Yesterday 172 entrepreneurs and innovators gathered for our weekly Thursday Gathering! 🚀 Programming kicked off early with the Arizona Commerce Authority led SBIR Day delivering a power-packed lineup of sessions, including: 💬 SBIR Winners’ Perspectives – Raghu Nandivada, Edward D. Ricci, Oliver Graudejus, and Tracy Lea shared raw stories of the funding journey, lessons learned, and keys to success. 📝 SBIR Grant Writing Keys to Success – Lou Farina, Tyler Shaw, Sonia Vohnout, and David Richardson unpacked proven strategies to craft standout proposals. 🤖 Grant Writing: How and How Not to Use A.I. – A forward-thinking look at how AI can enhance (or derail!) your proposal process with Peter Meyers and Dylan Peay, PhD Then we at 4:30 we started the “You Don't Know What You Don't Know: Taxes and Insurance for Startups” night programming including: 💼 Executive Visibility for Women Entrepreneurs – A powerful conversation between Bethany Graver and Jacqueline Keidel Martinez on building trust and personal brand to drive business growth. 🧠 AI Workshop: CTRL+ALT+HUMAN – A creative and hands-on dive into building a more human-centered AI experience with Danny Robles 📊 You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know: Taxes – The essential do’s and don’ts of startup taxation with Wiley Larsen and Tiffany Bisconer, CPA, MS, MAFM 🛡️ You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know: Insurance – From liability to employee benefits, this panel broke down what every founder needs to protect their venture with Steven Zylstra and Carsyn Schuch. 💬 Throughout the evening, attendees took advantage of 1:1 mentoring sessions for business law with Brian J. Burt, recruiting with Jessica Skower, and go-to-market with Jane Sorenson Herthel. Huge thanks to the Arizona Commerce Authority for sponsoring the event and helping create such a powerful knowledge exchange for the startup community. Let’s keep learning, building, and growing together, Phoenix. 💡🌵 https://www.instagram.com/p/DIUrKO_BF3V