Bonfire Ventures Founder Summit Program

FOUNDER SUMMIT

Oct 2-4 ,2023 / Encinitas, CA

Welcome Summit Partners

We are delighted to welcome you to this year's Founder Summit, an event specially crafted for the leaders driving our community forward.

Over the next 2.5 days, expect in-depth discussions, valuable insights, and exceptional networking opportunities designed to make our collective aspirations burn bright.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our thoughtfully selected summit partners.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership and continued support for Bonfire Ventures and the remarkable founders that we back.

Surfs

up, The Bonfire Team

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Day 1 - 10/2/23

10:30 - 11:20 am Breakout Sessions 1-3

Breakout 1: What level of remote work actually works? Pros, cons, and pathways forward

9:00 - 9:50 pm Fireside Chat: Lessons in LeadershipLearnings from My Army Deployment and Time as CRO of Pendo with Bryon Coro

Start-up leaders and military leaders share more in common than at first glance - i.e. threat identification, prioritization, delegation, and teamwork. This fireside chat will explore lessons learned under extreme pressure in both worlds and discuss both the powerful differences and parallels. Discover how a resilient mindset not only helps entrepreneurs overcome challenges, but also shapes effective leadershipin the most demanding situations. 3

Day 2 - 10/3/23

6:30 - 7:15 am

7:00 - 8:30 am

8:30 - 9:20 am The Founder Mental Game with CEO Coach and Founder of Stitcher, Noah Shanok, (FOUNDER ONLY SESSION - No Partners or Bonfire Team Members)

Elon Musk said that “starting a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.” Being a startup founder is incredibly stressful. No job requires more creativity, productivity and leadership but often leads to imposter syndrome, self-doubt and burnout. Managing your own psychology is the most important thing that is at least somewhat within your control. While there are no silver bullets and everyone is different, you are not alone and there are several habits that can help. Hear from Noah Shanok, Founder of Stitcher, about his journey and some things that helped him along the way.

9:25 - 9:30 am Partner Lightning Talk: Moss Adams 1

9:30 - 10:30 am Intentionally Building a Culture for Scale with SVP of Operations at Stripe, Elaine Page and Jen Richard, Principal, Bonfire Ventures

It is incredibly difficult as a founder to transition effectively from managing at first a small “scrum team” of IC’s to eventually directing a team of cross-functional leaders and dozens or 100s

Navigating the post-pandemic world presents a unique conundrum: what's the ideal blend of in-person and remote work to fuel the success of your start-up? The solutions aren't black and white. While in-person settings may expedite learning cycles and nurture a closely-knit team, remote hiring broadens your talent pool dramatically. In this session, you'll gain insight from two contrasting viewpoints.

Conversation Sparkers: Jason Heidema (CEO, Atrium) - In person, Robbie Bhathal (CEO, Brightflow) - Remote 1

Breakout 2: Building and scaling your sales organization

In the SaaS landscape, success hinges on maximizing the potential of your sales reps - they are the engines of growth and efficiency. Transitioning from a lean, founder-driven sales team to a robust sales organization, however, is a challenging feat. Join veteran CRO Patrick MacKenzie (Alvys) for what is sure to be a lively discussion on the hard-earned lessons and helpful tips for founders navigating this transition.

Conversation Sparkers: Patrick MacKenzie (CRO, Alvys), Armen Adjemian (CEO, Disqo) 2

Breakout 3: Hiring and building a world class development team

Everyone here is a software company, and absent amazing software, achieving your ambitious goals won’t happen. In this competitive environment, it’s incredibly hard to hire and motivate “five great devs” in the early days and as you grow. Two great CTOs will spark a lively discussion on what has worked for them and should for everyone else. Conversation Sparkers: Josh Holat (CTO, Cube), Leo Gorodinski (CTO, Alvys) 4

11:30 - 12:20 pm Breakout sessions 4-6

Breakout 4: Pipeline, pipeline, pipeline

Ensuring you have enough pipeline is a top concern for every founder at this stage. The old model of simply overbidding on SEM or hiring more SDR’s is not bearing the same fruit as it once did. This discussion will cover best practices, and what founders should change now to ensure they have the pipeline they need to achieve their target results.

Conversation Sparkers: Dave Fink (CEO, Postie), Terri Avnaim (CMO, Boulevard) 1

Breakout 5: Building the right post-sales org to drive retention & minimize churn

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KEY Restrooms Water

Refill Stairway Elevator

of employees. The best companies define, build, and maintain a very intentional culture as they scale. Hear from Elaine Page, how TaxJar drove a winning and sustaining culture and how key that culture was in their eventual exit to Stripe. 1

Gross and net-retention are two of the most important metrics for any SaaS company. Poor ones can signal a lack of product-market fit and are real killers to both a company’s momentum and efficiency metrics. That being said, investing excessively in customer success resources can hurt your magic number and can indicate an ‘incomplete” product. This breakout will cover strategies to get this right and specific skills to look for when hiring a success team.

Conversation Sparkers: Robbins Schrader (CEO, Saferide), Danny Freed (CEO, Blueprint)

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Breakout 6: How should I be thinking about GenAI in product & engineering?

