Sponsored by Legacy Sponsor: The City of Phoenix
This summer at Venture Café Phoenix, we’re inviting you to go on a journey with us, into the real, unfiltered stories of entrepreneurship.
Launching June 25th and running weekly through September 3rd, our Founder Journeys Summer Series will feature a different founder from our community each week in an intimate fireside chat format, moderated by the Venture Café Phoenix team.
Together, we’ll explore how they got started, the challenges they’ve faced, where they found funding, and what they’re building next. But beyond the startup story, we’ll go deeper, into the role community has played in shaping their path.
We’ll ask founders how engaging with Venture Café has impacted their journey, where they are today because of those connections, and what support has mattered most along the way. And just as importantly, we’ll explore how they want to give back, how they can support the broader ecosystem as it continues to grow.
This series is designed to be a two-way conversation between founders and community: learning from those building in real time, and strengthening the network that helps them (and all of us) move forward together.
Sponsored by: Extraordinary Network
In Partnership with Club Lumen and The Morning Rave™
Sponsored by Legacy Sponsor:
AI Ask Me Anything (AMA) — Get Real Answers from AI Experts (Live at Venture Café)
Curious about AI but not sure where to start—or stuck trying to actually use it in your work?
Join us for a 90-minute, open AMA with the Serpico AI Learning Center experts. This is your chance to ask anything and get real, practical answers on the spot.
Whether you’re exploring tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Midjourney—or just trying to figure out what AI can actually do for you—we’ll help you cut through the noise.
What you’ll get:
Live answers to your specific questions
Practical use cases you can apply immediately
Help troubleshooting prompts, workflows, or ideas
Insight from experts actively using AI in real business scenarios
No presentations. No fluff. Just direct access to people doing the work.
Bring your questions. Bring your laptop if you want.
Programming in Partnership with Serpico AI Learning Center
Fashion is one of the most polluting and resource-intensive industries in the world. It accounts for an estimated 2–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a fifth of industrial water pollution, and a significant share of ocean microplastics, and most of what it produces is worn 7–10 times before it's discarded. Rather than treating circularity as a cost program, a new generation of founders is building it into the business itself. Resale, repair, rental, and take-back are becoming revenue streams, reaching $700B by 2030. Donatela will share how Alu is helping brands make this shift, turning a QR code on a care label into a direct channel between a brand and the person wearing the product. This conversation will explore how brands are decoupling profitability from new production, how consumer behavior is forcing the change (and why it's a prerequisite for lasting change), and why fashion is the blueprint for other industries.
In Partnership with: ExtendEV and Power48
Arrive early for your chance to connect with Merl Martin, CEO of Bennu Systems. Learn how to put Claude to work on the work you don't want to do.
Mentor Hours meetings begin at 4:30pm and run in 15-minute slots
Please note: Mentor Hours are first come first served and must be done on-site at the event. A sign-up sheet will be located at the room where the mentor is stationed, so be sure to stop by early to secure your spot."
Arrive early for your chance to connect with Ioana Neacsu, Founder of Ioana Neacsu Consulting LLC. These mentor hours will focus on sales fundamentals, pipeline strategy, account growth, strategic client partnersships, sales performance improvements and more.
Mentor Hours meetings begin at 4:30pm and run in 15-minute slots
Please note: Mentor Hours are first come first served and must be done on-site at the event. A sign-up sheet will be located at the room where the mentor is stationed, so be sure to stop by early to secure your spot.
In partnership with Resolution Resource Group
Whether you're attending for the first time or looking to get more involved, this orientation is the perfect place to begin. Learn what Venture Café Phoenix is all about, discover the content and networking opportunities available each week, and explore how to make the most of your experience. We'll share tips for building meaningful connections, navigating the Thursday Gathering, engaging with the community, and finding the people, programs, and resources that can help you achieve your goals. Come ready to ask questions, meet fellow newcomers, and leave feeling confident about making Venture Café part of your innovation journey.
