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Founders & Innovators
Only at the IPN SUMMIT.
Founders & Innovators
Sessions
Explore our lineup of keynote speakers and industry leaders who will inspire and enlighten at the conference.
Panel Discussion
Bootstrap, Borrow, or Blow Up: How Founders Really Fund Their First Year
As part of the Founder Track team for the IPN Summit, this live, podcast-style panel featuring founders who have taken very different paths to fund their first year, from personal credit and SBA loans to accelerators, and venture capital. We'll unpack the real-world fundraising stories, trade-offs, and lessons learned that aren't often shared on stage. The session will include: 40-minute moderated panel discussion, live audience Q&A, optional networking before or after.
Panel Discussion
From Idea to Impact: How Young Builders Spot What the World Actually Needs (open to ages 18-29)
As part of the Founder Track for the IPN Summit, this live panel featuring founders who built impactful companies in their 20s or earlier. Panelists will share how they uncovered the problems that led to their ventures -- sometimes in unlikely places. Then, attendees (ages 18-29) will participate in a hands-on workshop where they learn how to identify problems, streamline workflows, and solve pain points. The session will include: 45-minute moderated panel discussion, 15-minute live audience Q&A, 30-minute hands-on workshop with panelists as mentors, optional networking after.
Panel Discussion
From Idea to Pre-Seed $$$$
This will be a 90-minute session during which founders will learn how to craft a clear, compelling pitch and navigate the pre-seed fundraising process. We'll open with a 30-minute talk by Aliya Lakhani from Precursor Ventures covering what early stage investors look for, how to shape your story, and how to prepare for meetings. Next, we'll host two engaging 30-minute panels: Investor Panel: Hear directly from VCs about how they evaluate teams, markets, and opportunities in today's pre-seed environment. Founder Panel: Learn from entrepreneurs who recently raised their rounds on what worked, what didn't, and how they turned no's into yes's.
Round Table
High Stakes, Clear Mind: Founder Thinking Under Pressure with 2x founder Alykhan Rehmatullah
What separates founders who survive from those who scale isn't just grit -- it's emotional regulation. In this powerful session, Alykhan Rehmatullah, founder of Altru (acquired by iCIMS) and now building Kalpa, takes us inside the mind of a builder who's done it twice -- from first-time founder chaos to second-time clarity. Through an intimate fireside conversation and a hands-on workshop, Alykhan will unpack the mental frameworks that anchor him through fundraising, early customer chaos, team growth, and the inevitable founder rollercoaster. Expect real talk about stress, ego, resilience, and leadership at scale, plus tactical tools to strengthen your emotional operating system before your company outgrows it. Walk away with a grounded mindset, actionable mental models, and the self-awareness to build boldly without burning out.
Panel Discussion
How Much Will Your Customers Pay: Hands-on Pricing Workshop for Founders
During this session, we'll break down how companies like OpenAI actually price their products and why those strategies work (or don't). Through interactive case studies, you'll see the decision-making behind different pricing models and learn how to apply similar thinking to your own product. You'll walk away with frameworks for pricing when the market is moving fast.
Keynote
SUMMIT KEYNOTE: Beyond the $Billion: Scaling with Values, Vision, and Impact
True scale isn't just about speed or valuation -- it's about integrity, connection, and the people who help you build the right way. Beyond the Billion brings together Ismaili founders who have each built billion-dollar enterprises, on stage together for a founder-to-founder conversation. Our founders include Kabir Barday, Arif Nathoo, Farid Virani, Rudy Karsan, and more, moderated by Asif Ramji (Venture Worx) and Shireen Jaffer (Skillify). They'll dig into what it really means to build well -- to scale without shortcuts, lead with integrity under pressure, and make decisions that compound trust, not just valuation. Each founder will share how community created their unfair advantage from mentors who guided pivotal moments to networks that opened doors when capital alone couldn't.
Round Table
Tea Time with Unicorn Builders: Building With Love and Soul In A Chaotic World
What do the people operating at the highest levels of capitalism see that most of us don't? And what do they know first-hand about how the world is being reshaped by the tension between love and greed, abundance and scarcity, ego and service, in this new age of AI? In this intimate, behind-the-scenes conversation, unicorn-level builders Tabreez Verjee, Xue Mei Devand, Rudy Karsan, and Shireen Jaffer sit down for a raw exploration of what it means to build with soul in a chaotic, accelerated world. These are leaders who have spent decades in boardrooms and founder journeys where values aren't slogans, they are the real forces shaping outcomes, culture, and legacy. Together, they'll unpack the subtle but powerful tension between love and greed, the private conversations happening among top investors and operators as AI reshapes humanity, and why joy, generosity, and community are becoming strategic advantages in the age of exponential technology. This session is for anyone curious about the future of leadership -- not the glossy, PR version, but the honest, human truth from those who see the system from the inside.
Round Table
Unicorn Founder & former CTO of the USA, Todd Park: Lessons from Playing at the Highest Levels of Capitalism
What if the greatest unfair advantage in business isn't capital, speed, or strategy but love? In this fireside, Todd Park, co-founder of Devoted Health and athenahealth, and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer under President Obama, and Tabreez Verjee, serial founder and early investor in Kiva, Change.org, and Devoted Health, sit down with Shireen Jaffer to share what they've learned from operating at the highest levels of capitalism. This is a rare look inside how the best in the world are redefining power, success, and what it means to win.
Founders & Innovators
Other Tracks
Explore our lineup of keynote speakers and industry leaders who will inspire and enlighten at the conference.
