Fundamentals For Startups: Building Products the Big-Tech Way- Mindsets and Methods Every Startup Founder Should Know
Cooley LLP is proud to sponsor this event.
About the Lecture:
This session distills nearly 30 years of building products inside Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon, combined with hands-on mentoring of early-stage founders—into practical lessons entrepreneurs can immediately apply.
Amit will share how the world’s most innovative companies think about product, customers, and long-term value, and how founders can adopt those mindsets early, without slowing themselves down.
Rather than theory, the talk focuses on real frameworks used in Big Tech such as Amazon’s PR/FAQ, Google's design sprints, and Meta’s Move fast approach, and product excellence patterns across multiple companies to help founders avoid common early-stage traps around prioritization, execution, and scaling.
The goal is simple: help startups think beyond the MVP and build products that are resilient, customer-driven, and designed to scale borrowing the DNA of Big Tech without inheriting its bureaucracy.
Speaker:
Amit Chopra brings nearly three decades of experience working across Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, Sun Microsystems, and Digital, with a career that has spanned far beyond a single function. He has worked across product, engineering, strategy, and developer-facing roles, which has given him a holistic view of how great ideas move from concept to reality inside complex organizations. Along the way, he has had the opportunity to live and work in India, the UAE, Singapore, Australia, and the United States, shaping a deeply global perspective on innovation, leadership, and building for diverse markets.
Today, a big part of what motivates Amit is giving back—especially to founders and early-stage teams navigating the uncertainty of building something new. He actively mentors entrepreneurs and students, including through accelerator programs, and Amit genuinely enjoys helping teams think more clearly about product, customers, and long-term impact.
About Fundamentals for Startups:
Fundamentals for Startups is a weekly one-hour lecture series featuring notable experts who share startup-related information, experience, and insights with our entrepreneurial community. From raising capital to scaling to exit strategies, these seasoned guest speakers deliver valuable content designed to help startups and entrepreneurs thrive.
These lectures are open to the public and you do not have to be currently affiliated with the UW or a startup to join. Lunch is provided while supplies last. Advanced registration required. Please note, we are no longer livestreaming these sessions.
Elevators and doors open at 11:30 AM and will close promptly at 12:30 PM. Don't be late!
We hope you can join us!