Founder Fridays
Upcoming Sessions
Apr 7: Fireside chat with Fotini Iconomopoulos, the author of Say Less, Get More
Apr 21: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Fotini's fireside chat and her book
May 5: Fireside chat with Erik Severinghaus, the author of Scale Your Everest
May 19: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Erik's fireside chat and his book
June 2: Fireside chat with Teresa Torres, the author of Continuous Discovery Habits
June 16: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Teresa's fireside chat and her book
Those who register for the entire series or individual sessions will receive recordings of the Fireside chats they register for.
Founder Fridays are a series of fireside chats with authors of books that are typically held on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month; the initiative is based on the success of a fireside chat with Ian Hathaway (Brad Feld’s co-author on their latest book) that had 600+ registrants and gave away all 100 copies of The Startup Community Way to attendees from across Alberta in less than two minutes.
Each month you can register for either or both of two sessions:
A fireside chat with an author where the last 15 minutes is an audience Q & A session with the participants, and a link is provided so those from Canada can request a free copy of the author’s book.
Discussions held two weeks later (sometimes with, sometimes without the author) to discuss the different ways the content from the fireside chat and the author’s book can be applied to Alberta’s startup community and tech ecosystem
Founder Fridays are designed to support Alberta’s entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, ecosystem builders and service providers by:
Upskilling entrepreneurs, mentors, ecosystem builders and service providers
Developing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship support in and around post-secondary institutions
Helping startups grow faster and develop the expertise and traction required to attract capital
Increasing the volume of startups and the velocity at which they progress through the Startup Commons stages
Working with existing entrepreneurship support organizations to expand their mentor network
Founder Fridays is a joint initiative of 150 Startups, Bow Valley College, Futurepreneur, Rainforest Alberta, and the Venture Mentoring Service of Alberta and are made possible by the generous support of Bow Valley College, RBC, The Hunter Family Foundation, Alberta Innovates, Calgary Innovation Coalition, The Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network (CARIN) APEX Alberta and Startup YMM.
Past Sessions:
April 9: Fireside chat with Cory Bray, author of Sales Playbooks: The Builders Toolkit
April 23: Roundtable discussion with Joseph Fung on how to apply the learnings from Cory’s fireside chat and book
May 7: Fireside chat with Vijay Govindarajan, author of The Three Box Solution
May 21: Roundtable discussion with Wally Thorson on how to apply the learnings from Vijay’s fireside chat and his book
June 4: Fireside chat with Tsedal Neeley, author of Remote Work Revolution: How to Work From Anywhere
June 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the content of Tsedal Neeley’s book Remote Work Revolution to Alberta’s startup community and tech ecosystem
Sept. 10: Fireside chat with Gabrielle Dolan, author of Magnetic Stories, who joins us from Melbourne, Australia.
Sept. 24: Roundtable discussion with Colleen Stewart, author of The Story Compass, on how to craft powerful stories
Oct. 1: Fireside chat with Bob Moesta, author of Demand Side Sales
Oct. 15: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Bob's fireside chat and his book
Nov. 5: Fireside chat with Pam Didner, author of Effective Sales Enablement
Nov. 19: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Pam's fireside chat and her book - especially chapter 4 and page 87.
Dec. 3: Fireside chat with Kristen Hadeed, author of Permission to Screw Up
Dec. 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Tristen's fireside chat and her book
Jan. 7: Fireside chat with Danessa Knaupp, author of Naked at Work
Jan. 21: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Danessa's fireside chat and her book
Feb. 4: Fireside chat with Tiffany daSilva, Creator of the Growth Hacking Box that contains 100 ways to hack growth
Feb. 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Tiffany's fireside chat and growth hacking box
March 4: Fireside chat with Edmonton's Kurian Mathew Tharakan, author of The 7 Essential Stories Charismatic Leaders Tell.
March 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Kurian's fireside chat and his book.
April 1: Fireside chat with Scott Sambucci, author of Stop Hustling: Start Scaling.
April 15: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Scott's fireside chat and his book.
May 6: Fireside chat with Adam Berk, author of Startup Program Design: A Practical Guide for Creating Accelerators and Incubators at Any Organization.
May 20: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Adam's fireside chat and his book.
June 3: Fireside chat with Mike Raab, the Executive Director of The Garage at Northwestern University and author of Founded: The No B.S. Guide for Student Entrepreneurs.
June 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Mike's fireside chat and his book.
Sept. 9: Fireside chat with Amos Schwartzfarb, the Executive Director of Techstars Austin and author of Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business
Sept. 23: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Amos' fireside chat and his book.
Oct. 7: Fireside chat with Jenny Blake, the author of Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business
Oct. 21: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Jenny's fireside chat and their book.
Nov. 4: Fireside chat with Mike Michalowicz, the author of Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business
Nov. 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Mike's fireside chat and their book.
Dec. 2: Fireside chat with Geoffrey Cohen, the author of Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides
Dec. 16: Roundtable discussions led by Wendy Muise, Wunmi Adekanmbi and Jennifer Jensen on how to apply the learnings from Geoffrey's fireside chat and his book.
Jan. 6: Fireside chat Margot Machol Bisnow, the author of Raising an Entrepreneur
Jan. 20: Margot Machol Bisnow will join us for roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from her fireside chat and her book.
Feb 3: Fireside chat with David Priemer, the author of Sell the Way You Buy
Feb 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from David's fireside chat and his book.
Mar 3: Fireside chat with Melissa Perri, the author of Escaping the Build Trap
Mar 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Melissa's fireside chat and her book.
Call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) if you have any questions or suggestions for future authors and their books.
