Table of Contents
- Pre-Program Welcome Call: Introduction to your fellow cohort members
- Get questions answered before week one
Week 1: The State of Startup Studios & Critical Design Choices
Week 2: Establishing Your Advantage
Week 3: Selecting the Right Studio Operating Structure
Week 4: Formulating Early Teams Aiming for Product Excellence in Venture Studios
Week 6: Creating an Investable Ideation and Validation Process
Week 7: Moving from Validation to Product Market Fit
Week 8: Raising the Right Way — Funding Your Studio
Pitch Deck Workshop (Optional)
Week 1: The State of Startup Studios & Critical Design Choices
Join Alper Celen from Enhance Ventures for a discussion on critical design choices that studio leaders must make in the early stages. Explore global research findings and engage in debates on key studio topics such as talent search and cap-table distribution.
Taught by Alper Celen from Enhance Ventures:
Founder of Enhance Ventures, a venture studio for online vertical marketplaces in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey. Alper’s extensive experience includes founding FOODONCLICK.com and serving as an active high-tech startup investor and advisor.
Alper’s portfolio includes successful ventures such as JOI GIFTS, CLEVR, BLUE TERRA, BUGLANCE, MUBI, ZENSION, and TAGVANCE. With an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a background in Electrical Engineering, Alper brings a wealth of knowledge to the program.
Week 2: Establishing Your Advantage
Tom Higley from XGenesis guides you through defining your studio’s focus, a foundational piece in building a successful studio. Explore how this focus influences team building, startup growth, and overall structure.
Taught by Tom Higley from XGenesis:
Founder & CEO of 10.10.10, Co-Founder and CEO of X Genesis. Tom’s expertise lies in working with experienced entrepreneurs addressing challenges in climate change, water, health, wellness, learning, and work. As a TechStars mentor and angel investor, Tom brings practical insights to help you establish your advantage.
Week 3: Selecting the Right Studio Operating Structure
John Carbrey from FutureSight helps you lay the foundation for success by delving into the legal and funding infrastructure of your studio. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of different options and learn why studios approach their design choices differently.
Taught by John Carbrey from FutureSight:
A successful repeat entrepreneur, John founded FutureSight, a venture studio specializing in building B2B software startups for mid-market businesses. John’s accolades include Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and BDC Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Week 4: Formulating Early Teams
Michael Van Lier from Builders provides insights into building the right team composition for your studio. Learn how to build a diverse team and assess/recruit founders as you bring them on board.
Taught by Michael Van Lier from Builders:
Michael, the MD, and founding partner of Builders, a Rotterdam-based startup studio, shares his two-decade experience in founding and scaling tech companies. His expertise lies at the intersection of cloud hosting, tech startups, software consulting, and early-stage investing.
Week 5: Aiming for Product Excellence in Venture Studios
Understand the lifecycle of a studio company as it moves through ideation/validation, seed financing, and scale. Discover the role the studio plays at each stage with host Miles Dotson from Devland, a co-founding partner supporting and investing in creators, small business builders, researchers, and startup innovators.
Week 6: Creating an Investable Ideation and Validation Process
T.A. McCann from Pioneer Square Labs guides you in creating a process for generating and validating ideas. Learn the predictable process to bring high-quality startup ideas to investors, emphasizing the ruthless elimination of early-stage ideas for studio value creation.
Taught by T.A. McCann from Pioneer Square Labs:
A serial entrepreneur, T.A. McCann brings his experience as the founder and CEO of Senosis, Gist, and Rival IQ. As a former EIR at Polaris Venture Partners and Microsoft senior leader, he shares insights into startup experience and effective ideation.
Week 7: Moving from Validation to Product Market Fit
Wenyi Cai from Polymath Ventures explores the key steps to finding Product Market Fit (PMF). Understand the crucial match between an underserved sizable market and a superior product before investing in growth.
Taught by Wenyi Cai from Polymath Ventures:
As the Founder & CEO of Polymath Ventures, Wenyi co-founded ventures that raised over 40M USD through Polymath’s platform. Her background includes quantitative trading, applied physics research, and COO of Milo.com.
Week 8: Raising the Right Way — Funding Your Studio
Todd Ehrlich from Rule 1 Ventures provides insights into funding your studio’s operations. Learn to choose the right combination of sweat equity, bootstrapping, raising a round, and alternative revenue models based on what makes the most sense for your studio.
Taught by Todd Ehrlich from Rule 1 Ventures:
As the Co-Founder, CEO, and General Partner of Rule 1 Ventures, Todd’s experience spans successful startups in financial services, technology, equipment leasing, and consumer products. His leadership background includes founding and running BAMFi, Triserv, and Kill Cliff.
Optional: Pitch Deck Workshop
Hosted by Matt Gore from Optio.io, this workshop is an opportunity to gain insights into creating powerful pitch decks. Matt, a Managing Partner and VC professor at Texas A&M, shares tips and tricks, making this bonus session completely optional for participants.