Hear from founders, operators, advisors, and innovation leaders.
GFIS brings practical voices together to share lessons on starting, growing, profiting, and building with impact.
Anthony Rose
Co-founder & CEO
SeedLegals
Start & Grow
Anton Tchernikovsky
Co-founder & CTO
Customerization
Future & Impact
Bryan Cassady
Director
Global Entrepreneurship Alliance
Future & Impact
C. Stephan Brown
Founder & CEO
CSB Tech Emporium
Functions
Christopher Kunney
Managing Partner
IOTECH Consulting
Functions
Darin Adams
Communications & Marketing Expert
Keap
Functions
David Ko
CEO
Calm
Start & Grow
David Palmer
Founder
Bernoulli | Locke
Future & Impact
David Wagstaff
Founder
Eprenz
Start & Grow
Debbie Irwin
Managing Director
Lighthouse Labs RVA
Start & Grow
Dr. Villy Abraham
Business Strategist & Lecturer
Sapir Academic College
Start & Grow
Jacques Benkoski
General Partner
U.S. Venture Partners
Start & Grow
Jay Allen
Founder & CEO
My TrueNORTH
Start & Grow
John Bradberry
President & Founding Partner
ReadyFounder
Start & Grow
Kathryn Vatt
Founder & IP Strategist
VATT IP Management
Functions
Kerstin Andlaw
Founder & Systemic Team Coach
TAO | ThriveAsOne
Functions
Lyndsae Peele
Founder & Principal Consultant
Kingdom Vision Consulting
Functions
Marc L. Daniels
Founder & CEO
ResultsBI
Functions
Mark Chussil
Founder & CEO
Advanced Competitive Strategies
Start & Grow
Melinda Emerson
Founder & CEO
Quintessence Group
Start & Grow
Nipun Syal
Founder
Botzphere
Functions
Nobesuthu Mahlangu
HR Professional & Advocate
Youth & Entrepreneurship
Functions
Precious L. Williams
Founder & CEO
The Perfect Pitch Group
Start & Grow
Puneet Singh Singhal
Founder
ssstart
Future & Impact
Ramon Ray
Founder
SmartHustle.com
Start & Grow
Rend Stephan
CEO
ClicData
Functions
Richa Diwan
Principal Director
Strategic Advisors
Functions
Robert Rubinstein
Founder & CEO
TBLI Group
Future & Impact
Shadab Hussain
Director, Data & AI Sales
Microsoft
Future & Impact
Shawn Jhanji
Co-founder
Zbra DAO
Future & Impact
Sullivan Anderson
Tech Operator
Chicago Innovation
Future & Impact
Venkatesh
Technology Leader & Advisor
Tech Strategy
Functions
Zeeshan Ahmed Qedwaee
Business Consultant
Growth Strategy
Start & GrowPresentation formats
Keynotes
Big-picture trends and founder lessons from builders with exits or scale achievements.
Panel discussions
Moderated conversations exploring capital paths, innovation trends, and local ecosystem hurdles.
Workshops
Hands-on, instruction-heavy sessions delivering checklists, templates, and coding tools.
Fireside chats
Deep-dive, unstructured interviews focusing on personal setbacks and growth models.
Are you an expert builder with a practical lesson to share?
We review proposals for actionable workshops, founder panels, and macroeconomic firesides. No sponsor pitch sessions allowed.