Thanks to PHX FWD Clate Mask, Horizon Strategies Jenn Daniels, Arizona Board of Regents Monica Trejo, M.Ed for your inspiring messages at our PHX East Valley Partnership “Leadership for the Future” Forum: “Conquer the Chaos,” “Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better,” #Persistence #Vision #BuildtheTeam #Education #LeadOn https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7328422023548796928

Join us tomorrow to watch the 5th InnovatePHX Hackathon as contestants pitch to a panel of judges the smart city solutions they hacked earlier in the day. The InnovatePHX Challenge is brought to you in partnership with PHX Office of Innovation. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJprj9CSHHw

You don’t need to be a genius. You just need to start. #entrepreneur101 #businessopportunity #mindset #augment https://www.instagram.com/p/DJovI1ioT-F

Join John Hayden and Dan Alvarez, Ph.D. for the fifth CleanTech & Sustainability Night at Venture Café Phoenix! This session will spotlight the emerging role of technology in transforming how we manage, monitor, and conserve water. From smart infrastructure to precision agriculture and real-time data systems, we’ll explore how innovation is helping us do more with less. Hear from local founders and water experts on what’s working, what’s coming next, and how smarter solutions can scale to meet our region’s urgent water challenges. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJnNyADyioP

BEAD Subgrantee Pre-Registration Guidance: Tribal Nations & Communities #2

BEAD Subgrantee Pre-Registration Guidance: Tribal Nations & Communities #1

This Thursday come watch the 5th InnovatePHX Hackathon as contestants pitch to a panel of judges the smart city solutions they hacked earlier in the day. The InnovatePHX Challenge is brought to you in partnership with the City of Phoenix Office of Innovation. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmx1jmvqqY

How do you scale from zero to $10M ARR? Cayden Phipps did it in under three years at Shopgenie. Now he’s pulling back the curtain in our next May workshop! How to Build, Test & Scale Your Way from $0–10M ARR Led by Cayden Phipps, founder of Shopgenie (acquired 2024) Cayden will walk through the real, hard lessons of building a vertical SaaS company from scratch – like finding product-market fit in a fragmented market, firing early customers, going multi-product, and building operational excellence. If you’re a founder or operator in the early grind of building, you'll learn things like: - How to find PMF in a fragmented, underserved market - Exploration vs. execution during the early stages - How to build B2C virality for a B2B product - Why it's okay to fire your early customers - Operationalizing excellence (when everyone's drowning) - When to go multi-product - What Cayden would do differently if he were starting over today Save your spot here before they fill up: https://lu.ma/pxkqzp2t If you want a sneak peak, we interviewed Cayden and his Co-Founder Kieran O'Brien 🧞♂️ on the PHX Founders podcast a few months ago. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/g6QaZ-zM https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7327753487788707840

NEW: We’re proud to partner with @azsmallbiz to launch the statewide SCALE Program, empowering local entrepreneurs and accelerating Arizona’s small business ecosystem. #Smallbusiness #entrepreneurs #business #Arizona #ASBA #scale #economy https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmiMB7sYEj

Arizona’s momentum is surging! Check out some of the highlights of 2025 so far: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJkJp_3Snco

Congratulations to the winners of the Nerd Network #HackAZona & Youth Launch Camp! 🥳 👏 🤩 The buzz from the hackathon and the inspiration from the Youth Launch Camp, it couldn’t have ended on a higher note! PHX Startup Week always brings the energy, but this year felt next level. What was your favorite part? 💥 https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7324843631222173696

