About us
Startup Founder 101 brings together aspiring and experienced tech entrepreneurs to discuss, meet, and collaborate to build great new startups, and to push the local startup ecosystem forward.\
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This group hosts numerous free events throughout the year where you can learn the best practices of starting a company from people who have been there and done that. You’ll have the opportunity to meet local founders and investors, exchange ideas with experts, get feedback on your idea, participate in startup workshops, and more.\
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Typical startup event topics include:\
• Coming up with a strong startup idea\
• Startup legal basics\
• How to pitch your startup\
• Starting a company without quitting your day job\
• How to raise funding for your startup\
• And much more!\
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Join the group to be invited to our next event!
Upcoming events
3
Physical AI Startups: Building, Scaling and Raising Global Capital
·OnlineOnlineArtificial intelligence is moving beyond chatbots and into the physical world—transforming robotics, autonomy, manufacturing, logistics, mobility, and other major industries. Join us for a special online session with Doug Griffin, Founder and Managing Partner of Spatial Capital, exploring Physical AI trends, emerging investment opportunities, and what it takes to build and fund an investable Physical AI startup. The first part will cover the evolution of Physical AI, Spatial Capital's investment thesis, and why promising opportunities may emerge outside Silicon Valley. The second part will focus on founders: commercialization, technical defensibility, pilots, global scaling, investor positioning, and raising international capital.
❯ Agenda
- Welcome and Speaker Introduction
- Physical AI Trends and Market Evolution
- Spatial Capital’s Investment Thesis
- Global Opportunities Beyond Silicon Valley
- Building and Scaling Physical AI Startups
- Raising Global Capital
- Audience Q&A
- Closing Remarks
❯ Featured Speaker
Doug Griffin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Spatial Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in Physical AI, spatial computing, computer vision, autonomy, and robotics.
Doug brings approximately 30 years of experience in computer vision, AI, and company building. He founded four technology companies and achieved three exits, including acquisitions by Apple and Roblox.❯ What You Will Learn
- How Physical AI is evolving as an investment category
- Which industries and markets offer significant opportunities
- What investors evaluate in Physical AI startups
- How founders can commercialize complex technology
- How to build credibility through pilots and early validation
- How to position and prepare for global fundraising
❯ Who Should Attend
- LPs, VCs, and emerging fund managers
- Physical AI, robotics, and industrial AI founders
- Deep-tech, hardware, and computer-vision startups
- Corporate innovation and industry leaders
- Researchers, engineers, and ecosystem builders
❯❯ This is a live, interactive online event, so be sure to RSVP at https://fi.co/e/404811/meetup to receive the Zoom URL to join us live!
6 attendees
AI Startup Funding in Japan: Investor Office Hour, Stella Capital
·OnlineOnlineExplore how global VCs discover startups, what makes founders stand out, and how to build the credibility needed to attract investor attention. Building a strong startup is only the beginning. Global investors review countless opportunities, and many promising companies are overlooked because their positioning, traction, fundraising story, or investor outreach does not clearly communicate their potential.
Join this exclusive Investor Office Hour with Aizuddin Zakaria Adli, Venture Partner at Stella Capital, for practical insights into how global VCs discover, evaluate, and engage with startups. The session begins with a panel discussion, followed by selected startup pitches and live investor feedback.
❯ Agenda
- Welcome and Introduction
- Panel Discussion: How Global VCs Discover and Evaluate Startups
- Selected Startup Pitches
- Live Investor Feedback
- Startup Q&A
- Closing Remarks
❯ Featured Investor
- Aizuddin Zakaria Adli is a Venture Partner at Stella Capital with experience across venture investing, startup discovery, and founder ecosystems.
His work gives him a valuable perspective on how investors discover promising companies, assess early-stage opportunities, and decide which founders and startups deserve a closer look.
During this session, Aizuddin will share insights into what captures investor attention, which credibility signals matter, how founders can communicate their potential more effectively, and what can cause an otherwise promising startup to be overlooked.❯ Moderator
- Erdinc Ekinci is the Co-Founder and CEO of Openfor.co, Founder and CEO of Co-Capital, and Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
He is an entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and startup mentor supporting founders with GTM, sales, partnerships, international expansion, visibility, and investment readiness.
❯ What You Can Expect
- Insights into how global VCs discover startup opportunities
- What makes investors stop and take a closer look
- The traction and credibility signals that strengthen investor interest
- Common reasons promising startups are overlooked
- Guidance on positioning and communicating your investment opportunity
- Strategies for building visibility before beginning investor outreach
- Selected startup pitches and direct investor feedback
- Q&A on fundraising readiness, traction, visibility, and investor fit
❯ Who Should Apply
- Early-stage startups preparing to raise capital
- Founders seeking international or cross-border investors
- Startups struggling to receive responses from investors
- Founders refining their positioning and fundraising story
- Teams building customer, partner, or market traction
- Startups seeking greater visibility within the global venture ecosystem
- Founders who want to understand how investors evaluate opportunities
❯ Want to Pitch and Receive Direct Feedback?
⚠️ Pitching is available only to selected startups
Selected founders will pitch their startups and receive personalized feedback covering areas such as:- Startup positioning and differentiation
- Problem, solution, and market opportunity
- Customer and partner traction
- Investor visibility and credibility
- Fundraising readiness
- Stage, raise, and investor fit
- Pitch clarity and investment narrative
- Recommended next steps
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❯❯ This is a live, interactive online event, so be sure to RSVP at https://fi.co/e/405177/meetup to receive the Zoom URL to join us live!
2 attendees
Break the Idea Loop: Decide What to Build in the Age of AI
·OnlineOnlineYou don't need to be "naturally creative" to find a great startup idea. Strong ideas come from a clear, repeatable process, and that matters more than ever now that AI can generate endless ideas in seconds. The hard part is deciding which one is worth building. In this live workshop, Jonathan Greechan (Co-Founder & CIO of Founder Institute) shares a proven framework for developing high-potential startup ideas, based on insights from working with 10,000+ startups worldwide. You'll also share your idea, get feedback, and meet other aspiring founders in your industry.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- Why smart founders get trapped in idea paralysis
- How to choose what to build when AI can generate endless ideas
- A practical scoring system to compare multiple ideas
- How to identify problems with real urgency and demand
- How to assess founder-market fit objectively
- Clear signals that an idea is worth committing to
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute - Jonathan Greechan is the Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, he has grown and scaled the organization to chapters in over 200 cities and over 100 countries, producing over 9,000 portfolio companies with nearly $2BN in venture funding. In his long career in tech and marketing, Jonathan has advised thousands of startups on marketing, growth, and product strategy and has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Anyone who has an early-stage company or a startup idea.
- Anyone who would like feedback on their idea or pitch.
- Anyone that is interested in joining a new startup or looking for a co-founder.
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❯❯ This is a live, interactive online event, so be sure to RSVP at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23358 to receive the Zoom URL to join us live!
1 attendee
Past events
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