Building businesses in overlooked spaces presents unique challenges and opportunities. In this panel, hear from founders who have redefined operational efficiency with their solutions and tackled the complexities of scaling B2B companies. Topics will include strategies for building collaborative partnerships to accelerate growth, scaling teams and technology to meet evolving customer needs, and overcoming barriers in markets where transformation is overdue.

Building a startup is rarely a linear journey. In this session, we’ll explore the critical moments that shaped our speakers’ entrepreneurial paths—from driving strategic pivots to discovering product-market fit. We’ll uncover how they navigated decisions like selecting the right market segment, establishing effective distribution channels, and striking a balance between being scrappy and delivering quality. The panel will also discuss the role of funding in this journey, offering insights into managing strategic vs. financial investors and weighing options like private credit vs. equity financing, and managing balancesheet risk particularly for fintech startups.

Technology and business models often present a chicken-and-egg dilemma in the entrepreneurial world. This discussion will explore the journey from possessing deep technology to building market-ready solutions that succeed in traditionally low-tech or non-tech industries. The speakers will highlight the immense potential of their innovative technologies and share strategies for identifying the right market, developing products or services that meet consumer needs, crafting effective go-to-market plans, and driving growth and scale.

What does it take to leave the corporate world and build a thriving startup? The panel will explore the challenges of shifting from structured environments to the chaos of startups, building credibility as first-time founders, navigating funding hurdles, and staying resilient during moments of uncertainty. Learn how they leveraged their corporate experiences to create innovative solutions and achieve startup success.

What does it take to build a company from scratch, scale it, and then walk away? Mike Evans, founder of Grubhub and Fixer, and author of Hangry, takes us behind the scenes of his entrepreneurial journey—from a relatable struggle with student debt to an extraordinary leap from the spark of an idea to the grind of execution, overcoming scaling challenges, and ultimately, life after Grubhub.