You found product-market fit. Now everything that got you here starts to break.

Seed to Series A is where good companies stall and great ones break away: the first leadership layer, the first sales team that isn't you, the first board that expects a plan. More companies are starting than ever, and the risk of mediocrity has never been higher.

A small company doesn't have to be a weak company. Scaleup is an afternoon of leverage: the judgment you don't have yet, the investors you haven't met and the operators who've been where you are, in one room. No panels. No fluff. Just what gets you to the next level.

Tell us what you're building, where you're going and what's in your way when you register. We'll build your afternoon around it, with the rooms and people you should meet matched before you walk in.

What to expect

Understand the shift Hear from the leaders and founders building and scaling right now on what it means to scale a startup in the AI era, and why it matters.

Solve it with people who've been there Get in a room with your peers and the operators who've already solved it, and work through your hardest problems together.

Extend your runway Offers on the tools, resources and connections you need to grow, available only to Scaleup attendees and 1871 members.

Who you're around changes what you believe is possible.

Based in Chicago. Serving the world.

Agenda

1:00 PM · Doors open and refreshments

1:15 PM · Welcome from 1871

1:30 PM · Opening: The Shift and Why It Matters Betsy Ziegler, CEO of 1871, on how the path from traction to scale has changed, what it takes to break away from the pack now, and why there has never been a better moment to build something that lasts.

1:50 PM · Messy Middle Stories Four rapid-fire stories from leaders transforming their business with AI.

Examples may include:

  • Growth: scaling revenue without scaling the headcount or the burn. What happens to margins when AI becomes part of your cost of goods sold?

  • The work chart: rebuilding the company around the work, not the boxes on an org chart. Should your next ten hires be people or agents?

  • Standing out in the noise: breaking through with B2B buyers when every pitch says "AI-powered." How do you prove value when the buyer's agent does the first screen?

  • The investor view: what growth-stage companies, Series A raises and the founders behind them look like now. What do the breakout companies have that the stalled ones don't?

Past speakers include: Jai Shekhawat, founder, Fieldglass (acquired by SAP) · John Renaldi, co-founder, Jiobit (acquired by Life360) · Rick Desai, Managing Partner, Listen Ventures · Suzanne EL-Moursi, co-founder and CEO, Brighthive

3:00 PM · Off the Record, round one 1871's Experts-in-Residence are operators and advisors who have built and scaled companies themselves. Choose from small-group discussions on the topics that matter most:

  • Scale: from founder-led sales to a go-to-market engine that runs without you

  • Lead: your first leadership layer, and which seats are people versus agents

  • Rebuild: an AI-first operating model, from org chart to work chart

  • Raise: the growth round, the story and the board that comes with it

3:40 PM · Off the Record, round two Switch topics or go deeper.

4:20 PM · Behind the Builder The founder of a high-growth-stage startup who's scaling right now, on what it really takes. Past examples include: Mike Lazerow, co-founder, Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce) · Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder, Hallow · Andy Dunn, co-founder, Bonobos, and founder, Pie · Dag Kittlaus, co-founder, Siri

5:00 PM · Perk Pass Expo and happy hour 1871 members get Perk Pass: offers on the tools and services startups run on that you can't get anywhere else, including perks built for growth-stage companies. Scaleup attendees also get offers available only at this event. Come meet the providers, claim what extends your runway and network over drinks.

Tickets: Early bird $150 · Free for 1871 members