Founders Live Media Inc. (founderslive.com) is a global startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem created by Nick Hughes to inspire, educate and entertain entrepreneurs around the world. The Founders Live experience includes unique and unforgettable 99 second pitch competitions in select cities, which create local founder celebrities and bursts open additional pockets of creativity and entrepreneurial activity, as well as within the digital community delivering curated articles, videos, livestreamed expert talks and AMA’s, posts and private member messaging that together make us world-class entrepreneurs.
It all started on a rainy Friday in Seattle
Nick Hughes noticed a growing disconnect between inner early stage entrepreneurial circles and the more general global business population. Specifically, local business networking events lacked uniqueness, authenticity and inspiration. Pitch events tended to be too long and often lose audience attention. He also noticed how disconnected the pockets of local entrepreneurial activity are around the world. During research, he noticed most social media platforms were ill-suited for entrepreneurs who desire connection, content and relevant experiences. Combining it all, Nick was hard pressed to find a centralized environment to connect with other entrepreneurs around the world, highlight emerging entrepreneurial talent, discover relevant and up-to-date content, all within a brand that tied together the detached and separate local startup cultures into the wider global entrepreneurial community.
In March 2014 a simple Friday evening gathering was created for the Seattle startup community, but with a little twist. Nick wanted to create a fun and casual networking event at the same time offering an opportunity for early-stage founders to announce something they recently launched to a roomful of eager entrepreneurs, potential partners and employees. What started as a simple monthly gathering emerged into a must-see event with a cult-like following in the city of Seattle. Feature Friday as it was known at the time became a rite of passage for Seattle founders – giving their 99 second company pitch in front of more than 100 of their peers – gaining both recognition for being a leader in their community as well as learning valuable feedback from the audience. It was during the fall of 2016 Nick put to work much of the feedback the Seattle community had given him, listened as people in other cities asked if they could offer the same event, and ultimately realizing if this event was popular in Seattle it would probably be popular in other parts of the world too.
Coincidentally, in early 2016 Nick had another revelation. Although his writing, videos and other posts were gaining traction with his followers, they lacked a certain shared community element he so desired as a fledgling founder. The entrepreneurial path is lonely, and Nick thought he couldn’t be the only one desiring connection to other founders. Simply put, he wanted a virtual place where others could join him in trading secrets, telling crazy stories, sharing bits of wisdom and entrepreneurial experiences with each other.
Founders Live was launched in May 2016, with the aim to inspire, educate and entertain entrepreneurs around the world. Pretty quickly after Nick launched the Founders Live brand, he noticed a similarity between Feature Friday and his new online community. They both celebrated entrepreneurship and brought people together, connecting like minded individuals around topics, products and companies they were passionate about. The only difference was one was virtual with no borders, and one was a hyper local community event, serving as a beacon of light and inspiration for entrepreneurs in the Seattle area. In the fall of 2016, Nick made the decision to combine these two entities into one entrepreneurial focused brand called Founders Live and bring it to other corners of the world. The unique event equation offers a values driven community, fast-paced pitch competitions, real time audience voting, livestreaming to social media, and inspiring leadership. By combining locally organized pitch competitions with an online community, Founders Live celebrates entrepreneurship and brings people together, connecting like minded individuals around informative entrepreneurial talks, AMA’s, industry topics, products and companies they are passionate about. The Founders Live brand serves as a beacon of light and inspiration for entrepreneurs and aims to empower leaders in other cities to create their own Founders Live events in celebration of their local entrepreneurial community, initiating a movement to burst open additional pockets of creativity and entrepreneurial activity around the world. Our vision is to grow the next globally recognized entrepreneurial brand – which raises the tide for ALL startup regions but specifically 2nd and 3rd tier markets – to ultimately power the pulse of early-stage entrepreneurship and creativity around the world. And now here we are!
Founders Live growth hinges on the ability to expand the signature event into new cities, spreading its influence and gaining members along the way. The Founders Live event has reached approximately 90 cities and launches two new cities each month on average. We anticipate 100+ cities Live by end of 2022 reaching and inspiring hundreds of thousands of people monthly with projections to reach millions globally within a few years. We do this by identifying and onboarding local leaders in specific cities who organize and run the event each month as a volunteer, joining a growing army of Founders Live leaders around the world.
Steve Jobs once observed “Look around you, everything you see – from the chair you are sitting in, to the cup your coffee is in, to the building covering our heads, to the cars we drove here in – everything was at one time just a vision in someone’s mind before it was created. Everything around us was created by someone with a vision to make the world a better place.” Entrepreneurship and creativity are paramount to society’s progress and security, and Founders Live takes upon itself a responsibility to create virtual and physical spaces for people to gather, learn, celebrate and explore entrepreneurship in hopes to make the world a better place. Given we are living in unprecedented times – any direction we turn we see uncertainty surrounding our present and future – the Founders Live mission to spread the joy, entertainment and education of entrepreneurship is a large and important responsibility. We at Founders Live don’t take it lightly. But we do have fun in the process!
We want to thank you for stepping up and taking responsibility to lead your local entrepreneurial community as a Founders Live City Leader. As stated previously, the future depends on you empowering, supporting, and educating the next generation of creative innovators who are starting their entrepreneurial journey. In this position, one of the greatest compliments you can receive is when someone points to a time in the past when you asked them to present in front their community and the resulting actions led to an opening of opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have experienced if you didn’t reach out. In that moment, they will point to the fact that because of you and your leadership they are well on their way to success and fulfilment in their entrepreneurial journey. This is why you are so important to the movement. Many more people than you realize are in need of your leadership and entrepreneurial example. You might just be the only one who can bring it to them. The following pages pave the road you will take to lead others in their entrepreneurial journeys.