become increasingly agile in early growth periods.

Sophie Mekjian
Account Executive
StartEngine

Terry Choi
Partner, Investment Principal
Amadeo Global

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2:00 pm

Startup to Scale-Up: Finding Your Roadmap

What does it take to raise a company from start-up to scale-up? Start-ups need a strategic roadmap to achieve scale-up success including which growth markets to target first. Growth strategy may depend as much on market maturity, regulatory regimes, and the presence or absence of competitors as on geographic proximity, common language, or cultures. So where do you start and what does success look like?

Michael Dermer
Author & Founder
The Lonely Entrepreneur

Renee Neimi
Partner
Mighty Capital

Watch On Demand

3:00 pm

Pitch Competition: Presented by SaaSOptics

The top 12 startups selected will present their 3-minute pitch live to our panel of judges. The top three finalists and overall winner will be announced at the end after judges deliberation. – 1st Place Prize: $1,000 SwagUp Gift Certificate & Free booth at Ascent 2022 In-Person Conference – 2nd Place Prize: $400 SwagUp Gift Certificate & 10 free tickets to Ascent Annual 2022 – 3rd Place Prize: $200 SwagUp Gift Certificate & 5 free tickets to Ascent Annual 2022