Founders' Mindset: The Room Where It Happens
Founders' Mindset: The Room Where It Happens
You're smart enough to know what you don't know.
When do I hire? Do I raise? Is this go-to-market right? How do I manage inventory without killing my cash flow? How can I leverage AI more?
Most advice comes from people who either did this a decade ago, or never did it at all.
April 24th, you're in the room with the people who actually know.
Thirty seats. Five sessions. Live Q&A after every one.
The Sessions
The Corner Office — You don't need to hire full-time yet. A fractional CFO & CMO unpack how to get senior firepower without the overhead.
The War Room — Real go-to-market launch stories from operators who found traction. What worked, what wasted months, and how to stop testing the wrong things.
The Engine Room — From strategy to the messy reality of making things move. What to hire, when to hire, and how to manage inventory without killing your cash flow.
The Vault — What actually matters when it comes to funding. And what's just noise.
The Control Room — How to use AI as real leverage — and whether you're actually doing that or just scratching the surface.
Who's in the Room
Mike Jones — General Partner at Science Inc. $3.7B in exits including Dollar Shave Club. Portfolio includes Liquid Death, Final Boss Sour, Pray.com. Angel exits top $6B — Scopely, Maker Studios, GoodReads. Former CEO of MySpace, youngest SVP at AOL.
Natasha Case — Co-Founded Coolhaus on a Craigslist postal van at Coachella. Scaled it to 10 trucks, 2 brick-and-mortars, and 4,000+ grocery doors including Whole Foods and Kroger. Forbes & Zagat 30 Under 30. Now CEO of Lunch Bunch and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of LA. Former Walt Disney Imagineer turned food entrepreneur, author, and board member across civic and consumer brands.John Gibb — Founded HighKey Snacks, Moon Cheese, and Fermenta. Built consumer brands from scratch, got them onto retail shelves, and scaled the operations behind them.
Melissa Kalimov — COO of As Ever. Formerly co-founder/COO/CMO of RISE Brewing Co., scaled it from zero to 20k+ doors, and sold in 2024. Action-oriented leader & doer.
Toni Peneva — Fractional CFO and owner of Ocean Park Financial. Works with startups, studios, and bootstrapped founders every day — not in theory, in their actual numbers.
Vanessa Ting — Fractional CMO for growth-stage CPG brands in food, personal care, and wellness. Ex-Retail Buyer at Target, marketer at Neutrogena, CEO of a venture-backed food company. From revitalizing brands to national retail launches — she's done it from every angle.
Michael Galef — Co-Founder of 5G Group. 20+ years across ConAgra, Dole, and Wonderful Brands. Scaled Emergen-C, Rainbow Light, and Gardein through private equity to acquisition. Took Evergreen Waffles from 500 to 12,000+ retail locations in 20 months.
Marco Rullo — Entrepreneur, operator, and serial CxO, with a successful exit and roots in top-tier consulting. He currently co-owns a tech company and works closely with startups and venture incubators.
Mana Yamawaki — CEO of E-studio, a venture incubator. Trained in strategy & ops consulting, PE & VC ($20B), and new business creation from tech to consumer sectors.
Won't be recorded. 30 seats. The room is the point.
9:30 AM doors
10:00 AM–3:00 PM sessions
3:00–4:00 PM mixer
$75 early bird · $100 general
You will leave with clarity on what to do next.
Powered by E-studio, an LA-based venture incubator focused on the gut-mind-heart connection