What Kills Startups (Every Time)

​Success is overhyped. Failure is patterned—and preventable.   

​Everyone teaches how to win. Almost no one studies how startups actually die. 

​And they don’t die randomly. 

​Most failures follow the same patterns—long before the market, product, or team gets blamed. This session breaks down what actually kills startups—and how to avoid it. 

​Hear from Albert Lin, Managing Partner, and a US venture capital GP, sharing lessons from the trenches on what separates companies that survive from those that don’t. 

​🎯 What you’ll walk away with 

• ​The most common (and preventable) startup failure patterns 

• ​How capital structure quietly determines outcomes 

• ​Where governance breaks—and how to fix it early 

• ​What experienced investors look for beyond upside 

​If you’re building or investing in a startup, this is the part no one teaches—and the part that matters most when things go wrong. 

​Toronto Tech Week is a citywide celebration of the people building what’s next. From May 26–29, 2026, founders, investors, and builders come together for hundreds of community-led events across Toronto, connecting tens of thousands of people around Canadian tech. Torontotechweek.com