Aside from the big shift to cheaper, remote talent, product and engineering organizations haven't changed much in 20 years. The processes, roles, and tools are default. Now, Generative AI like GitHub Copilot and the forthcoming "X" aim to dramatically shake things up. What are the ethical, legal, and security concerns we should be aware of? How do we think strategically about how GenAI can enhance our product? This promise has come and gone in the past, so what makes it different now?

Conversation

12:20

Brightflow),

1:30 - 2:20 pm How To Scale a High Performance Team from 20 to 250 People

In the early days, it’s often just you and a few people, doing everything and knowing everything. To scale to win, every founder must build a high performing machine. However, making that transition successfully is tricky on multiple fronts - including (but not limited to) creating repeatable processes, upleveling your leadership teams, and building the right communications and management cadence. This lively panel will share the mistakes and lessons learned along that journey. Panelists: Robbins Schrader (CEO, Saferide), Armen Adjemian (CEO, Disqo), Matt Danna (CEO, Boulevard), Atif Siddiqi (CEO, Branch), Moderator: Brett Queener, (Managing Director, Bonfire Ventures) 1

2:30 - 3:20 pm Breakout Sessions 7-9

Breakout 7: How to hire and manage a great CMO

Almost every founder here has struggled with hiring the right marketing leader for their organization. Why is this position so hard to get right, and why do founders struggle with how best to manage and motivate their CMOs to succeed? Matt (CEO) & Terri (CMO) from Boulevard will share what they got right in this discussion that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Conversation Sparkers: Matt Danna (CEO, Boulevard), Terri Avnaim (CMO, Boulevard) 1

Breakout 8: How to get recruiting right

It’s a simple fact that startups that hire the best people usually outperform their competition significantly. However, despite the abundance of VC dollars in the system, the market remains incredibly competitive when it comes to attracting great talent with the acumen and determination you need. This discussion will cover how to get recruiting right, when to hire recruiters, how to source talent effectively, and how to ensure your hiring process filters out the wheat from the chaff. Conversation

Sparkers: Elaine Page (SVP of Operations, Stripe), Jon Carter (CEO, Prado), Robbie Bhathal (CEO, Brightflow) 2

Breakout 9: How to adjust your plans when things don’t go according to plan?

No startup’s business is always up and to the right. The best founders are agile and know how and when to respond to plan for over- or under-performance. However, it’s very hard to discern when that moment is - especially in the early days when you have a limited number of market signals to guide you. This breakout will cover when and how best to re-plan and readjust your team’s size, efforts, and focus.

Conversation Sparkers: Atif Siddiqi (CEO, Branch), Lorien Gabel (CEO, Figment) 4

3:30 - 4:20 pm Masterclasses 1-3

Masterclass 1: Guarding Your Treasury - A Founder’s Blueprint for Cash Optimization and Financial Resilience with JP Morgan

This session discusses how to optimize your liquidity and steps founders can take to manage counterparty risk,

preserve their hard-earned cash, and build investment policies that stand the test of time. Ella Wood (Client Advisor, Executive Director, JP Morgan Asset Management) 1

Masterclass 2: Maximizing Tax Benefits - Unleash the Power of SALT and R&D Incentives for Tech Companies with Moss Adams

This session breaks down the tax maze for tech companies. We'll focus on key areas like State and Local Tax (SALT)— covering sales tax and multi-state income—and dive into R&D credits. Learn how to navigate these tax hurdles at any stage of your company's growth. Peter Henderson (Partner, CPA, Moss Adams) and Adam Cline (Partner, State & Local Tax, Moss Adams) 2

Masterclass 3: Mastering the Boardroom: Navigating the Complexities of Corporate Governance with Fenwick

This comprehensive session covers everything from contractual hierarchy and board responsibilities to executive and stockholder roles. Dive deep into the fundamentals of effective board meetings, learn how to set actionable agendas, and discover the pitfalls to avoid. Equip yourself with the knowledge to lead with authority and accountability. Josh

8:30 - 9:20 am Panel: A Roadmap for Fundraising Success in Today’s Environment: The New Bar for Raising Your Next Round

The funding environment for seed and Series A stage companies has changed significantly in the last 18 months. No longer are firms jumping over themselves to pay 100X ARR for companies that tip-toe over the 1M ARR line or show terrific growth but horrible efficiency. Hear from this great panel of investors and founders around how best to raise in this new environment. Panelists: Wes Nichols (Partner, March Capital), Mallun Yen (Founder, Operator Collective), Nick Ornitz (CEO, Topline Pro), Danny Freed (CEO, Blueprint), Moderator: Jim Andelman (Co-founder and Managing Director, Bonfire Ventures)

9:30 - 10:20 AM

AI in Action: How Bonfire Founders Use AI to Enhance Their Products and Streamline Operations

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Presenters: Jason Heidema (CEO, Atrium), Gaurav Bhattacharya (CEO, Involve.ai), Nick Ornitz (CEO, Topline Pro), Ethan Barhydt (CEO, VoiceOps)

10:30 - 11:20 am

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How to Ensure You Have a Killer Product That Matters with Alex Kazerani, OpenPath, CEO

All CEOs are essentially project managers. How do you strip away your own bias and passion to truly understand and validate the core problem you're solving? 1

11:30 - 11:45