Navigating The Idea Maze: Mini Symposium

​Too many great founders ask "can I start this?" when the real question is "should I?"

​Incorporating and raising capital is at least a 3-year commitment, even if you realize you're wrong fast. When you factor in the salary, the equity, the career momentum you're walking away from, you're making one of the most serious investments of your life. The difference between "can I" and "should I" is the whole ballgame.

​And yet, the ecosystem is designed to push you forward. Accelerators, EIR programs, incubations — they're built for speed, for momentum, for getting "in the game." That works for some founders. But what about experienced operators who already have domain expertise, a network, and the ability to raise? For you, the question isn't whether you can start a company. It's whether you should commit the next decade to this particular idea.

​Real conviction takes time to develop. It requires mapping out specific predictions about how the world will change, interrogating why those changes haven't happened yet, and pressure-testing your assumptions until you're ready to bet your life on them.

​We're hosting a small symposium to debate exactly this — with investors who run many of these programs themselves. Do accelerators, EIRs, and incubation programs actually matter? Who are they truly for? And who should skip them entirely?

​If you're currently navigating the idea maze, you should walk away with a clearer framework for approaching the earliest stage of company-building — and whether any of these paths are actually worth your time.

​Inspired by Slow's Conviction — read it here: slow.co/conviction

​Schedule and lineup to be shared closer to the event. This event is limited to approved guests only.