​Starting a company has never been more complicated — or more full of possibility. In this candid, unscripted conversation, Wale Olaleye sits down with a seasoned Philadelphia founder and a serial startup CTO to pull back the curtain on what they know now that they wish they'd known then.

​From navigating product-market fit in a shifting landscape to leveraging AI from day one, this session distills decades of hard-won experience into practical, honest lessons for founders and business owners who are building, scaling, or starting over.

​Expect real talk on the unique advantages of building in Philadelphia, the role engineers play in startup success, how to recover from failure with your momentum intact, and why entrepreneurship — done right — can be a force for good in your community.

​Whether you're pre-revenue or preparing to scale, you'll leave with a clearer sense of what to do — and what to skip — if you were starting a company today.

​Panel

​Tracey Welson-Rossman Chief Marketing Officer at Chariot Solutions, founder of Journal My Health, and founder of TechGirlz, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to inspiring middle school girls to explore careers in technology.

​​Tracey is a recognized leader in the Philadelphia technology community, known for building organizations that empower women in tech and for launching mission-driven startups. She will share insights from her experience as a founder, community builder, and startup leader navigating the realities of building and growing a technology company.

​​Eric Whitten Startup CTO and Director of Engineering at Conceive with over 25 years of experience building and scaling technology teams across multiple industries. Eric has worked alongside founders to architect platforms, grow engineering teams, and guide startups through the challenges of scaling technology organizations. In this talk, he will share lessons from decades of startup wins, failures, and everything in between.

​Wale Olaleye is a Fractional CTO & Founder at Rails Fever where, he helps SaaS companies build new apps, modernize aging applications and design the infrastructure they need to scale. Beyond the code, Wale is known for bringing people together, hosting tech events and working to uplift the Philadelphia tech community.

​Who should attend

​• Small Business Owners
• Startup Founders
• Scaling businesses
• Anyone curious about how successful startups actually get built

​Agenda

​5:00 PM — Networking and refreshments
5:30 PM — Panel Discussion
6:15 PM — Audience Q&A
6:30 PM — Open networking

​This event is free to attend as part of Philly Tech Week

Thanks to our Sponsors

• ​Chariot Solutions

• ​Rails Fever