The best founders don't pay full price for anything in year one. They know which law firms defer fees until funding. Which accountants work on equity. Which tools offer founder plans. How to structure for QSBS and save millions in taxes down the road. This is the stuff that gets passed around in group chats and back channels, but rarely gets said out loud. In this session, Will Drewery shares the tactical playbook he used to launch Diagon and raise $5M from investors. If you're thinking about launching something, this session could save you six figures before you go to market.
The Scout Path: Breaking Into Venture Without a Fund
You don't need your own fund to start investing. Venture scouts get paid to find deals for established firms, build relationships with founders, and learn the craft of early-stage investing on someone else's dime. In this session, Nasir Qadree breaks down how scouting actually works: how to get a scout role, how to source deals, how to evaluate companies, and how to use scouting as a launchpad to something bigger. He'll also share what he looks for when he's hiring scouts for Zeal Capital. If you want to get into venture but don't have the capital or track record yet, this is the entry point.
NASIR QADREE
Founder & Managing Partner, Zeal Capital
Nasir Qadree is Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners, an early-stage venture firm investing in diverse, high-growth founders building the future of work. He is a leading voice on venture access and alternative entry points into investing, including scout networks and platform strategies. Previously, Nasir held senior roles at Village Capital and worked across the startup and investor ecosystem helping founders and operators navigate capital, networks, and opportunity with greater intention and impact.
The Hidden Playbook: How to Launch Without Burning Cash
WILL DREWERY
Founder & CEO of Diagon Technologies
Will Drewery is Founder and CEO of Diagon Technologies, an AI-powered procurement platform helping industrial companies build the factories of the future. A seasoned operator, Will has led large-scale supply chain and manufacturing efforts at Tesla, Astra, and Mitra Chem, managing billions in capital equipment and complex global operations. He's also a board director and advisor to venture-backed startups—giving him a front-row seat to what separates founders who scale efficiently from those who burn through capital learning lessons the hard way.
Founder to Funder: A Journey Through Both Sides of the Table
Jewel Burks Solomon built Partpic, sold it to Amazon, then ran Google for Startups US before launching Collab Capital, a $125M+ fund investing in underrepresented founders. She's been the founder pitching and the investor being pitched. In this session, Jewel shares what she learned from both seats: how to build something fundable, how investors actually think, and what she wishes she knew as a first-time founder. She'll also break down what Collab looks for and why she structured the fund differently than traditional VC. If you're thinking about launching something or investing in others who are, this is the perspective you need.
JEWEL BURKS SOLOMON
Managing Partner at Collab Capital
Jewel Burks Solomon is Managing Partner at Collab Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm she co-founded to close the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs. Collab Capital manages $75M+ in assets and invests in high-growth companies building the future of work, healthcare, and commerce. Previously, Jewel served as Head of Google for Startups U.S., where she led initiatives deploying $45M+ in non-dilutive capital to Black and Latino-led businesses. She is also the Founder and former CEO of Partpic, an AI-powered startup acquired by Amazon.
First Check: What Early-Stage Investors Actually Look For
Precursor Ventures has backed companies like The Athletic, Superhuman, and Modern Health, all at the earliest stages. Charles Hudson has spent his career writing first checks into companies before anyone else believes. In this session, Charles shares how he evaluates founders, what signals matter at pre-seed when there's almost no data, and how he builds conviction on teams that haven't proven anything yet. He'll also share what he wishes more founders understood about how investors actually make decisions. Whether you're raising or investing, this is how the earliest stage of venture actually works.
CHARLES HUDSON
Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures
Charles Hudson is Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on leading first institutional rounds for standout software and hardware startups. Under his leadership, Precursor has raised four funds and manages $250M+ in assets, investing in more than 450 companies and supporting over 1,000 founders. His portfolio includes Bobbie Baby, Carrot, Incredible Health, Pair Eyewear, and The Athletic, which was acquired by The New York Times for $525M.
The Long Game: How Squire Went from Side Project to $750M
Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon met at a party in Harlem. A few years later, they quit their corporate jobs, spent $20,000 to buy a barbershop in Chelsea, and ran it for a year to learn the business from the inside. They didn't cut hair, but they did everything else. That experiment became Squire, a barbershop tech platform now valued at $750 million, backed by Tiger Global, ICONIQ, Y Combinator, and investors like Stephen Curry and Trevor Noah. In this session, Dave and Songe share the unfiltered story of building Squire: the pivots, the near-death moments, the scams, the fundraising rejections, and the decisions that got them to the doorstep of unicorn status. If you're serious about launching something and scaling it to the highest levels, this is what the road actually looks like.
DAVE SALVANT
President & Co-Founder, Squire Technologies
Dave Salvant is President and Co-Founder of Squire, the barbershop technology platform valued at $750 million. Started with his co-founder Songe LaRon in 2015, Squire has raised over $200 million from investors including Tiger Global, ICONIQ Capital, Y Combinator, Stephen Curry, and Trevor Noah. Before Squire, Dave worked as a private banker. He holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS from SUNY Albany.
SONGE LaRON
CEO & Co-Founder, Squire Technologies
Songe LaRon is CEO and Co-Founder of Squire, the barbershop technology platform valued at $750 million. What started as a side project in 2015 — including buying and operating a barbershop in Chelsea to learn the business from the inside — has grown into a platform serving thousands of shops across three continents. Squire has raised over $200 million from investors including Tiger Global, ICONIQ Capital, and Y Combinator. Before Squire, Songe practiced corporate law. UCLA undergrad, Yale Law School.
The Billion-Dollar Business Model
Most founders who want to help people build consumer apps. Then they die on customer acquisition costs. Samir Goel did something different. Esusu helps renters build credit, but renters aren't the customer. Landlords are. Property managers are. Blackstone, Freddie Mac, and the biggest real estate owners in the country are. That's how Esusu reached 12 million renters without spending a dime on consumer marketing. In this session, Samir breaks down the B2B2C model that took Esusu from idea to $1.2 billion valuation. He'll also share what it took to raise $200 million as a first-generation founder, how the co-CEO model actually works, and what he learned building a nonprofit before building a unicorn. If you're thinking about launching something that matters and scales, this is the business model conversation you need to hear.
SAMIR GOEL
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Esusu
Samir Goel is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Esusu, the leading fintech platform using rent data to build credit and expand financial access. Esusu is valued at $1.2 billion, reaches 12 million renters across 5 million units, and has helped unlock $30 billion in mortgages for people who were previously credit invisible. Previously, Samir led Sales Strategy & Operations at LinkedIn for a $500 million business unit across EMEA. He also co-founded Transfernation, a nonprofit that rescued over 5 million pounds of food and impacted 2.5 million lives. Forbes 30 Under 30 (2020), TIME100 NEXT (2023), EY Entrepreneur of the Year (2023). NYU Stern.