Early stage founders often struggle to develop an effective strategy to meet their funding needs. Filling the gaps in their fundraising puzzle requires founders to think innovatively and explore creative financing options, including non-dilutive funding sources. This session will share tools, tips and best practices to help entrepreneurs improve their capacity to access sustainable forms of capital while retaining maximum ownership.

The pathway to equity free capital seems difficult to navigate and full of confusing restrictions tied to non-dilutive funding resources. Therefore, Founders benefit from understanding how to evaluate existing business models to identify aligned funding resources, apply basic business valuation concepts to assess opportunities, and how to design an ownership structures that maximizes the full range of available capital.

Key Takeawys:

• Learn how to develop a capital acquisition strategy
• Learn how to evaluate funding opportunities
• Learn how to attract non-dilutive capital

OUR SPECIAL GUEST

Leigh-Ann Buchanan, ESQ

President, aīre ventures

Leigh-Ann A. Buchanan, Esq., is a writer, facilitator and strategic advisor. Her body of work explores how tech, innovation and social investment intersect with equity to transform organizations and communities. Her insights and ideas have been featured in the New York Times, Inc. Magazine, NPR, PBS, Bloomberg, the American Psychological Association, ABA Journal among others.

Leigh-Ann spends most of her time working in partner organizations helping their leaders build greater capacity to accelerate equity.

In doing so, Leigh-Ann relies on over 15 years of experience in DEI (Diversity, Equity + Inclusion) supporting a variety of public, private and philanthropic leaders ranging from Fortune 500 companies to national foundations. She also leverages an extensive track record of developing projects and ventures that bridge systemic gaps in access, opportunity and racial equity.

Notably, Leigh-Ann has raised over $5.5 million in equity-free capital to fund a diverse social impact portfolio and helped syndicate over $55 million in philanthropic capital for digital equity initiatives.

She is passionate about elevating the stories of innovative solutions and people through content production projects, including the award-winning Innovation City podcast and the Hustle To Scale documentary, which was licensed by PBS for distribution.

Leigh-Ann previously served as Chair of the American Bar Association Coalition on Racial & Ethnic Justice. She holds executive certificates from Harvard Business School, INSEAD and Columbia Business School as well as a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.

She was raised in Vancouver, Canada and has traveled to more than 50 countries to date.

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The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is a 501c(3) public charity whose mission it is to make entrepreneurship accessible to all. We deliver world-class resources and mentoring to enable every entrepreneur across the globe to realize their maximum potential. Please join us and make your gift to ensure these transformative programs may continue to reach the underserved.

All Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least 48 hours in advance of this event; please send an email to [email protected] with the subject header ACCOMMODATION REQUEST. For assistance with registration or other technical difficulties, please contact [email protected]