FUNDAMENTALS
FOR STARTUPS

If you’re launching a product or business, you need to be able to communicate your value proposition to a variety of stakeholders, not just the investors you’ve tailored your initial pitch to. Public relations executive and thought leader Tia Over, who led messaging strategy for NASA, will explain why you need to know your own story, how to articulate your mission and vision, and the importance of getting everyone on the team fluent in key messages. She’ll outline the information you need to gather and initial steps to take to compose a story that sells.

Boom Capital is an under-the-radar VC firm known for early investments in major biotech companies, including A-Alpha Bio and Monod, both spun out of David Baker’s lab at UW’s Institute for Protein Design, among others. It also convenes a community of 200 scientists, technologists, and business leaders shaping biotech. General partner Cee Cee Schnugg will talk about VC decision-making in the current economic climate and she’ll share exclusive behind-the-scenes tips for founders looking to close their first deal.

As an on-air broadcast journalist covering elections and other major stories, Eric Schudiske learned to make the most of limited airtime, capture audience attention, and deliver compelling stories that inspire action. His team at s2s Public Relations uses those storytelling tools to launch and accelerate startups working with promising new technologies that may face criticism from journalists and legacy technologies. He’ll share PR strategies and tactics that can help you validate and de-risk your startup, build awareness, empower advocates, and raise your profile.

Immigrants working in the US face distinct hurdles in a fast-paced, ever-changing legal landscape, especially as they launch and operate new businesses and travel for work and events. Immigration attorneys Amy Royalty and Cody Suzuko Nunn—whose firm has worked with employers of all sizes, across industries, to secure temporary visas and permanent residency for foreign talent in the US since 1965—will talk about the variety of immigration options for startups and entrepreneurs and compliance protocols.

Startups formed this year are now subject to the federal Corporate Transparency Act, which requires an estimated 30 million companies, regardless of formation date, to disclose up-to-date information and documentation about ownership to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Fintech attorneys Ben Straughan and Steve Merrimen will review the new reporting requirements and offer guidance for early-stage entrepreneurs and their companies as they work to comply.

One of CoMotion’s core services for UW spinoffs is intellectual property advising, which may involve strategies like copyrights or trademarks to protect the identity and ideas your business is built on. Licensed attorney Katrina Brede will share insights into the trademark process for startups and how it can help you grow. The talk will also include a frank discussion of a DIY approach to IP protection rather than hiring an attorney and both horror and success stories from the field.