Online Event
Ask a Midwest Serial Exited Founder Turned Investor: Dan Ushman
Built, Scaled, Exited, Invested: Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur
Date
Aug 17, 2026
Time
02:00 pm - 03:30 pm
Address
Online Event
What does it really take to build, scale, and successfully exit a startup in the Midwest? Join us for an open conversation with Dan Ushman, serial entrepreneur, exited founder, and investor. Dan will share lessons from both sides of the table—from building companies and navigating fundraising and exits to evaluating and supporting entrepreneurs as an investor. Go beyond the typical founder success story and hear candid insights on the decisions that matter, mistakes to avoid, and what investors look for. Come with your questions! This is your opportunity to ask a successful Midwest founder and investor, anything.
What You'll Learn:
- Lessons from the founder’s seat
- What investors really look for
- How to build a venture-backable company
- Fundraising strategies that work
- The realities of startup exits
- Founder mistakes to avoid
- How to think like an investor
- The Midwest advantage
- Finding the right opportunities
- Advice for the next generation of founders
Featured Founder / Investor:
- Dan Ushman - Founder & CEO @TrendSpider: Prior to TrendSpider, Dan founded and led several successful ventures in the web hosting, cloud computing, and digital marketing sectors, such as SingleHop, Concurra, and midPhase. Also, he is a member of the Hyde Park Angels, one of the most active angel groups in the Midwest, where he mentors and invest in early-stage startups.
Who Should Attend:
- Aspiring entrepreneurs exploring their first startup idea
- Current founders looking to build, scale, or raise capital
- Startup executives and operators navigating growth and leadership challenges
- Early-stage investors looking to sharpen their investment perspective
- Angel investors interested in evaluating Midwest startups
- Founders preparing to raise venture capital or considering their next round
- Entrepreneurs thinking about an exit and how to build enterprise value
- Anyone interested in the Midwest startup ecosystem and its growing opportunities
- Anyone who wants to ask an experienced founder and investor the questions they’ve always wanted to ask
Additional Resources:
Find more Startup Events, learn about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones, or visit our Insights Blog for more startup tips.
About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
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The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our AI-native company-building programs have helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs raise over 2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
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