Event Sessions

Come meet founders from all over the world! Register Here: https://partiful.com/e/JGjmNkDIMboMdDSd3edU?focus=guests Powered by the Arizona Commerce Authority’s International Trade & Investment Office This event is a part of #AZTechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at https://www.arizonatechweek.com

In How to Create a Purpose-Driven Brand, you’ll learn how to build a brand that reflects who you are, what you believe, and the impact you want to make. This talk breaks down how to align purpose with strategy so your brand becomes a powerful tool for connection, leadership, and sustainable growth.

Join us on the main stage for an inspiring showcase of innovation as teams from FEMHACK AZ present the ideas they’ve built during this all-female hackathon. After collaborating across tech, healthcare, product, and business to develop new products or features, selected teams will take the stage to pitch their solutions live. Throughout the hackathon, participants have worked in teams to transform ideas into viable concepts in just two days of focused creativity and collaboration. Now, you’ll have a front-row seat as these teams share their innovations, demonstrate their thinking, and compete for top prizes in front of a panel of judges. Come support these founders, builders, and problem-solvers as they showcase what’s possible when talented women come together to design the future. Expect bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and a high-energy celebration of creativity and entrepreneurship. Judges: Marissa Fayer, CEO, DeepLook Medical Azin van Alebeek, Founding General Partner, Emmeline Ventures Kathy Lynn-Cullotta, Managing Director, Golden Seeds

Despite decades of innovation in mechanical circulatory support, patients with biventricular heart failure still face limited treatment options. This gap is particularly significant for women. While women represent roughly 40–50% of patients with advanced heart failure, they account for only about 20–25% of patients receiving durable mechanical circulatory support today, due in part to anatomical and device size constraints. For more than two decades, the FDA-approved SynCardia Total Artificial Heart has provided life-saving support for patients awaiting heart transplantation. This talk explores how next-generation, fully implantable artificial heart systems built on this clinically proven platform could expand eligibility for therapy, improve patient mobility and quality of life, and open new possibilities for treating advanced heart failure in a broader patient population.

In Collaboration with:FEMHACK AZ

This LEGO® Serious Play® workshop is designed for business leaders seeking innovative decision-making approaches through hands-on building and storytelling. The neuroscience-based method combines analytical thinking with intuition, using 3D models and metaphors to help participants discover authentic solutions during pivotal organizational moments. You'll build models representing your challenges, share stories through your creations, and connect with fellow participants in new ways. This immersive experience unlocks innovation and hidden insights by tapping into knowledge you didn't know you had. No special skills required—just bring curiosity and experience how simple bricks can unlock extraordinary ideas through serious fun.

Arrive early to Venture Café Phoenix for your chance to connect with Jessica Carr, Owner of BeOn Brand Media to gain insights on how to create and stay on brand with your marekting. 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.

Sell Smart - No Fear is a workshop for the Creator or Founder who has created an amazing product or service, but selling makes you feel icky, you are ready to hire your first salesperson or you just want to learn more about the fundamentals for success. We talk about Mindset, Skillset, and the smart use of Data to take the emotion and that icky feeling out of the equation. A business with no revenue is just an expensive hobby.

At this year’s Spring Pitch Night, the two ASU IMPACT (Innovations in Medical and Patient Care Technologies) Biodesign teams unveil venture-ready innovations addressing urgent challenges in gastroenterology: Team Tackle- Reimagining care for ileostomy patients by addressing peristomal skin breakdown—a painful, costly, and often overlooked complication. Team GastroNova- Targeting postoperative ileus—a common and barrier to recovery after surgery. The teams have spent months immersed in clinical environments, validating unmet needs, and building solutions with real-world adoption in mind.Join us to hear about two student-led teams creating a real impact!

In this course we will focus on the core financial aspects of your venture and how to apply that information to build a compelling financial model. This will include specific units on: analyzing your business and revenue model, understanding the core metrics and ""levers"" you have in your business, how those impact your revenue and expense in the future, and how to apply that information to a financial model that tells your company's unique financial story.  After taking this course, you should be equipped with all of the financial tools you need to successfully plan, project, and grow your business! 

Discover how Arizona is turning space innovation into business opportunities in a fireside chat with Skip Williams of Rocket Lab and Colleen McLeod Garner of Paragon Space Development Corporation.This session will explore: How startups are solving real-world problems in space and on EarthInvestment trends and where the next big returns are coming fromLessons from space entrepreneurship that you can apply to your own venturesHow Arizona is becoming a launchpad for the next generation of innovators Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or just curious about where the future of business is headed, get inspired to think bigger—way bigger.   

Join David as he delves into the intricacies of this next space era, where entrepreneurship, geopolitics, and frontier technologies all converge. Through real-world anecdotes from mission control, research labs, and space programs globally, he offers an insider’s look not only into US and European space efforts but also peers under the hood of the Chinese space sector, exploring both its state-led programs and its quasi commercial ventures that are guiding Beijing’s longer term endeavors.  Perfect for anyone curious about:• The future of the space economy• Who’s leading—and why—in the global space race, and perhaps who will win.  Grab your copy of Open Space here