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August 10, 2021 @ 9:30 am - 10:30 am PDT
FreeBuild your startup right: A growth panel on marketing, sales & SaaS
Building a startup is hard. Building it right is harder. Come join our Founders Network panel of growth experts and learn the secrets of how to make your startup grow by building it right.
The Founders Network growth panel will be featuring a group of startup founders who have all been through the ups and downs of building their own businesses. They will be sharing what lessons they have learned, as a startup founders, along the way. They will be covering everything from communication along with marketing, and sales, to running a successful SaaS company.
The Panelists are:
- Ataer Arguder, co-founder at Aura, will be the moderator of the panel.
- Tom Geary, founder and creative director of School of Thought, will talk about marketing and communication fails.
- Jen Portland, founder and “spreadsheeter” at Excel Rain Man, will give tips on scrappy sales techniques.
- Jefferson Nunn, managing director of Code Warriors, will cover how to start and maintain a successful SaaS company.
This is a free event and we encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about marketing, sales, or leadership to join. For any startup founder, this panel is a must see
About the panelists:
Ataer Arguder (Moderator)
Ata Arguder is a serial entrepreneur and consultant, based in London, UK.
After working for 15 years in the entertainment sector in various companies including Sennheiser, he started a digital ticketing company in Istanbul where he generated 7x growth over two years. After selling that company, he moved to London in 2017 and started Aura – Museum Genius with investment from credible investors, building a global platform for museums and their visitors.
He is currently a co-founder in two London-based tech startups (Aura – Museum Genius and Breath Hub) and he is also representing Founders Network in the UK as their Regional Manager for the UK.
Since 1999, I have been a consultant to high-net-worth individuals. Always an innovator, my ideas have generated millions for clients including Ronco and GoWireless. I have been involved in the cryptocurrency industry since mining my first Bitcoin in 2010. Since then, I’ve met with many of the early pioneers in the cryptocurrency space including the founders of Ethereum and the founders of Crypto Capital in Panama, SALT, EasyBit and more.
Tom Geary is a writer, creative director and the founder of School of Thought. Tom has worked at some of the world’s top agencies, including Goodby, Ogilvy NY, Butler Shine & Stern and AKQA, on more than 100 brands. Geary was the lead creative behind MsDewey.com, arguably Microsoft’s most successful viral project ever, with over 50 million organic hits. For three months, site traffic outpaced Google.com.
He has created highly-lauded campaigns for divisions of Microsoft, HP, Cisco and Adobe. His work has been featured in Communication Arts, Adweek, Creativity, and won dozens of awards. He’s also lectured at conferences and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Lest you think he’s beyond missteps, he turned down a job offer to be the CCO at some company named Salesforce.
Jen Portland is the Founder and CEO of Excel Rain Man, a spreadsheet and data analysis firm with a focus on automation via Visual Basic. They serve a range of clients from rising start-ups to the Fortune 500, including major retailers, financial institutions, hotels, hospitality groups, real estate portfolios, contractors and others. Most recently, they are winning government contracts as Jen pounds the (now virtual) pavement in New York City and New York State showing demos of their work, including Diversity Dashboards of how NYC interacts with MWBE vendors (Excel Rain Man is a WBE-certified business).
Since starting the company in 2008 as a 1-woman side project, Jen has grown Excel Rain Man into a thriving business with a staff of 12, comprised of top experts from around the globe with backgrounds in engineering, computer programming, mathematics, and finance. Jen’s perseverance and hard work grew Excel Rain Man while fully employed for the first six years. This involved not only recruiting talent and growing a customer base, but also educating others that this type of spreadsheet help and outsourcing exists… thereby allowing others to focus on the more important aspects of their work and not to get bogged down in a spreadsheet. Jen graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program in conjunction with the Tory Burch Foundation in 2013. Jen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Sciences with a B.S. in Systems Engineering and a minor in mathematics.
Complimentary Ticket:
Are you a full-time tech founder? Be our guest! During COVID, we’re making our events available to tech founders everywhere. Enjoy a complimentary ticket to come learn from fellow tech founders, partners and investors. Already used your complimentary guest pass? Request an invite to see if you qualify for membership.
About Founders Network:
Founded in 2011, Founders Network offers lifelong peer mentorship to over 600 tech startup founders globally. Our platform, programs and high-touch service facilitate authentic experience sharing, warm introductions and long-term professional relationships. Additional benefits include over $500k in startup discounts and promotion to 2,000 newsletter readers. Members are located in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and other tech hubs. Each month our Membership Committee admits a new cohort of full-time tech founders who are nominated by an existing member. Learn more at https://foundersnetwork.com
Confidentiality Policy
All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.
Testimonials
"If you don't have a cohort group in something like Founders Network that you can develop long-term relationships with and discuss the same topics that come up with people that you already know, you're probably missing out on something very important."David Plonsky
"The number one advantage is the law of compound interest. The longer you stay in a very high-quality network the strong and more authentic relationships you build."Chaitanya Vaidya
"We know each other's business and we know each other's struggles. Having a personal relationship with other founders that is completely confidential and completely authentic gives you a lot of great advice."Doug Lessing
"FN manages my network for me by connecting me with other founders in my specific industry sector. I've been able to explore business development opportunities, partnerships, etc."Becky Splitt
"We just saw the first Mexican unicorn come to life this same week which is a fantastic idea. Being part of the Founders Network makes a lot of sense. We see that the Mexico City chapter is growing substantially."Max Linares
"There's a lot of great stuff going on even now in San Francisco. I've found Founders Network has been a great resource for me and for all of the founders I know during these tough times."Jarie Bolander
"It allowed me to meet people who had done this before that had the experience. I was able to explain an issue very briefly and they were able to give me a very detailed response on how they addressed it."Terence Finn
"I've used the platform to discover advice, connections, resources, discounts, on important services, connections to investors, and practice on how to pitch. The kind of conversations you can't get anywhere else on youtube or google searches."Alexandra Greenhill
"I see Founders Network as one of those necessary resources in the Chicagoland area."Jason Jacobsohn
"The Black Founders initiative allows me to shape this program where we can inspire, engage, and support Black Founders."Khiry Kemp
