The Schedule

Meet & Greet

Check-in at front desk of CIC 1 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142 to receive your CIC card! Please bring a government-issued ID with you. 

From there, join us in the Havana Event Space on the 5th floor for some coffee, pastries, and to meet your fellow cohort members in-person. 

Networking Lunch

Lunch hosted by CIC where you can network with cohort members, CIC staff, and others who will be a part of your 6 month journey! 

Venture Café

Attend CIC's sister organization, Venture Café! Each week, Venture Café connects creators, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, corporates, students and visionaries to build strong, inclusive, equitable innovation ecosystems in cities throughout the world. For your first attendance, we will give you a special sticker to indicate your membership as we announce this cohort launch to the community. 

We suggest attending the event as long as you are able to get to know some of the potential collaborators in the community. You will pitch at Venture Café during your final Demo Day in August!

Scaling Your Startup: Structuring Your Growth

Participate in a two-part workshop led by Dan Newman on successful scaling, and how to focus on hard skills that aid entrepreneurs in achieving success. By the end of the session, you will be able to identify all components of a Lean Canvas business plan to eventually build your own models for your goals.  

[OPTIONAL] Dan Newman Office Hours

Join Learn to Scale's founder, Dan Newman, for 1:1 office hours. 

[OPTIONAL] Dan Newman Office Hours

Join Learn to Scale's founder, Dan Newman, for 1:1 office hours. 

Lunch with Lawyers

Cohort members will have a chance to sit down with the Gunderson Dettmer team, and ask some of their specific questions.

Building Company Culture

Kelly Colón will take our cohort through guided conversation surrounding company culture: how to build and foster it, sustain it, and scale it in relation to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB).

Tailoring Your Pitch: How-To Guide for Selecting Your Pitch for the Right Audience

Prepare4VC will facilitate a conversation on understanding different audience types, and strategizing the elements for an effective pitch to meet specific audience objectives.

"Ask the Investors" Roundtable

MassTLC (Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council) will host a discussion for cohort members to interact with Jodi Collier, Senofer Mendoza, Samara Gordon, and, Jason Kraus to hear their perspectives as investors and what makes a startup compelling for investment.

Building a Business Strategy

A continuation of our February 27th session, Dan Newman will facilitate a lesson on business tactics: creating initiatives that align with the organization's strategy and setting objectives and key results. 

Deck Format Design/Best Practices & Breakouts

Laura Sorensen from Giant Shoulders  guides our cohort on a discussion about deck format design and best practices. Then, startups will join breakout rooms to see how to restructure their decks with the help from the Giant Shoulders team. 

[OPTIONAL] Dan Newman Office Hours

Join Learn to Scale's founder, Dan Newman, for 1:1 office hours.

[OPTIONAL] David Horne Office Hours

Join David Horne, a corporate partner in Gunderson Dettmer's Boston Office, to talk all things surrounding multifaceted legal issues and deals. 

[OPTIONAL] Dan Newman Office Hours

Join Learn to Scale's founder, Dan Newman, for 1:1 office hours.

Industry Roundtables w/Captains of Innovation

Hear from 8 industry experts in a panel discussing their experiences with startups. Cohort members will then be able to meet 1:1 with industry experts. 

Industry Roundtables w/Captains of Innovation

Hear from 8 industry experts in a panel discussing their experiences with startups. Cohort members will then be able to meet 1:1 with industry experts. 

[OPTIONAL] Group Breakfast and Co-Working Session

Join Kat and Sam for bagels and community! Feel free to bring your laptop to work alongside cohort members before the day's sessions begin! 

VC 101: How VCs Invest

The Entrepreneur Forum will deliver an informative talk on venture capitalists and how they invest into startups.

Opportunities in SBIR/STTR and Non-Dilutive Funding

Dive into all aspects of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, different types non-dilutive funding, and how to apply for these funds with Narine Emdjian. 

The Founder & CFO Perspective

Founder and CEO of Compt, Amy Spurling, walks us through the fundraising perspectives of founders and chief financial officers, implications of fundraising, how to manage capital strategically, and, how to gauge interest from angel investors and early stage VCs. 

