CNA Insurance’s Post

Last week SXSW EDU held the Launch Competition, an opportunity for seven EdTech start-ups to pitch their products and their impact. Julia Rivard Dexter, OLY, ICD.D represented Shoelace Learning (builders of Dreamscape). The company (or, competition, one might say 😉) was so impressive! During presentations from Cuentología, Maro, Culture Crate, Keenious, NaTakallam, and Struggly, I recognized in real time how their solutions will address problems of practice that many in my circle face in their roles. In fact, if I have your phone number, I may have already texted you a recommendation. 😂 If we haven't chatted yet, please DM me if you're... working on a dissertation, teaching elementary or middle school math, trying to better identify and respond to mental health issues in your student population, or looking to introduce culturally responsive pedagogy via an inquiry-based approach. I've now got knowledge of great products and implementation ideas for all of the above! 🤩

7 founders joining this year's Alt Funding School👇 We've got some incredible founders joining us this year. These 7 are just for starters—with many more amazing startups coming soon (50% of seats are sold already) Reema Vadoliya, People of Data | empowering and providing a voice to underrepresented people whose voices are often lost in data Marie Carlisle, Goldfinger | a design-led social enterprise crafting sustainable and high-quality furniture for individuals and businesses Stiliyana Minkovska, Matrix Health & Care | transforming the gynaecological health and care processes through human-centred design innovation Collette Philip, Brand by Me, | helping social justice-focused organisations embed anti-racism and equity into their brand and communications Leyla Nasib, HappyFam | helping humans be more human through empowering families with children to grow stronger and happier Maddy Alexander-Grout & Vix Munro, Mad About Money App | the Neuroinclusive Money App helping people achieve their money and well-being goals through the power of community Georgia Bondy Well Adapt | An online platform transforming the chronic illness journey by empowering chronically ill people with mentorship, community support, and practical courses to become active managers and experts in their own health and well-being Nothing brings more joy than bringing 40 founders together for seven weeks of practical, hands-on support. It's a shortcut that founders didn't know they needed. I can't wait to get started! 

As part of the GIST business incubation program, Vlad Popov is learning more about the US market, meeting partners, mentors, and investors in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow the news and useful tips on scaling to one of the largest markets in the world!

📈 ScaleUp Week 2024! - Programming Highlights 🎥 That's a wrap (for 2024). Last week we experienced an incredible journey of learning, networking, and growth. Watch the highlight reel to relive the first three days (Gala highlight reel to come!). ScaleUp Week's 2024 Program included: 🔹 24 x 1-hour sessions (recordings will be shared, so watch this space!) 🔹 65 x inspiring speakers 🔹 Over 800 registrants across the whole week! Here's a quick recap of what happened during the first 3 days: 📅 Day 1: Evidence Day (virtual): We examined the latest evidence on scaling up, debunking many of the myths with global thought leaders. 📅 Day 2: Ecosystem Day (in-person): We met as an ecosystem to discuss how the Greater Calgary region ecosystem needs to evolve to support scaling and growth stage ventures. 📅 Day 3: Practice Day (virtual): We discussed and shared the latest best practice on scaling up with those who have been there and done it. Thank you to our fantastic organizing team: Dr. Simon Raby, Tammy Rousseau, Ray DePaul, Maii Ko, Robert Fooks, Sarah Cubillan, Robin Lokhorst, Emily Robitaille, Peter Fenwick, Kassidy Gerhardi, Caitlin McCarthy, Clark Lai, Mariya Besedina, Pietro Breviglieri, Marc Arumi, Adriano Leite, Kathryn Graham, Jennifer Jensen, Brenda Beckedorf Gratitude and appreciation to our 2024 partners for their support in making this event a success: The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University, McLeod Law LLP, Motiv, Growth Catalyst, Calgary Economic Development, The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund, Calgary Innovation Coalition, Alberta Innovates Impact Action Lab, ZayZoon, Copoint, The New Network, Bissett School of Business, Viewpoint Investment Partners, VistaVu Solutions, ARC Financial Corp., Business-National Bank of Canada, Miller Thomson LLP, BDC, Nexix Inc. Stay tuned for the highlight reel of the Gala, which will be released shortly. You won't want to miss it! #GrowthCompass #ScaleUpWeek #ScalingUp #Ecosystem #Growth #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

