FOUNDER/FEST

Founder/Fest is the ’s signature gathering for startup founders across the region.

Designed as a relaxed, social experience, Founder/Fest brings founders together to connect, trade stories, and step out of the day-to-day grind of building a company. It blends meaningful conversation with a party-like atmosphere, creating space for honest reflections on what it really takes to build, scale, and sometimes lose a business.

There are no formal panels or pitches. Just real conversations, shared experiences, food, drinks, and time with people who understand the founder journey.

Founder/Fest is where Midwest founders come together to reconnect, recharge, and celebrate the work they’re doing—together.

Our Speaker Lineup:

• Ivan Rahman of
• Jorge Reyna of
• Stephen Pounds of

Many thanks to our sponsors for making Founder/Fest free & open to all founders:

• - Pilot provides outsourced finance and operations support for startups, including bookkeeping, tax, CFO, and COO services. We help early-stage companies scale from Pre-Seed to Series C with accurate financials, operational discipline, and investor-ready insights.