Developing Financial Literacy

Roads Consulting Group offer considerations for managing your startup finances and ensuring you're setting yourself up for success.

Employee Compensation & Equity

In preparing for growth, The Entrepreneur Forum will highlight what it takes to create equity and fair compensation within the workplace. 

Funding Luncheon

Join Kat and Sam in a group luncheon surrounding funding. Use this as a co-working hour/time to talk about funding with your cohort members! 

Finding Your Unicorn: Benefits and Drawbacks of Unicorn Funding

Is unicorn funding something you should strive for? Reshma Shetty is a co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, an organism design company building organisms to spec for customers across markets including nutrition, health and consumer goods. The company’s organism engineers work directly with customers including Fortune 500 companies and government entities like DARPA to design microbes for their needs. This discussion will cover the benefits and drawbacks of this method, and will help you evaluate if it's right for your fundraising goals. 

CEO Peer Group Discussions

MassTLC will host other CEO's to speak on their experiences running their own businesses and provide a safe space for discussion from peers.

Dealflow Mixer

Hosted by Startup Boston, the Dealflow Mixer was created to bring founders and investors together to connect with one another. Startup Boston will be bringing together "speed dating"-style conversations for our cohort members. 

[OPTIONAL] Group Breakfast and Co-Working Session

Join Kat and Sam for breakfast wraps and community! Feel free to bring your laptop to work alongside cohort members before the day's sessions begin! 

Managing the Stress and Strain of Your Startup

We know that the founder journey can be overwhelming at times. Hear from mental health expert Marissa Alert from MDA Wellness on tips and strategies that can help you manage stress and prevent against burnout for yourselves and your teams.

Recognizing and Defeating Imposter Syndrome

Linda Ugelow joins us to give an empowering talk on how to recognize and overcome feelings of imposter syndrome.

[OPTIONAL] David Horne Office Hours

Join David Horne, a corporate partner in Gunderson Dettmer's Boston Office, to talk all things surrounding multifaceted legal issues and deals. 

Building a Team That Scales

Cohort members will participate in a presentation by founder and CEO of Compt, Amy Spurling, on building teams that scale. Spurling will share advice on when and how to successfully hire vs. outsource, along with her own experiences in team-building. 

Revenue-Based Financing

The Entrepreneur Forum will return to provide a lecture on how to consider and structure revenue-based financing for your startup.

Crafting a Winning SBIR/STTR Application

A continuation of April 2nd's session, Narine Emdjian will dive into SBIR/STTR Applications, how to create a strong application and successfully navigate the process. 

Founder-to-Funder Fit

Chloe Capital, a venture capital firm supporting investments in gender and diversity, will facilitate a meaningful dialogue around finding the right prospective funders that fit the needs of your startup. 

Recruiting Board Members & Senior Executives

Led by Chloe Capital, members will learn strategy for recruiting board members and senior executives that will best serve your startup. 

Meet the Investors Ice Cream Social

Cohort members will get a chance to meet and connect with different investors in a reverse pitch format, facilitated by The Entrepreneur Forum.

Mastering Sales: Techniques and Strategies.

Prepare4VC will discuss the all the components of an effective sales strategy, from how to tailor it to specific audiences, to creating effective calls-to-actions, and managing/maintaining sales for longevity.

Developing a "Go-To-Market" Strategy

Prepare4VC goes in depth on highlighting/understanding customer feedback, effective product positioning and propositioning, distribution channels, and how to shape a "Go-To-Market" strategy.  

Economic Opportunity & Inclusion Office Visit

[OPTIONAL] Amy Spurling Office Hours

Join Amy Spurling founder and CEO of Compt, to chat for a 30 minute 1:1 office hours session! 

Pivoting Your Product/Business Plan

Prepare4VC leads a lecture on why and when pivots are necessary for startups, different types of pivots, and utilizing customer feedback to assist in developing comprehensive pivot strategies. 

