Conductor’s Post

Our mission at Slush is to help founders change the world, so we need to understand the key challenges that founders face. This is what we set out to investigate earlier in the year when we launched our Startup Struggle Survey—a grassroots level research into the most pressing challenges that founders face on their founding journey. With the participation of 1000+ founders and 250+ investors across Europe and the US, this research is one of the largest of its kind. There are 7 key findings from the report, which you can read about here: https://lnkd.in/dD7h5giN

Excited to announce that Bizi was selected to join Slauson & Co.'s 2024 Friends and Family Accelerator! Just wrapped up a phenomenal week in LA, learning from fellow founders, mentors, and the Slauson team. Can't wait to see where the next 3 months takes us with the support of this amazing community. Check out the article below to learn more about the program and the participating companies! #letsgetbizi

In our upcoming Q&A session, we welcome Marcus Medley, founder of Viddyup! 🙌🏻 Viddyup is the ultimate video matchmaker for event experts. Event consumers can now share their needs, watch personalized video intros, and connect face-to-face with experts, ensuring the perfect fit for their events 🚀 Marcus will dive into his entrepreneurial journey in Boston, shedding light on the challenges and triumphs of navigating this vibrant ecosystem. Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation! 🎙️ #BostonStartupHub #QandASessions #StartupInsights

This is an incredible time to be building a startup. If you are in LA, NYC, Toronto, or Vancouver (or want to watch Italy virtually) over the coming couple of weeks, come see and meet these amazing pre-seed startups! #startups #demoday #vc #investment #investors

If your a start up and need help navigating marketing strategies for your business, Kate Lukach is your girl!

In episode 713 of Startups For the Rest of Us, I am joined by Arvid Kahl to share our top 5 moments from MicroConf in Atlanta. From Sherry Walling, PhD's talk on motivation to my wide ranging, often hilarious chat with Ben Chestnut, there's no conference quite like it! Check out the rest of the episode👇 https://lnkd.in/gSjp5UXU

We have something special on the #IsleofMan, a strong sense of community - that was an overarching theme that came through from tonight's panellists, and I like to think we exemplify that as Startup Grind Isle of Man, and provide a community for our islands (and visiting) #founders. Pivot point or course correction (thanks Shelley Langan-Newton) was the topic of tonight's event. Learnings, 💡Match your energy to the opportunity 💡 Create a safe space for innovation 💡 Don't underestimate the ask 💡 Some times work-life balance doesn't look like a 9 - 5, but prioritise wellness without compromise (with an accountability partner as needed) More insights coming soon in case you missed tonight's sell-out event. Thanks to Atla Group, Media Isle of Man, ELS, Jonathan Burton 📸, Noa, tonight's speakers Martin Hall (Atla Group), Jade Zorab (Amber Gaming) and Shelley Langan-Newton (SQR) and the #SGIOM team for continuing to invest in building and giving back to the islands #startup community. Save the date 📅 10 December, we're speaking to Founder & CEO of Continent 8 Technologies and it's going to be a goodie. Sign up to be the first to receive #event details: https://lnkd.in/gfVCywk.

⚡ The energy is high, the ideas are bold, and the drive is unstoppable! The first week of the acceleration program kicked off with Diagnostics and Focus Sessions customized for each startup, setting clear goals for the journey ahead. We also held Workshops and Community Bonding event bringing together Alumni, Mentors, and Industry Experts! Get ready to witness what happens when innovation meets determination 🚀  #batch_fall24

👋 Last weekend Julia Bialetska, CEO of S.Lab, together with other business leaders from different industries — healthtech, consumer apps, sustainability, and the creative economy — came together at Vesna Capital Community Meetup to share personal stories and insights, discuss the challenges they face and the solutions they’ve found. 💪 Being a startup is not about how big your company is or how long you’ve been in business. It’s really about your mindset and approach. It’s about constantly exploring new markets, tackling challenges, and finding creative ways to solve problems. Even large companies can sometimes feel like they’re back at the startup phase when they’re scaling or breaking into new areas. And that’s perfectly okay! 👌 With a 👥 supportive community around, there’s no limits to what one can achieve. Having the right people and resources makes all the difference in turning those challenges into opportunities for growth. 💡 This event was all about sharing ideas, learning from each other's experiences, and motivating one another. S.Lab is proud to be a part of Vesna Capital's investment portfolio. Thank you, Andriy Fedoriv, for gathering us together! 🔥

A couple of weeks ago, BARO was selected to present during a pitch showcase. Feeling proud and excited, Allie Reeves and I spent the remainder of the week updating our deck, getting it down to a surprisingly difficult 3 minutes. By the end, I was feeling confident in the pitch and had (what I assumed was) an achievable goal of landing a handful of follow-up meetings.  However, as soon as I logged on to the Zoom, my heart sank. Out of the 50 or so other founders on the call, I was one of the very few people that wasn’t a man in their late 40s—most of whom had already built successful businesses and had deeply technical backgrounds. Despite the imposter syndrome, I did my pitch, and even though I knew I was doing well, I could see the investors’ eyes glazing over. They just weren’t connecting. After the pitches, we were placed in breakout rooms where interested investors could join to chat more. I joined mine, ready to win them over, but not a single person showed up.The thoughts of doubt started to creep in—did I leave my job in finance to start BARO for nothing? Is our idea bad? But this experience was a valuable lesson: There are moments that bring you back down to earth, and that's okay. It's okay to feel deflated sometimes. You just have to have the faith in yourself to keep going. That night, we had our first big event in LA, partnering with another female-founded company to throw a party at a bar in Venice Beach. As I spoke to woman after woman, I watched their faces light up every time I gave my pitch. They got it instantly. They downloaded the app. They wanted to use it. The mission resonated. I just needed to be in front of the right audience. The crazy thing is that one of the women I met that night ended up introducing me to a handful of the investors and operators that I was hoping I would meet at the showcase. What I've learned throughout this journey is that we’ll inevitably find ourselves in rooms with people who don't care about BARO. What’s important is to know our customer. Talk to them. Build for them. #startup #femalefounder #founder #pitch #pitchdeck Boston University Questrom School of Business, Boston University