My Founder’s Keeper Forum is a conference bridging the gap between startups and investors of all stages to help people of color build wealth.  The conference features informative panels, fireside discussions, networking, investment opportunities for funders, and funding opportunities for founders. Join us as we connect investors, general partners, corporate leaders, founders, and influencers united in efforts to build businesses, solve problems, and build wealth through inclusive investing.

Tickets

2025 MY FOUNDER’S KEEPER FORUM AGENDA

Friday, October 24

LOCATION: TROUTMAN PEPPER LOCKE, 401 9TH ST, NW #1000, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004

  • Registration and networking

  • Sponsored by Troutman Pepper Locke

  • Stacy Spikes, co-founder and CEO of MoviePass, returns to My Founder’s Keeper to share updates and lessons learned.

    Interviewer: Cathleen Trigg-Jones

  • Make a powerful new friend

  • Ingenuity is abundant, but in a world where financial resourcing is not, we sometimes have to get clear, concise, and creative on all of the various ways to capitalize our brilliance. Join this session to learn about all of the different types of capital an entrepreneur can stack in his or her quest to build the technology of tomorrow.

    Panelists:

    • Haley Bryant - Hustle Fund

    • Baheejah Crumbley - Collab Capital

    • Aaron Walker - Camelback Ventures

  • Make a powerful new friend

  • The hard thing about hard things is that we often save them for last. Learn from expert attorneys how to design with success in mind, focused on creating strong companies capable of withstanding the challenges that come with building disruptive technology.

    Panelists:

    • Casselle Smith - Troutman Pepper Locke

    • Sadia Mirza - Troutman Pepper Locke

    • Sean McConnell - Troutman Pepper Locke

    Moderator: Conway Ekpo - Apollo.io

  • Make a powerful new friend

  • Hosted by Troutman Pepper Locke

Saturday, October 25

LOCATION: LATHAM & WATKINS, 555 11TH ST NW, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004

  • Registration and networking

  • Join us for networking, breakfast and setting the table for the day

  • Join us for opening remarks

  • For Investors - The Art of Picking Winners

    Cash. Gold. Real Estate. Public equities. Crypto. Myriad investment opportunities exist, but not everyone is invited to the table. Learn from seasoned investors across sports, art, entertainment, and crypto about how they approach capital allocation and building a balanced portfolio.

    Panelists:

    • Eric Tate - Urban Capital Network

    • Fitz Ann Reid - Hunterbrook

    • Arthur Griffin - Liberty Tax Service

    • Shannon Steel - Steel Private Fund

    Entrepreneurs - From Idea to App: How Non-Technical Founders Can Build without Breaking the Bank

    Are you an entrepreneur with a new app idea, but no idea how to get started? Are you a multi-founder with a new feature idea, but want to build as fast and efficiently as possible? It used to take months, but the rapid adoption of AI has made delay a thing of the past. Join a room of product development experts for a guided facilitation on how to engineer prompts to build a working app in under one hour.

    Presenters:

    • Amanda Spann - The App Accelerator

    • Rakia Finley - Cooper & Vine Studio

  • Join us for a fireside keynote featuring Danielle Conley, Partner, Latham & Watkins

  • Sponsored by Latham & Watkins

  • Highly networked investment vehicles consistently outperform the market. Join us for a plenary session on how to catalyze community for commercial success. Hear from big banks, local governments, and private corporations the roles we can all have in building extraordinary ecosystems.

    Panelists:

    • LaToya Wilson - Morgan Stanley

    • Ebony Young - Office of the Queens Borough President

    • Emily Hawkins - The Black Tech Collective

  • Make a powerful new friend.

  • Pitch Competition Participants:

    • UFarmX

    • Pandora Health

    • Digiteyez/ Clear Eye Test

    • This.inc

Confirmed Speakers

  • Haley Bryant

    PRINCIPAL

    HUSTLE FUND

  • Tre Clayton

    VICE PRESIDENT INVESTMENT BANKING

    LOOP CAPITAL

  • Danielle Conley

    PARTNER

    LATHAM & WATKINS

  • Baheejah Crumbley

    SENIOR INVESTMENT ASSOCIATE

    COLLAB CAPITAL

  • Conway Ekpo

    GLOBAL HEAD OF PRODUCT AND PRIVACY LEGAL

    APOLLO.IO

  • Rakia Finley

    MANAGING PARTNER

    COPPER & VINE STUDIO

  • Arthur Griffin

    OWNER

    LIBERTY TAX SERVICE

  • Emily Hawkins

    FOUNDER & CEO

    THE BLACK TECH COLLECTIVE

  • Casselle Smith McKoy

    PARTNER

    TROUTMAN PEPPER LOCKE

  • Sadia Mirza

    PARTNER

    TROUTMAN PEPPER LOCKE

  • Sean McConnell

    PARTNER

    TROUTMAN PEPPER LOCKE

  • Fitzann Reid

    GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER

    HUNTERBROOK

  • Nate Saint Victor

    EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL

    LPL FINANCIAL

  • Amanda Spann

    CREATOR

    THE APP ACCELERATOR

  • Stacy Spikes

    FOUNDER AND CEO

    MOVIEPASS

  • Shannon Steel

    FOUNDER

    STEEL PRIVATE FUND

  • Eric Tait

    CO-FOUNDER

    URBAN CAPITAL NETWORK

  • Cathleen Trigg-Jones

    CEO & FOUNDER

    iWomanTV

  • Nneka Ukpai

    VENTURE PARTNER

    SPRINGBOARD ENTERPRISES

  • Aaron Walker

    SENIOR ADVISOR

    CAMELBACK VENTURES

  • LaToya Wilson

    MANAGING DIRECTOR, INCLUSIVE VENTURES GROUP

    MORGAN STANLEY

  • Ebony Young

    DEPUTY BOROUGH PRESIDENT, QUEENS

    OFFICE OF THE QUEENS BOROUGH PRESIDENT

Bridging the gap between Innovators and Investors

About My Founder’s Keeper

My Founder’s Keeper is a collective of professionals working together to empower underrepresented communities by providing access to wealth-building tools, investment opportunities, and entrepreneurial resources, fostering economic growth and prosperity.

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