FUNDAMENTALS
FOR STARTUPS

The Power of the Pivot explores how founders recognize, evaluate, and act on the critical moments that reshape their companies’ trajectories. In this panel, featuring Sarah O’Sell, Jordan Bain, Kyle Buckingham, and Rodrigo Carriedo, startups share the real stories behind their biggest strategic shifts—what prompted the change, how they navigated uncertainty, and what they learned along the way. Attendees will gain practical insights into how thoughtful pivots can unlock new opportunities, strengthen product‑market fit, and accelerate growth.

One of the biggest factors that can make or break a startup’s success is the cofounder relationship. Yet many founders focus on operations while overlooking the psychological and interpersonal dynamics that quietly shape everything from decision‑making to culture.

This one‑hour lecture, presented by T.A. McCann, breaks down the hidden work of building and sustaining a healthy, resilient co-founder partnership, including:

• Why your partnership matters more than your product: How founder dynamics influence execution, trust, and long‑term viability.
• Finding the right co-founder: How to look beyond technical skills to build a partnership that will last
• Creating explicit agreements: Roles, expectations, decision rights, and the conversations founders avoid until they become problems.
• Using your relationship as a cultural blueprint: The way you communicate, disagree, and repair becomes the template your entire team follows.
• Addressing emotional debt: How unspoken frustrations accumulate—and how to clear them before they become structural cracks.

Many founders and early teams in the U.S. startup ecosystem are navigating immigration questions alongside building their companies. This session, presented by Priyanka Kulkarni, explores how founders can build and operate a startup while maintaining visa status, and how companies can hire international talent responsibly.

We will walk through common visa pathways such as O-1, H-1B, EB-1A, and EB-2 NIW, explain what founders and operators can and cannot do under different statuses, and discuss practical strategies for hiring global talent. The goal is to help early-stage founders understand the immigration mechanics that shape hiring decisions, company formation, and long-term planning.

This talk, presented by Adam Mangone, explores how companies can build genuine customer love—and why it’s one of the most powerful drivers of sustainable growth. Drawing from his experience leading Finvari, Adam Mangone will share how deeply understanding customer needs, simplifying complex workflows, and delivering real value can turn users into advocates. Attendees will learn practical strategies for translating customer insight into scalable products and experiences. Whether you’re early-stage or growing rapidly, this session will highlight how customer love can become your ultimate competitive advantage.

In this session, Mark Kotzer shares seven hard-earned Go-To-Market (GTM) lessons learned from 100+ product launches across startups, accelerators, and corporate innovation teams. Designed for early-stage founders, this talk focuses on how to drive market traction with limited time and budget. Topics include building credibility before you have a single customer, using AI to maximize ROI from conferences and tradeshows, and analyzing the buyer’s journey to accelerate relationship-building and early revenue. Attendees will leave with practical insights they can immediately apply to start winning their first customers and building momentum.