The Launch Path
Why do some startup ventures succeed and some fail? And how is this different in 2024-25? During Bret’s career in Silicon Valley and his time at Stanford and Miller Center, he’s worked with hundreds of startup founders. This talk is based on his new book, The Launch Path, which outlines his observed patters of success and failure and provides a framework that entrepreneurs can follow in order to smoothly and efficiently get from a startup idea to a launch-ready, funding-ready venture.

2024-25 Trends for Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Investors. What are the trends that startup founders and investors should be thinking about, all over the world? Hint: It’s not just AI. In this view-from-Silicon-Valley talk, Bret discusses what he sees as the key trends. This is not a list of technology trends, per se, it’s a list of global trends across several dimensions including sources and structures of capital, organizational structures, and marketplace trends. 

The History of Silicon Valley
Today Silicon Valley is known as a global hub of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology. The economic output of this one valley is larger than most entire countries. Some of the most important companies in the world  today – Apple, Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Salesforce, Nvidia – are headquartered less than 25km from my house. How did this happen? What are the drivers that made one valley in California such a powerful global hub? How can these drivers be replicated elsewhere? And what does the future hold?

The Habits of High Achievers
We all want to achieve more. This is especially true for startup founders, who are working hard to bring a product to market, solve problems, manage a team, and still maintain some semblance of healthy balance in their lives. Some people seem to be naturally good at this, while others struggle. So what are the habits that high-achievers have? In this talk, Bret discusses his conversations with CEO’s, venture capitalists, and others about what they believe are the habits of high-achievers, and how we can all get better at adopting those habits.

Startup Masterclass (Full day).
Structured as a one-day intensive workshop, the masterclass is suited for individuals who want to build and launch a successful startup, investors who want to learn more about success patterns, as well as corporate executives who want to help their teams develop the entrepreneurial mindset required for corporate success in today’s world. See details.