Free the Creative Mind

Interaction Associates focuses on the Open/Narrow/Close format for brainstorming and coming to agreement in team meetings.

Giant Shoulders Pitch Prep

Giant Shoulders coaches will join our cohort members in-person in preparation for our Soft Launch Demo Day! 

Prepare4VC Demo Day Soft Launch

Prepare4VC will invite different community builders, founders, advisors, and, investors for startup presentations. Our startups will prepare pitch for a 3 minute presentation for the community and engage in networking/conversations. 

[OPTIONAL] David Horne Office Hours

Join David Horne, a corporate partner in Gunderson Dettmer's Boston Office, to talk all things surrounding multifaceted legal issues and deals. 

Economic Opportunity & Inclusion Office Visit

Venture Café: Aquiring AI 

Hear empowering stories from accomplished entrepreneurs and leaders who have broken down barriers in their fields. Gain insights into their journeys, challenges, and the strategies they used to create opportunities and drive change. Each session includes a dynamic Q&A segment, allowing you to engage directly with our speakers and glean practical advice on overcoming real-world challenges. You'll also have the chance to connect with other innovators and thought leaders dedicated to equity and inclusion, building meaningful relationships that drive social and economic progress.

Venture Café: Obtaining Government Contracts

Hear empowering stories from accomplished entrepreneurs and leaders who have broken down barriers in their fields. Gain insights into their journeys, challenges, and the strategies they used to create opportunities and drive change. Each session includes a dynamic Q&A segment, allowing you to engage directly with our speakers and glean practical advice on overcoming real-world challenges. You'll also have the chance to connect with other innovators and thought leaders dedicated to equity and inclusion, building meaningful relationships that drive social and economic progress.

[OPTIONAL] Group Breakfast with RMs

Developing Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Roads Consulting Group will share strategies on how to develop your digital marketing plan. 

Brand Development and Marketing

Captains of Innovation facilitate a conversation with Vanessa Liu on how to develop your startup's brand, and why this is a key component of your marketing plan. Vanessa has over 25 years of experience and a proven track record of value creation as a serial founder, operator, strategist and investor across SAP, Trigger Media and McKinsey. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sugarwork, an enterprise SaaS knowledge sharing platform empowering employers to own and maintain the knowledge, skills, and relationships that drive their businesses. She was most recently Vice President of SAP.iO, SAP’s early-stage venture arm, where she oversaw SAP.iO’s North American Foundries in New York and San Francisco, including programs devoted to women and diverse-led B2B enterprise tech companies, and recruited and accelerated 87 enterprise software startups. Prior to SAP, Vanessa was Chief Operating Officer at Trigger Media Group, a $22MM digital media incubator. She co-founded Trigger’s portfolio companies: InsideHook (digital media company & men’s lifestyle brand) and Fevo (SaaS technology for group experiences at live events). She began her career at McKinsey & Company and was an Associate Partner in the Firm’s Media and Entertainment Practice, based in Amsterdam, London and New York. 

Venture Café: Democratizing Access

Hear empowering stories from accomplished entrepreneurs and leaders who have broken down barriers in their fields. Gain insights into their journeys, challenges, and the strategies they used to create opportunities and drive change. Each session includes a dynamic Q&A segment, allowing you to engage directly with our speakers and glean practical advice on overcoming real-world challenges. You'll also have the chance to connect with other innovators and thought leaders dedicated to equity and inclusion, building meaningful relationships that drive social and economic progress.

Final Pitch Prep/Demo Day Q&A

Cohort members will have a final chance to practice their pitches, get feedback, and ask questions ahead of Demo Day. 

Private Feedback/Judging

Startups will have a chance to pitch first to a private panel of judges, who will award a "judges' pick" for their favorite pitch, to be announced later in the day.

Venture Café Thursday

This sponsored evening will be a chance for the startups to deliver their final 3-minute pitches to the Venture Café audience. The audience will have a chance to vote on their favorite pitch. Two $1k stipends will be awarded at Venture Café: one for the judges' pick, and once for the audience pick. The evening will also set a larger backdrop on the importance of investing in diverse startups.