Founders Academy Essentials

Amongst all the excitement of running a startup is a lot of hard work and stressful decisions. Founders Academy Essentials is a 3-day lunch-n-learn curriculum designed specifically for driven entrepreneurs that are passionate about their business potential!

Whether you're working on your MVP and preparing for launch or already generating revenue, you will be exposed to fundamental insights and tools to help dramatically increase your odds of success.

What To Expect

Program Dates – January 17-19

11:15AM (prepare to begin); 11:30AM – 1:00PM (lectures).

*This event is in-person and online event. The live stream of the event can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/c/CapitalFactory

*Attendees have the option to attend in person at Capital Factory Austin. Be sure to register for the "In Person" ticket to claim your spot!

Day 1:

• Developing Your Idea
• Elevator Pitch Secrets
• Sizing your Market

Day 2:

• Business Development Secrets & Strategic Partnerships
• Setting the Stage for a Future Acquisition Exit
• Founder & Early Employee Compensation

Day 3:

• How Much Should You Raise & When?
• Seed Funding Vehicles and Terms
• Fundraising Issues, Hints & Tips

Please plan to attend at least 2 sessions when registering.

About the Instructor

Gordon Daugherty is a bestselling author, seasoned business executive, startup advisor and investor. As a venture fund manager and angel investor, he has made more than 350 investments. He has also helped raise more than $100 million in growth and venture capital as a company executive, fund manager, board director, and active advisor. Fundraising is the focus of the bestselling book he authored, titled “Startup Success: Funding the Early Stages of Your Venture”.

Through his content creation practice, Shockwave Innovations, and as co-founder and chairman of Capital Factory, Gordon spends 100 percent of his time educating, advising, and investing in tech startups. He is a senior contributor for Texas CEO Magazine and has published more than 150 articles of startup advice and best practices. One of Gordon’s favorite ways to make a difference is by serving on the board of directors for a handful of Austin’s most promising tech startups.

He spent the first ten years of his career in brand-name companies such as IBM and Compaq and then progressively gravitated towards early-stage and high-growth companies. Gordon spent eight years in the videoconferencing industry, including four years as president of an Israeli-based company that grew from $5 million to $36 million in a short few years and went public on the Euronext Stock Market. Later, he was a senior executive for Austin-based NetQoS, which grew rapidly to more than $55 million in revenue before being acquired by a Fortune 500 for $200 million.

What are Startup Founder's saying about Founders Academy?

“Founders Academy is a must! Gordon unlocked new value in concepts I thought I was already familiar with.”

“I'd recommend Founders Academy to other startup founders because of critical early alarms about easy to overlook things.”

“I wish we had done this a year ago.”

“I could not have been more pleased with how clearly Gordon explained things.”

“The way you convey the material is great and the examples you give makes things clear.”

“Fantastic. The camp really provides a complete view of the components necessary to build your business. The additional personal stories you interjected really validate your message.”

“I didn't know anything about starting a company before joining Capital Factory, and this workshop has probably taught me the most.”

"If you are thinking about becoming a founder this is an up-close and personal intro from the trenches. If you've been around the block a few times, you'll still learn something. A founder can't hear this stuff enough.”

“I wish I could have done this years ago because my first venture with VC's did not go well. You don't know what you don't know and the startup landscape is hard to navigate.”