What does 2x-ing your student engagement in a year look like? We are inviting special guest Cassandra Willard, Esq., Program Director at Blackstone LaunchPad at UCF, to share tactical strategies she's employed to 2X their reach to aspiring entrepreneurs within their massive enrollment of over 68,000+ students. Join in on April 30th at 1pm ET (10am PT) to learn: - Strategies to engage students from the ground up: how to effectively double student reach in one year at the 2nd largest public university in the US - Living and dying by KPIs: how to strategically track the important metrics, make informed decisions, and track your progress year over year - The power of an interconnected network: how UCF and six other universities are centralizing and scaling Florida's innovation ecosystem - Best ways to leverage StartupTree: how UCF's StartupTree usage has grown since 2021 and evolved to match their programming goals Register here! https://lnkd.in/ejPE7vGy

Day 164/365. Recognize that the world isn't confined to simplistic black-and-white viewpoints. Embrace the richness of diverse perspectives, understanding that complexities exist in every situation. By exploring the spectrum of colors, we gain a deeper understanding of the world Reid Hoffman #MentorMe #ReidHoffmanMentorMe #ReidHoffmanBeMyGuide #ReidHoffmanInspired #Passafund #StartupJourney #StartupLife #WeMakeFinancialServiceAccessible #GoIzziLending #GMG

Loving tonight’s educational webinar from Venture For America on Launch your Startup & Biz Development Career w/ VFA featuring the multi-talented Clara Gustafson and MaryCatherine Wright telling us all about VFA’s impactful fellowship program!

With the wrap up of VentureCat, I have competed in almost every student pitch competition: Finalists (top 5%) at TigerLaunch, Tulane, CMU, DePaul, and Rice With also 20+ more that we didn’t even pass the first round These all failed if measured by financial returns. We never won that $100k+ cash prize like others do Reality is tough but fair at the same time! We did win many other things: 1. Free trips - visited some of the most beautiful cities 2. Met incredible founders - shout out to a few I highly respect: Paul Reiss from Protein Pints, Kristen Dunning from Gently Soap, Yujie Wang (王宇杰) from Vocadian — check them out! 3. Closed investments - lost the competitions but raised our pre-seed from the judges 4. Transformed our pitch - can memorize it backwards now loll It sure would’ve been sweet if we took home a big free check… But the money is not everything Experience, connections, knowledge, and humility are just as valuable! Cheers to all the class of ‘24 founders 🎉

Great resource for young founders! 25 lessons from the Idealab founder Bill Gross - these are the lessons he is teaching to entrepreneurial students at Caltech I wish Bill taught these classes during my Caltech days! https://lnkd.in/g2R8teS6 Here is an article from Caltech Magazine talking more about the course: https://lnkd.in/gG-SuZb5 #Caltech #CaltechAlumn #StartupResources #foundersjourney

💡 Good companies need good governance! 🎯 This clearly applies to both established and scaling companies. 👍 And this is exactly why we at ProfiCircle decided to embark on a learning journey with Startup Board Academy! 👨🎓 👩🎓 Building good governance is a process and takes time. 🌟 It is easier to fix governance mistakes or inconsistencies at the early stage, compared to fixing those when the stakes become high. 🤝 Thank you very much for the invitation and great learning! 🙏 With Virginie Verdon, Brigitte Baumann Gervais, Benedict Stalder, Clara Alonso, Stephanie Dalquist, Clayton MacDougald, Shaje Ganny, Anthony Lamy, Aron Clementi, and Eduard Daniliuc. #governance #learning #boards