Day 5 debrief : WOW! Plug and Play Tech Center curated an amazing line up of panels and speakers. Tim Crown talked about a ritual of writing down three wins of the day and sharing them with his family. Also the importance of Trust and Health. Saeed Amidi and Devon McClelland shared of a new partnership. Dr Heidi Jannenga, PT, DPT emphasized the importance of culture and values “ your culture will scale as you grow, your values will not.” Scott S. walked us through growth strategies, taking care of yourself throughout your journey and realities of bootstrapping and raising equity shapes your experience The Arizona Commerce Authority Venture Scale cohorts pitches made this graduation an exciting experience to watch! Melissa Lamson Zach Ferres and Telly TV recognized three founders during community awards Best Startup: Hue Wrx Best Tech Innovation: Torque Trends Audience Favorite: Marketing Matchmakers The yesPHX social was so much fun! Yay! 🥳 https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7324515429614333952

Come to downtown Phoenix this Thursday (5/8/2025)! This week's Venture Café Phoenix is focused on International health Technology and Investment. In cooperation with the Arizona Commerce Authority and the City of Phoenix, we will be hosting a delegation of international startups. https://lnkd.in/gtpB58QG I'll be representing PADT, Inc as the host of a panel on "Supporting Strategic Growth: Launchpads & Lifelines" with Thomas Schumann, Kyle Jardine, and Rodney Fuller. We will go over the programs and resources available to Arizona startups. https://lnkd.in/gyhietcW https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325774213561155588

🌎International Health Technology + Investment Night Highlights! Last night 276 entrepreneurs and innovators gathered for a celebration of global innovation, collaboration, and investment in the health tech space: 🎤 Welcome Address from Sandra Watson, President and CEO of Arizona Commerce Authority: Sandra Watson opened the evening with a powerful message on Arizona’s leadership in MedTech and the importance of global collaboration in health innovation. She welcomed a visiting delegation from 16 different countries including 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇬🇧 the UK, 🇹🇼 Taiwan, 🇩🇿 Algeria, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇦🇺 Australia, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇸🇬 Singapore, 🇵🇭 Philippines, and 🇦🇪 the UAE. 🚀 HealthTech Showcase: Fast Pitches from Investors, Resources & Startups: We kicked things off with rapid-fire introductions from international startups, Arizona-based investors, and key ecosystem players. 💰 Fueling MedTech: Investment in Arizona: Investors Chris Yoo, Bob DeLean, and James Goulka revealed why Arizona is becoming a magnet for MedTech capital. The panel gave unfiltered advice to founders who are raising capital. 🛠️ Supporting Strategic Growth: Launchpads & Lifelines: Eric Miller, Rodney Fuller, Kyle Jardine, and Thomas Schumann spotlighted Arizona’s growing ecosystem of accelerators, incubators, and growth programs that are helping startups scale with intention and impact. 🧪 Biotech Vendor Showcase: From genome sequencing to drug delivery solutions, Zymo Research Corp, Novogene, Levitas Bio, New England Biolabs, PCI Pharma Services, and Abzena, shared how they’re equipping startups for success. A special thanks to Biotech Vendor Services, Inc. for sponsoring the session, providing the tacos, and bringing together these cutting-edge companies. 🌸 Women Entrepreneur Network: 6 Lessons White Lotus Can Teach Women Entrepreneurs:Through the lens of pop culture and the layered characters of White Lotus, Abbie Hartley Richie offered powerful insights on entrepreneurship, identity, and balance; equal parts fun and empowering. Special thanks to the ACA and the City of Phoenix for sponsoring! https://www.instagram.com/p/DJcg5lMTp1T

As part of Arizona’s @selectusagov spinoff event, the ACA convened bioscience leaders to showcase our thriving industry ecosystem and opportunities for investment and entrepreneurs! Thank you to all who joined us and for sharing your insights. @arizonabioindustryassociation @honorhealthaz @valleywise_az @plugandplaytc @banner_health @govhobbs @cityofphoenixaz @greaterphx #Arizona #Delegation #Business #economicdevelopment #bioscience #innovation #medical #paneldicussion #selectusa #selectusaspinoff #ecosystem https://www.instagram.com/p/DJcOHm8ubZW

