Building for Resilience: What Makes a Company Hard to Kill?

Technology stopped being a moat. Nobody's written the replacement playbook.

What makes a company hard to kill when the technology behind it keeps changing? And how do you know if what you're building will survive the next twelve months?

The old playbook doesn't work anymore. The honest answer is that it depends on what you build.

In every market: hardware, software or other, durability comes from something different.

Most founders are taught a version of the game that was built for someone else. Without enough market cycles to draw from, it is hard to know which old rules still hold or where they break down.

On September 25, The Founders Guild and Founders Institute are bringing together founders, investors and operators who have watched markets break, shift and rebuild to answer one question: what makes a company hard to kill?

Who should be in the room

Pre-seed and early-stage founders in hardware, software, or biotech, far enough in to want the thing pressure-tested by people who've seen it before

You built something that works, and you can't yet say what stops someone rebuilding it in a weekend

The ground under your category is moving and you're trying to work out how much

Acquired in two years, or built to last; you haven't picked, and you're starting to see those are two different companies

The room is small and every founder in it is vetted. Seats are limited an subject to approval

Friday, September 25

6:00 — doors, drinks

6:30–7:30 — panel

7:30–8:00 — networking with the speakers and the room

Speakers Include:

Ryan Eppley — CEO of Root Access

Jeni Chang — Founder, Investor, and Managing Director of Founders Institute

Linda Hong Cheng — Founder of Abstract Atomic

And more to be announced...

Panel is moderated by Daniel Theobald — World renowned founder, investor, philanthropist and robotisist.