Fundraising Essentials for Founders with Brown Rudnick & Dorm Room Fund
Fundraising Essentials with Brown Rudnick and Dorm Room Fund
Raising capital is one of the most critical and challenging milestones for early stage founders. Join us for an evening designed to demystify the fundraising process and give founders practical insights into how investors and legal partners think about early stage financing.
This session will bring together perspectives from venture and legal experts to help founders better understand fundraising strategy, common pitfalls, and how to position their company for early traction. Whether you are exploring your first round or preparing for upcoming conversations with investors, this event will provide actionable guidance in a collaborative and approachable setting.
Agenda
6:00 pm: Registration and Networking
6:20 pm: Fundraising Overview with Scott Smedresman from Brown Rudnick
6:50 pm: AMA with Madison Jacox from Dorm Room Fund
7:20 pm: Open Networking
About the Speakers
Scott Smedresman is the Chair of the Technology Group at Brown Rudnick, an international boutique law firm with a specialty in venture capital. Scott represents funds and founders at all stages, from company organizations through liquidity, and handles dozens of venture transactions annually. In addition to his legal practice, Scott is an educator and mentor with key academic entrepreneurship centers, including MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell Tech, and Yale, among others.
Madison Jacox is a Principal at Dorm Room Fund, where she invests in standout student and recent alumni founders and leads a 60+ member student investment team. She works closely with early-stage companies across all aspects of company building, from product to growth. Previously, she helped found Sidebar, a venture-backed future-of-work platform, where she led product development, user research, and early growth strategy. She has also worked at Hangar, Mike Bloomberg and Tom Secunda’s startup studio, as well as across public sector and technology roles including IBM and the NYC Mayor’s Office.
Come connect with fellow founders, trainees, and members of the biotech and startup ecosystem while learning directly from leaders supporting the next generation of companies.