About the Conference

The 1st Annual KINETIC Conference “FUNDING MATTERS” will take place virtually with over 1,000 entrepreneurs and funders on Saturday, April 10, 2021. See you there! Find us on social media: Twitter @KINETICHUB and Instagram @THEKINETICHUB. #FundingMatters

For the latest information and FAQs, please check out our website at www.kinetic.ventures.

Join us for the 1st Annual KINETIC Conference “FUNDING MATTERS” sponsored by Microsoft, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Experian, Valence, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund! The first 250 people to register receive a special version of the bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs (http://amzn.com/B00CHRPUWM).

At KINETIC, we envision a world where funding is available, accessible, and adequate for all people to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. In short, KINETIC is an online platform that helps entrepreneurs find, receive, and learn about funding, from early-stage bootstrapping to late-stage venture capital and everything in-between. Our annual conference, KINETIC-CON, aims to facilitate educational discussions about funding to help entrepreneurs and funders create a better and more efficient entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially one that benefits entrepreneurs of color. The opportunity is here; the time is now! When we work together, we will accomplish so much more.

“Diverse founding teams have higher returns when cash is returned to investors. Historically, they have earned a 3.26x median realized multiple on IPOs and acquisitions, compared to a 2.50x realized multiple for white founding teams, a 30% increase.” –Kauffman Foundation and MaC Venture Capital Study

The conference will feature an all-star lineup of speakers for fireside chats, panels, and workshops. See the full agenda at our website.

If you are a media outlet looking to cover this year’s conference, please send inquiries to media@kinetic.ventures. For information regarding sponsorship or how you can be a speaker next year, please send inquiries to info@kinetic.ventures.

Note: Tickets will not be issued during the conference.

Some of the Featured Speakers:

• Philip Gaskin – Vice President of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• Kobie Fuller – General Partner, Upfront Ventures and Co-Founder, Valence
• Brad Feld – Co-Founder and Partner, Foundry Group and Co-Founder, Techstars
• Brittany Davis – General Partner, Backstage Capital
• Abir Liben – Senior Associate, Serena Ventures
• Bill Aulet – Managing Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and Professor of the Practice, Sloan School of Management
• Andrew J. Young – Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, U.S. Congressman, Mayor, and Civil Rights Activist
• Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene – Founder and CEO, PopCom
• Brian Hollins – Founder and CEO at Takeoff Institute and Board Member of BLCKVC
• Melissa Bradley – Founder, 1863 Ventures and Co-Founder, Ureeka
• Vanessa Kuhlor – Senior Associate, Startup Banking at Silicon Valley Bank
• Antonio Barnes – CEO of Fridgio
• Cheryl Campos – Head of Venture Growth & Partnerships, Republic
• Leura Craig – General Partner, Outlander Labs
• Jared Ray Johnson – Co-Founder, Season Three
• Jessica Myers – Partner, JAG Holdings Group, LLC
• Seth Levine – Co-Founder and Partner, Foundry Group
• Dominique Broadwell – Founder, Finances Demystified
• Alice Loy – Founder, Creative Startups and Investor, Davinci Ventures
• Joe Beverly – Angel Investor and CEO, Cranium Incubator
• Regan Yeldell – Senior Director, Enterprise Demand Generation Comcast Business and The Comcast RISE Investment Fund
• James Andrews – Founder, Authenticated Ventures
• Perry Flemming, Jr. – Director Data, Analytics and FinTech, Experian
• Devon Wijesinghe – Investor and Chief Transformation Officer, CORL Technologies
• Jonah Travis – Founder, Knoow
• Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson – Founder and CEO, VC Include
• Reginald Swift, Ph.D – Founder and CEO, Rubix Life Sciences
• Xiomara Rosa-Tedla – Co-Founder and Owner, UnoEth
• Deirdra Glover – Chief Experience Officer at Conserte
• Ryan Wilson – CEO and Co-Founder, The Gathering Spot
• And more to be announced!

Conference Agenda

Fireside Chats/Keynote Speakers:

• Philip Gaskin – Vice President of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• Kobie Fuller – General Partner, Upfront Ventures and Co-Founder of Valence
• James Andrews – Founder, Authenticated Ventures
• Melissa Bradley – Founder, 1863 Ventures and Co-Founder, Ureeka
• Seth Levine – Co-Founder and Partner, Foundry Group
• Brad Feld – General Partner Foundry Group and Co-Founder of Techstars (*Brad Feld is participating in a KINETIC Clubhouse event on Thursday, March 25th at 8 p.m. EDT.)

Fireside Topics:

• Progress Made in Deployment of Funds: What the Research Tells Us
• Economic Progress through Entrepreneurship and the Importance of Funding
• Where Do We Go From Here? How to Ensure that Capitalism Works for Everyone

Panel Topics:

• How I Funded My Company: From Bootstrapping to Pursuing Venture Capital
• Where to Find Funding: Creative Options, including "KIN", Customers, Grants, Banks, Investors, Equity Crowdfunding, Funds, etc.
• Allies and Advocates Who Get It (a Candid Ask Me Anything Session)
• Generational Wealth through Entrepreneurship, Investing, and Financial Literacy

Workshop Topics:

• An Overview of KINETIC: What the Platform Offers and How It Works
• Angel/Seed Investing 101
• The Do's and Don’ts of Securing Funding from Investors. (Topics include networking, etiquette for introductions, decks, how to know you are ready for funding, searching for firms with the right thesis, etc.)

Full agenda details available at our website www.kinetic.ventures.

Disclaimer: Speakers and panels are subject to change.