Bringing new medical devices and technologies to the clinic involves a series of scientific, business, and regulatory challenges. One critical gate between a new technology and its use in real-world healthcare settings is approval by a hospital Value Analysis Committee (VAC). Communicating the safety, efficacy, cost, and value of a new device or product demands a succinct, persuasive presentation. In this session, we'll see a real-world example: HemaSense, an Arizona MedTech startup, will present its new technology to a panel of hospital stakeholders in a mock VAC review, followed by audience Q&A.
Join Whitney Slightham, CEO and Co-Founder of Ateleva, for a conversation on transforming healthcare through medical device innovation. This fireside chat explores how identifying a critical unmet need in pulmonary care led to the development of a breakthrough technology designed to improve outcomes for patients experiencing localized lung collapse and other respiratory complications.
From concept to commercialization, Whitney will share insights into the entrepreneurial journey of building a healthcare startup at the intersection of medicine, engineering, and innovation. The discussion will highlight the realities of developing life-changing technologies, navigating the challenges of the medical device industry, securing clinical validation, and building a company dedicated to improving patient care. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on translating bold ideas into impactful solutions and what it takes to bring innovation from the lab to the bedside.
Join Vincent Serpico, founder of Founders Workshop and Serpico AI, for an engaging conversation about entrepreneurship, emerging technology, and what comes after a successful exit. Vincent is also the founder of Venture Café Phoenix’s AI Meetup for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, a growing community that gathers every fourth Thursday to help business owners understand and apply artificial intelligence.
Vincent will share lessons from building Founders Workshop, navigating a successful exit, and launching Serpico AI. This fireside chat will explore the realities of growing and exiting a company, the opportunities AI is creating for entrepreneurs, and what Vincent is building next. Whether you’re a founder, business leader, technologist, or aspiring entrepreneur, you’ll gain practical insights into innovation, reinvention, and preparing for the next era of business.
Sponsored by Legacy Sponsor: The City of Phoenix
This summer at Venture Café Phoenix, we’re inviting you to go on a journey with us, into the real, unfiltered stories of entrepreneurship.
Launching June 25th and running weekly through September 3rd, our Founder Journeys Summer Series will feature a different founder from our community each week in an intimate fireside chat format, moderated by the Venture Café Phoenix team.
Together, we’ll explore how they got started, the challenges they’ve faced, where they found funding, and what they’re building next. But beyond the startup story, we’ll go deeper, into the role community has played in shaping their path.
We’ll ask founders how engaging with Venture Café has impacted their journey, where they are today because of those connections, and what support has mattered most along the way. And just as importantly, we’ll explore how they want to give back, how they can support the broader ecosystem as it continues to grow.
This series is designed to be a two-way conversation between founders and community: learning from those building in real time, and strengthening the network that helps them (and all of us) move forward together.
Sponsored by: Extraordinary Network
In Partnership with Club Lumen and The Morning Rave™
Sponsored by Legacy Sponsor:
AI Ask Me Anything (AMA) — Get Real Answers from AI Experts (Live at Venture Café)
Curious about AI but not sure where to start—or stuck trying to actually use it in your work?
Join us for a 90-minute, open AMA with the Serpico AI Learning Center experts. This is your chance to ask anything and get real, practical answers on the spot.
Whether you’re exploring tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Midjourney—or just trying to figure out what AI can actually do for you—we’ll help you cut through the noise.
What you’ll get:
Live answers to your specific questions
Practical use cases you can apply immediately
Help troubleshooting prompts, workflows, or ideas
Insight from experts actively using AI in real business scenarios
No presentations. No fluff. Just direct access to people doing the work.
Bring your questions. Bring your laptop if you want.