Thank you Clate Mask and Becky Winter for hosting this session yesterday. I was wondering, “Why make Phoenix a software city?” and then that was the next topic of discussion! Turns out, folks that like working at software companies thrive even more when they’re surrounded by other folks that also like working at software companies. So Phoenix start-ups are going to band together to share collective knowledge about how to breakthrough ARR stages to build a thriving community and afford the opportunity for the next generation to work for great software companies here in the valley. Count me in! https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7326636477059067905

Here’s where we’re headed as PHX FWD community. If you’re a software builder and in AZ and want to join the mission… DM me and let’s get rolling. Founder, team, entrepreneur.. you’re invited to join our community. #phxfwd #software #saas Smile Advantage https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325715402494214144

It's a really great feeling when over 40 people raise their hand to join our Ambassador Club and help us spread the vision, mission and purpose of PHX FWD! It's through our amazing community that we'll be able to help more and more software companies win 🙌 We kicked it off with our very first meeting this week and the energy and excitement in the room was even better than we could have hoped! We're incredibly grateful for everyone who made it out. If you're interested in joining the next Ambassador Club Meeting, you can request to join below if you meet all 4 of these: ✅ Currently work in a software company ✅ Are passionate about making Phx a top software city ✅ Have a focus in a specific function like sales, marketing, product, customer success, finance, or people operations ✅ Have friends and coworkers that you're excited to bring into the Phx software community Link to request to join: https://lu.ma/btjzlfvn And if you're not interested in becoming an ambassador, but want to join the community and be notified about upcoming workshops, events, peer group meetups and programs, sign up for free at phxfwd.org. 😊 Let's make PHX a top software city! https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7326071017666236416

It was great attending PHX FWD’s community event featuring Ron Gabrisko, who talked about all the lessons he learned scaling Databricks from $1M to $3B in revenue! If you are a startup and especially a software startup in the Phoenix area, I’d highly recommend attending the next PHX FWD event and learning from Gregg Scoresby and the incredible people he brings in. Their goal is to make Phoenix a top software city by 2035! https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7326046108500000771

📢 We’re proud to join @azcommerce and ARIZONA CYBER THREAT RESPONSE ALLIANCE (ACTRA) to present an incredible speaker lineup for our 12th Annual Cybersecurity Summit NEXT WEEK on May 14 at @gcu. From CISOs and cybersecurity strategists to AI experts and federal agency leaders, this year’s speakers represent the best of Arizona’s tech ecosystem—and beyond. 📍Link in Bio to Register now! Many thanks to our additional sponsors: @dataprise, @10to1pr, Abnormal AI, @arcserve, CyberTrue, @uatedu and @comcastbusiness! #Cybersecurity #AZTechCouncil #CyberAZ #CyberLeaders #TechEventsAZ https://www.instagram.com/p/DJai_vgvrtl

The ACA is proud to kick-off Arizona’s #SelectUSA Spinoff reception welcoming business leaders, dignitaries, and investors from around the world! Tonight’s event featured breakout sessions highlighting Arizona’s premier environment. @venturecafephoenix @cityofphoenixaz #Arizona #SelectUSASpinoff #Phoenix #VentureCafe #Innovation #entrepreneur #Business #Economicdevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/DJahrgYJLBj

Welcome to Arizona! https://www.instagram.com/p/DJafiirv4Gt

What Arizona's Been Up To Lately

The ACA was honored to host a distinguished delegation from Finland representing mining, microelectronics, and semiconductor industries. Thanks to our partners in Southern Arizona for helping demonstrate Arizona’s incredible opportunities! @uarizona @pima_county @cityoftucson @businessfinlandfi #Tucson #Arizona #Finland #BusinessDelegation #economicdevelopment #Mining #Microelectronics #semiconductor https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZqs1FuOfp

Tonight join us a for a Biotech Vendor Showcase, highlighting 6 companies that are available to support your Biotech startups: Zymo Research Corp Novogene LevitasBio, New England Biolabs PCI Pharma Services and Abzena Special thanks to Biotech Vendor Services, Inc. for sponsoring it! https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZnwMupv5q