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:
Arrive early for your chance to connect with Patrick McNeil, Co-Founder & COO of Center for Leadership Capacity. Learn how culture leakage - low trust, poor collaboration, communication breakdowns, burnout and fear of speaking up - quielty erodes an organization's potential.
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 Scott Knutson, co-founder of the Center for Leadership Capacity. Learn how leadership patterns can create friction in your organizations and identify practical adjustments that improve clarity, alignment, decision-making and execution.
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
Come learn about the United Nations Digital Development Goals for Cities initiative, operating under the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and U4SSC. On August 6, we are showcasing the work of Cluster 4, Digital Technology Itself, which covers infrastructure, AI and emerging technology, cybersecurity, data governance, and long-term technological futures. Cluster 4 is asking what it actually takes to build technology cities can trust, not just what technology can do for them. It's part of a broader U4SSC initiative now drawing contributors from close to a thousand experts worldwide. Cluster 4 is stewarded from three cities: London, Manchester, and Phoenix.
Our fireside chat features the graduate team from Thunderbird School of Global Management's Global Challenge Lab, Arizona State University's flagship capstone consulting program, where Master of Global Management candidates work full-time as consultants for real clients around the world. This team spent time in Rotterdam this year, partnering directly with the city and United Nations Working Group 6 to examine how the UN's forthcoming Digital Development Goals for Cities could take shape on the ground. Over the course of their project, they conducted 27 stakeholder interviews across governance, inclusion, infrastructure, innovation, and citizen engagement, work that's now feeding directly into the Cluster's ongoing framework.
In Partnership With: AZCollab
Join Christine Butler, founder and leader at Join Extraordinary, for a conversation on the power of storytelling, media, and community-driven platforms to shape culture and elevate human potential. With a background in building narrative ecosystems and amplifying voices across entrepreneurship and innovation, Christine brings a perspective rooted in connection, communication, and the creation of meaningful platforms.
This fireside chat explores how stories become infrastructure for movements,how ideas spread, communities form, and media can be used not just to inform, but to inspire action and transformation. From building content-driven communities to working alongside founders and thought leaders, Christine shares insights on what it takes to create platforms that resonate deeply and scale authentically.
Every business has issues. Every business leader has issues. Let’s get together and collectively solve them. Join EOS Implementer Rick Benton for a productive hour of solving your issues using a proven process to identify the real root of the challenge, discuss solutions without judgement, and creating actionable solutions to make the issue go away for ever. Come with an issue, help your peers find the right path forward, and leave with a breakthrough.
Join Susan Sly, Founder and CEO of The Pause Technologies, for a conversation on redefining high performance in an age of constant acceleration. This fireside chat explores how leaders, founders, and teams can navigate pressure, prevent burnout, and build sustainable success by integrating intentional pause, human-centered systems, and emerging technology.
Drawing from her experience building at the intersection of entrepreneurship, performance, and innovation, Susan shares insights on what it takes to stay grounded while scaling ambition. The discussion unpacks how modern leaders can balance speed with sustainability, and how new approaches to wellness and productivity are reshaping the way individuals and organizations operate in high-growth environments.
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:
Arrive early for your chance to connect with Patrick McNeil, Co-Founder & COO of Center for Leadership Capacity. Learn how culture leakage - low trust, poor collaboration, communication breakdowns, burnout and fear of speaking up - quielty erodes an organization's potential.
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 Scott Knutson, co-founder of the Center for Leadership Capacity. Learn how leadership patterns can create friction in your organizations and identify practical adjustments that improve clarity, alignment, decision-making and execution.
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
Come learn about the United Nations Digital Development Goals for Cities initiative, operating under the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and U4SSC. On August 6, we are showcasing the work of Cluster 4, Digital Technology Itself, which covers infrastructure, AI and emerging technology, cybersecurity, data governance, and long-term technological futures. Cluster 4 is asking what it actually takes to build technology cities can trust, not just what technology can do for them. It's part of a broader U4SSC initiative now drawing contributors from close to a thousand experts worldwide. Cluster 4 is stewarded from three cities: London, Manchester, and Phoenix.
Our fireside chat features the graduate team from Thunderbird School of Global Management's Global Challenge Lab, Arizona State University's flagship capstone consulting program, where Master of Global Management candidates work full-time as consultants for real clients around the world. This team spent time in Rotterdam this year, partnering directly with the city and United Nations Working Group 6 to examine how the UN's forthcoming Digital Development Goals for Cities could take shape on the ground. Over the course of their project, they conducted 27 stakeholder interviews across governance, inclusion, infrastructure, innovation, and citizen engagement, work that's now feeding directly into the Cluster's ongoing framework.
In Partnership With: AZCollab
Join Christine Butler, founder and leader at Join Extraordinary, for a conversation on the power of storytelling, media, and community-driven platforms to shape culture and elevate human potential. With a background in building narrative ecosystems and amplifying voices across entrepreneurship and innovation, Christine brings a perspective rooted in connection, communication, and the creation of meaningful platforms.
This fireside chat explores how stories become infrastructure for movements,how ideas spread, communities form, and media can be used not just to inform, but to inspire action and transformation. From building content-driven communities to working alongside founders and thought leaders, Christine shares insights on what it takes to create platforms that resonate deeply and scale authentically.
Every business has issues. Every business leader has issues. Let’s get together and collectively solve them. Join EOS Implementer Rick Benton for a productive hour of solving your issues using a proven process to identify the real root of the challenge, discuss solutions without judgement, and creating actionable solutions to make the issue go away for ever. Come with an issue, help your peers find the right path forward, and leave with a breakthrough.
Join Susan Sly, Founder and CEO of The Pause Technologies, for a conversation on redefining high performance in an age of constant acceleration. This fireside chat explores how leaders, founders, and teams can navigate pressure, prevent burnout, and build sustainable success by integrating intentional pause, human-centered systems, and emerging technology.
Drawing from her experience building at the intersection of entrepreneurship, performance, and innovation, Susan shares insights on what it takes to stay grounded while scaling ambition. The discussion unpacks how modern leaders can balance speed with sustainability, and how new approaches to wellness and productivity are reshaping the way individuals and organizations operate in high-growth environments.