FUND Conference Austin 2019
May 1st & 2nd
FUND hosted its’ second consecutive conference in the Austin, Texas, in 2019.
FUND Austin 2019 Conference Schedule
May 1st, 2019
Day One
8:00 - 9:00 AM
Registration & Open Networking
9:05 - 9:30 AM
Opening Remarks
Presented by Sara Brand, Founding General Partner of True Wealth Ventures.
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Living Your Best Life While Building the Machine
You spend countless hours growing and perfecting the machine. So what are you doing for you, after all?
Moderator: Eduardo Zaldivar (Principal at TXV Partners)
Speakers: Amos Schwartzfarb (Managing Director at Techstars), Dana Rygwelski (Director of Communications + Ecosystem at MassChallenge Texas), Ryan Merket (Partner at Firebrand Ventures)
10:00 - 11:00 AM
Inclusion: Does it Matter?
What is inclusion and why does it matter to companies now? Does it matter more to the big corporations or equally as important in the startup sector? Is there good inclusion and bad inclusion? Is social media messaging like #CountMeIn effective? How do we measure inclusion, and how do we know when we reach “full” inclusion?
Sarah Chamberlain, Founder & CEO of Women2Women, is joined by Dr. Oksana Malysheva, CEO and Managing Partner of Sputnik ATX, Sara T. Brand, Founding General Partner of True Wealth Ventures, Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, President & CEO at Huston – Tillotson University, and Mary Flanagan, President at Herdacity
11:00 - 11:45 AM
Veteran Entrepreneurship
What do founders, funders, and the startup space need to know about veteran entrepreneurs?
Moderator: Shaydi DeJesus (City Lead at SoGal Austin & Bunker Labs Austin)
Speakers: Sean Singleton (Director at Franklin Venture Partners), Molly Mae Potter (Owner at Digital Sigma Technologies), and Ian Folau (Managing Partner at LMI Ventures)
11:45 - 12:00 PM
The Unicorn Recipe: 10 Necessary Ingredients
Dr. Oksana Malysheva, CEO and Managing Partner of Sputnik ATX, will deliver a keynote presentation on what makes certain startups so valuable, and how entrepreneurs can build their organizations to adopt some of these same ingredients.
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Lunch
Don’t worry about going anywhere, we’ve got lunch ready to go for you here.
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Gender and Venture Capital: Where to From Here?
Despite efforts to level the playing field for female entrepreneurs, U.S. female-founded startups have raised just 2.2 percent of venture capital investment in 2018. Additionally, based on Crunchbase data, recent stats confirm that 9 percent of US-based VCs are women. This study includes general partners and managing directors with check writing abilities (firms with a fund size of over $25 million). Where to from here? If stats aren’t improving, what is it that women should be doing differently?
Moderator: Christine Loredo (Vice President, Evangelism & Founder, Incubator at Envestnet Yodlee)
Speakers: Zeynep Young (Venture Partner at Next Coast Ventures), Heather Wentler (Co-Founder of Doyenne), Jan Ryan (Exec. Director, Entrepreneurship & Innovation at The University of Texas)
2:00 - 3:00 PM
Community Builders
What you need to know and how these organizations are moving the needle for the ecosystem.
Moderator: Natalia Wulfe (CMO & Co-Owner at Effective Spend)
Speakers: Joy Schoffler (Investor at Schoffler Ventures), Elisa Sepulveda (General Manager at The The Riveter), Ashley Phillips (Managing Director at Impact Hub Austin), Ashley Jennings (Program Manager at Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship)
3:00 - 3:05 PM
Closing Remarks
3:05 - 4:00 PM
Open Networking
As we wrap up FUND Day One, stick around for an afternoon coffee before you head over to the FUND Kickoff Party.
4:00 PM
End of Show
5:00 PM
FUND Kickoff Party
Join us for the FUND Kickoff Party with food and drinks at the Capital Factory, one of Austin’s leading startup support organizations.
Capital Factory Address
701 Brazos St
Austin, TX 78701
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May 2nd, 2019
Day Two
9:00 AM
Opening Remarks
9:10 - 10:00 AM
Current State of the Union - Venture Investing
What have we achieved in Texas, and where are we headed? What trends are emerging? How do we continue to increase funding across the region?
Rob Suffoletta (Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR) will moderate the panel of Chris Shonk (Managing Director at ATX Venture Partners), Thomas Ball (Co-Founder and Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures), Charlie Plauche (Partner at S3 Ventures), Venu Shamapant (Partner at LiveOak Venture Partners)
10:00 - 10:45 AM
Trending topics in Venture and Angel Investing
We’re going to explore what’s happening behind the scenes in the angel and VC investing environment with the people making big impacts in the community from a couple of different angles.
Moderator: Manish Seth (Partner at abip CPAs & Advisors)
Speakers: Claire England (Managing Director at Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN)), Stephanie Campbell (Managing Director at Houston Angel Network), Derek Mazur (Senior Associate at Sante Ventures), Dr. Oksana Malysheva (CEO and Managing Partner of Sputnik ATX)
10:45 - 11:45 AM
Lunch + Grand EXPO Opening
Don’t worry about going anywhere to grab food. We’ve got you taken care of for lunch.
11:45 - 1:00 PM
Lunch (Main Stage Closed)
Don’t worry about going anywhere to grab food. We’ve got you taken care of for lunch.
1:00 - 1:40 PM
Signaling
What investors want… and don’t want you to know about their deals.
Manish Seth, Partner at abip CPAs & Advisors, will lead Claire England (Managing Director at Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN)), Stephanie Campbell ( Managing Director at Houston Angel Network), Derek Mazur (Senior Associate at Sante Ventures), and Dr. Oksana Malysheva (CEO and Managing Partner of Sputnik ATX) in a panel discussion that will prove valuable and actionable for the FUND entrepreneur.
2:15 - 3:00 PM
Momentum & Scaling
Traction, Stamina, Endurance. Getting a product out the door, and keeping the engine going on your business is tough and draining. Brett Noyes, Managing Partner at Unbank Ventures, will chat with a panel of founders, entrepreneurs, and early-stage teammates about how they kept moving forward.
Speakers: David Loia (CRO at ScaleFactor) Larissa Rocha (Employee #1 at Brex) Arie Brish (Principal of cxo360) Brian Wulfe ( Founder & CEO of Effective Spend)
3:00 - 4:00 PM
What are we missing from our innovation economy?
Julia Cheek, Founder and CEO of EverlyWell, and Kerry Rupp, General Partner at True Wealth Ventures, will sit down in a. Fireside Chat format to discuss how their positions as entrepreneurs and investors can fuel the innovation economy for the future.
4:00 - 4:40 PM
Early-stage VC is now broken. What's next?
John H. Meyer, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and futurist who currently focuses on advising and investing in technology-heavy, high-impact companies that leap society forward, is taking a hard look at the shortcomings of venture capital.
As a venture capitalist at Starship Capital (backed by Google Ventures, Khsola Ventures, & Thrive Capital), John has experience on both sides of the coin and will present his findings and suggestions in a keynote presentation format.
4:40 PM
Top 10 Exhibitors Pitch
Based on the Exhibitor pitches earlier in the afternoon, we’ll award the top 10 Awards to the best pitches given by entrepreneurs.
4:55 - 5:00 PM
Closing Remarks & Pitch Award Winners Announced by WSGR
Based on the Exhibitor pitches earlier in the afternoon, we’ll award the top 10 Awards to the best pitches given by entrepreneurs.