Founder Fridays
Upcoming Sessions
Apr 7: Fireside chat with Fotini Iconomopoulos, the author of Say Less, Get More
Apr 21: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Fotini's fireside chat and her book
May 5: Fireside chat with Erik Severinghaus, the author of Scale Your Everest
May 19: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Erik's fireside chat and his book
June 2: Fireside chat with Teresa Torres, the author of Continuous Discovery Habits
June 16: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Teresa's fireside chat and her book
Those who register for the entire series or individual sessions will receive recordings of the Fireside chats they register for.
Founder Fridays are a series of fireside chats with authors of books that are typically held on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month; the initiative is based on the success of a fireside chat with Ian Hathaway (Brad Feld’s co-author on their latest book) that had 600+ registrants and gave away all 100 copies of The Startup Community Way to attendees from across Alberta in less than two minutes.
Each month you can register for either or both of two sessions:
A fireside chat with an author where the last 15 minutes is an audience Q & A session with the participants, and a link is provided so those from Canada can request a free copy of the author’s book.
Discussions held two weeks later (sometimes with, sometimes without the author) to discuss the different ways the content from the fireside chat and the author’s book can be applied to Alberta’s startup community and tech ecosystem
Founder Fridays are designed to support Alberta’s entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, ecosystem builders and service providers by:
Upskilling entrepreneurs, mentors, ecosystem builders and service providers
Developing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship support in and around post-secondary institutions
Helping startups grow faster and develop the expertise and traction required to attract capital
Increasing the volume of startups and the velocity at which they progress through the Startup Commons stages
Working with existing entrepreneurship support organizations to expand their mentor network
Founder Fridays is a joint initiative of 150 Startups, Bow Valley College, Futurepreneur, Rainforest Alberta, and the Venture Mentoring Service of Alberta and are made possible by the generous support of Bow Valley College, RBC, The Hunter Family Foundation, Alberta Innovates, Calgary Innovation Coalition, The Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network (CARIN) APEX Alberta and Startup YMM.
Past Sessions:
April 9: Fireside chat with Cory Bray, author of Sales Playbooks: The Builders Toolkit
April 23: Roundtable discussion with Joseph Fung on how to apply the learnings from Cory’s fireside chat and book
May 7: Fireside chat with Vijay Govindarajan, author of The Three Box Solution
May 21: Roundtable discussion with Wally Thorson on how to apply the learnings from Vijay’s fireside chat and his book
June 4: Fireside chat with Tsedal Neeley, author of Remote Work Revolution: How to Work From Anywhere
June 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the content of Tsedal Neeley’s book Remote Work Revolution to Alberta’s startup community and tech ecosystem
Sept. 10: Fireside chat with Gabrielle Dolan, author of Magnetic Stories, who joins us from Melbourne, Australia.
Sept. 24: Roundtable discussion with Colleen Stewart, author of The Story Compass, on how to craft powerful stories
Oct. 1: Fireside chat with Bob Moesta, author of Demand Side Sales
Oct. 15: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Bob's fireside chat and his book
Nov. 5: Fireside chat with Pam Didner, author of Effective Sales Enablement
Nov. 19: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Pam's fireside chat and her book - especially chapter 4 and page 87.
Dec. 3: Fireside chat with Kristen Hadeed, author of Permission to Screw Up
Dec. 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Tristen's fireside chat and her book
Jan. 7: Fireside chat with Danessa Knaupp, author of Naked at Work
Jan. 21: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Danessa's fireside chat and her book
Feb. 4: Fireside chat with Tiffany daSilva, Creator of the Growth Hacking Box that contains 100 ways to hack growth
Feb. 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Tiffany's fireside chat and growth hacking box
March 4: Fireside chat with Edmonton's Kurian Mathew Tharakan, author of The 7 Essential Stories Charismatic Leaders Tell.
March 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Kurian's fireside chat and his book.
April 1: Fireside chat with Scott Sambucci, author of Stop Hustling: Start Scaling.
April 15: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Scott's fireside chat and his book.
May 6: Fireside chat with Adam Berk, author of Startup Program Design: A Practical Guide for Creating Accelerators and Incubators at Any Organization.
May 20: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Adam's fireside chat and his book.
June 3: Fireside chat with Mike Raab, the Executive Director of The Garage at Northwestern University and author of Founded: The No B.S. Guide for Student Entrepreneurs.
June 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Mike's fireside chat and his book.
Sept. 9: Fireside chat with Amos Schwartzfarb, the Executive Director of Techstars Austin and author of Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business
Sept. 23: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Amos' fireside chat and his book.
Oct. 7: Fireside chat with Jenny Blake, the author of Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business
Oct. 21: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Jenny's fireside chat and their book.
Nov. 4: Fireside chat with Mike Michalowicz, the author of Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business
Nov. 18: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Mike's fireside chat and their book.
Dec. 2: Fireside chat with Geoffrey Cohen, the author of Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides
Dec. 16: Roundtable discussions led by Wendy Muise, Wunmi Adekanmbi and Jennifer Jensen on how to apply the learnings from Geoffrey's fireside chat and his book.
Jan. 6: Fireside chat Margot Machol Bisnow, the author of Raising an Entrepreneur
Jan. 20: Margot Machol Bisnow will join us for roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from her fireside chat and her book.
Feb 3: Fireside chat with David Priemer, the author of Sell the Way You Buy
Feb 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from David's fireside chat and his book.
Mar 3: Fireside chat with Melissa Perri, the author of Escaping the Build Trap
Mar 17: Roundtable discussions on how to apply the learnings from Melissa's fireside chat and her book.
Call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) if you have any questions or suggestions for future authors and their books.