From Engineer to Mission-Driven CEO: A Fireside Chat
A tried-and-true recipe for starting a successful company is to work in a domain you know well from previous experience. But what if your passion lies in a field you’ve never worked in? Can you still succeed as a founder in that space?
The AI Collective and Justworks are excited to host a chat with two engineers-turned-CEOs who have done exactly that. They paired strong technical backgrounds with a bold desire to disrupt industries they were passionate about despite having no experience with. They’ll share how they navigated steep learning curves and bridged domain knowledge gaps to build successful mission-driven companies.
Who Should Attend
This event is designed for founders, aspiring founders, and anyone interested in mission-driven startups as an operator or investor. It’s especially valuable for engineers considering the leap into entrepreneurship, either as a founder or a founding engineer, the latter being one of the best ways to gain firsthand experience before starting your own company.
Panelists
Kevin Kong, Founder and CEO, Everstar
Everstar is building superhuman reasoning capabilities that work towards making nuclear power accessible and viable. Prior to Everstar, Kevin founded multiple mission-driven startups. The last time he worked for someone else, he was the head of engineering at Bird, the electric scooter company.
Chris Barnes, Founder and CEO, VillageRise
VillageRise is a highly specialized microfinance organization focused on eliminating inefficiencies that contribute to poverty. In 2022, Chris left his job at Twitch, Amazon’s livestreaming subsidiary, in search of a meaningful way to address global poverty. VillageRise is the culmination of those efforts.
Moderator
Rahul Verma leads partnerships for the AI Collective in New York, connecting the chapter with businesses and other organizations in the city's AI ecosystem.
Event Details
6:15 Doors Open
6:30 - 7:00 Networking w/ Food and Drinks
7:00 - 8:00 Speaker Sessions
8:00 - 9:00 More Networking
Your Hosts
The AI Collective is a growing community of 70,000+ founders, researchers, operators, and investors built around a shared curiosity for AI. Through incredible in-person events and vibrant online forums, members leverage their diverse perspectives and innovative minds to foster meaningful relationships, solve challenging problems, and define the future of AI.
Justworks is a leading platform that helps businesses manage payroll, benefits, HR, and compliance all in one place. They provide a simple and intuitive platform, allowing companies to streamline their HR operations and focus on growth. As a sponsor for the NYC research event, Justworks is dedicated to supporting the local community and fostering innovation.
Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!