Programming in Partnership with Serpico AI Learning Center
Fashion is one of the most polluting and resource-intensive industries in the world. It accounts for an estimated 2–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a fifth of industrial water pollution, and a significant share of ocean microplastics, and most of what it produces is worn 7–10 times before it's discarded. Rather than treating circularity as a cost program, a new generation of founders is building it into the business itself. Resale, repair, rental, and take-back are becoming revenue streams, reaching $700B by 2030. Donatela will share how Alu is helping brands make this shift, turning a QR code on a care label into a direct channel between a brand and the person wearing the product. This conversation will explore how brands are decoupling profitability from new production, how consumer behavior is forcing the change (and why it's a prerequisite for lasting change), and why fashion is the blueprint for other industries.
In Partnership with: ExtendEV and Power48
Arrive early for your chance to connect with Merl Martin, CEO of Bennu Systems. Learn how to put Claude to work on the work you don't want to do.
Mentor Hours meetings begin at 4:30pm and run in 15-minute slots
Please note: Mentor Hours are first come first served and must be done on-site at the event. A sign-up sheet will be located at the room where the mentor is stationed, so be sure to stop by early to secure your spot."
Arrive early for your chance to connect with Ioana Neacsu, Founder of Ioana Neacsu Consulting LLC. These mentor hours will focus on sales fundamentals, pipeline strategy, account growth, strategic client partnersships, sales performance improvements and more.
Mentor Hours meetings begin at 4:30pm and run in 15-minute slots
Please note: Mentor Hours are first come first served and must be done on-site at the event. A sign-up sheet will be located at the room where the mentor is stationed, so be sure to stop by early to secure your spot.
In partnership with Resolution Resource Group
Whether you're attending for the first time or looking to get more involved, this orientation is the perfect place to begin. Learn what Venture Café Phoenix is all about, discover the content and networking opportunities available each week, and explore how to make the most of your experience. We'll share tips for building meaningful connections, navigating the Thursday Gathering, engaging with the community, and finding the people, programs, and resources that can help you achieve your goals. Come ready to ask questions, meet fellow newcomers, and leave feeling confident about making Venture Café part of your innovation journey.
Bringing new medical devices and technologies to the clinic involves a series of scientific, business, and regulatory challenges. One critical gate between a new technology and its use in real-world healthcare settings is approval by a hospital Value Analysis Committee (VAC). Communicating the safety, efficacy, cost, and value of a new device or product demands a succinct, persuasive presentation. In this session, we'll see a real-world example: HemaSense, an Arizona MedTech startup, will present its new technology to a panel of hospital stakeholders in a mock VAC review, followed by audience Q&A.
Join Whitney Slightham, CEO and Co-Founder of Ateleva, for a conversation on transforming healthcare through medical device innovation. This fireside chat explores how identifying a critical unmet need in pulmonary care led to the development of a breakthrough technology designed to improve outcomes for patients experiencing localized lung collapse and other respiratory complications.
From concept to commercialization, Whitney will share insights into the entrepreneurial journey of building a healthcare startup at the intersection of medicine, engineering, and innovation. The discussion will highlight the realities of developing life-changing technologies, navigating the challenges of the medical device industry, securing clinical validation, and building a company dedicated to improving patient care. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on translating bold ideas into impactful solutions and what it takes to bring innovation from the lab to the bedside.
Join Vincent Serpico, founder of Founders Workshop and Serpico AI, for an engaging conversation about entrepreneurship, emerging technology, and what comes after a successful exit. Vincent is also the founder of Venture Café Phoenix’s AI Meetup for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, a growing community that gathers every fourth Thursday to help business owners understand and apply artificial intelligence.
Vincent will share lessons from building Founders Workshop, navigating a successful exit, and launching Serpico AI. This fireside chat will explore the realities of growing and exiting a company, the opportunities AI is creating for entrepreneurs, and what Vincent is building next. Whether you’re a founder, business leader, technologist, or aspiring entrepreneur, you’ll gain practical insights into innovation, reinvention, and preparing for the next era of business.