StartX’s Post

Not long now until applications close for our latest Startup First Steps course. To find out more click on the link below or feel free to get in touch with myself or Lori W. #Startups #Education #FirstSteps #Techscaler

📣 APPLICATIONS CLOSE TOMORROW 📣 Got a great idea for a software product but not sure how to get it off the ground? Startup First Steps is a fully-funded, 13-week accelerator course, designed for those of you in the early stages of the startup journey with the goal of getting a first version of your product into the market. Find out more and apply by noon tomorrow! Link to apply in comments.

If someone tells you “building a startup is easy”... …be sure they’re lying to you. Many founders know what they are signing up for. Others have no idea. Hopefully you don’t feel like Daniel Craig. 😀 Wherever you stand, enjoy your weekend! ☀️ P.S. How different is your founder's reality, compared to your initial expectations? Share with me below. ⬇️

💡 Do you have a business idea that is innovative and scalable? 👭 Do you have teammates who are working on the idea with you? 💰 Do you want to learn how to develop your business to your first revenue and first investments? You still have one week left to apply to the Red Brick Accelerator program!

And 48 hours later... Here we are! After more than 3,000 founders used the beta version of Pitch League last year - our team were in the office until 2am this morning completing a hackathon to make some upgrades and launch v1.0. The new PitchLeague.ai includes: 📒 Slide-by-slide feedback with suggested content and design improvements 🏆 New startup scores - not just scores for your deck but scores for your startup based on team, market and traction 🥇 Investor discoverability - the leaderboard now includes ways for investors to discover your startup and request an intro and because a video is worth even more than a thousand words: check it out in this demo!

Kicking off Day 1 of our 2023 highlight series is our founder spotlight! 🔍 The EasyA builders who launched their startups with us this year were truly incredible 🎉 From serial founders with over $1B in exits to PhDs at Harvard to legendary software engineers, our hackathon teams raised millions from a16z, YC, Polygon Labs and more world-class VCs 💸 If you’re trying to scout the world’s next Web3 unicorns, then you’re in the right place. Just scroll through our LinkedIn feed and see what they’re building! 😉 Wondering exactly what these incredible builders launched in 2023, and how they’re going to change the world in 2024? Make sure to follow us for Day 2 of our 2023 highlights - we’re posting it same time tomorrow! ✅

Years ago I was a junior, junior, junior, junior... junior reporter at a fantastic Colorado paper. I was once berated, publicly and a great length, by a senior editor because I had written, "so-and-so *sustained* damage to their right leg as a result of the crash." I still remember him yelling, "Buildings sustain damage. People suffer injuries!" I had to slink back to my tiny desk through a bullpen full of averted gazes. One (soon-to-be Noble Prize-winning) reporter just gave a sad whistle. The verbal flogging hurt. But, that editor was so deeply, incredibly right. I think a lot about the truth he shared. Things sustain damage, people suffer. I also think there’s a version of that truth present in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs don’t run out of money. Enterprises do. Entrepreneurs run out of energy. As long as they have the energy, hard though it may be, entrepreneurs can find more money. So what helps entrepreneurs and changemakers keep the energy? Encouragement, not just from friends and family, but from peers who are on a similar journey. That means listening ears and accepting hearts. It means informed guidance for technical problems and patient solidarity and support for the emotional ones. It means long walks, late night texts, and goofy videos. (Like this one.) Energy can be a renewable resource. But when it’s gone, it’s gone. The dream dies. The motivation leaves. The startup folds. The community loses. What would it look like if we spent more time actually becoming invested in the health and well-being of individuals, instead of just investing in the growth of their enterprises?

Wow what an amazing group of entrepreneurs! The energy of the afternoon was buzzing, your ideas, your passion, your enthusiasm thanks for coming to see us Peerage Products and sharing our knowledge and expertise with UC Centre for Entrepreneurship Pete Howard your a legend!! #business #entrepreneurship #innovation #startup #highereducation #experience #ideas #personalcare #beautyindustry #productdesign

Hello to the Wisconsin and Minnesota Entrepreneurs. Founder Institute Wisconsin will run the upcoming cohort with the Chicago group. This synergy allows for outstanding sharing of ideas, contacts and support. This is a real deal program, intended for those groups wanting to learn what is necessary to start a business, while gaining the practical skills to make that happen. Participants experience a 15 week curriculum, going through all of the start-up points you need exposure to. Weekly mentoring and opportunities to improving your ability to "Pitch" to customers, investors and team members is included. You are additionally assigned to working groups that are working on similar challenges to those you are currently facing. The thing I personally like is the "Rigor" that comes with the FI program. The accountability to performance and learning to find your way (with help available) is specifically what all start-up individuals need. This is made available for our entrepreneurial community in the region. If this is what you need, please get involved, or share with those you know that need this approach. This program is run by Founders for Founders. Having been in your shoes is one of the things that makes this special. Here's to Innovation! From the FI Wisconsin, FI Chicago and Tech-Prize teams

Hello to the Wisconsin and Minnesota Entrepreneurs. Founder Institute Wisconsin will run the upcoming cohort with the Chicago group. This synergy allows for outstanding sharing of ideas, contacts and support. This is a real deal program, intended for those groups wanting to learn what is necessary to start a business, while gaining the practical skills to make that happen. Participants experience a 15 week curriculum, going through all of the start-up points you need exposure to. Weekly mentoring and opportunities to improving your ability to "Pitch" to customers, investors and team members is included. You are additionally assigned to working groups that are working on similar challenges to those you are currently facing. The thing I personally like is the "Rigor" that comes with the FI program. The accountability to performance and learning to find your way (with help available) is specifically what all start-up individuals need. This is made available for our entrepreneurial community in the region. If this is what you need, please get involved, or share with those you know that need this approach. This program is run by Founders for Founders. Having been in your shoes is one of the things that makes this special. Here's to Innovation! From the FI Wisconsin, FI Chicago and Tech-Prize teams