Online Event
FI Alumni Panel: Meet Founders of High-Growth Startups (Q&A + Networking)
Hear from breakout FI founders across the network about their earliest decisions.
Date
Oct 06, 2026
Time
09:00 am - 10:30 am
Address
Online Event
The decisions that shaped these companies were made when nobody was watching and nothing was certain. Founders from across the FI network walk through what they chose early, why, and how those choices look in hindsight. What they are building with AI now, and which of their original assumptions survived. Q&A, then open networking. Register now.
Featured Speakers:
Jai Chinnakonda — Founder & CEO, ENGAIZ (FI Toronto Alum)
Jai Chinnakonda is the Founder & CEO of ENGAIZ, maker of ComplySec360, an agentic AI-powered unified cyber risk management platform that helps SMEs assess, mitigate, comply with, monitor, and transfer cyber risk. ENGAIZ is backed by Techstars, C3iHub (IIT Kanpur), Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Founder Institute, and the NVIDIA Inception Program. Jai brings nearly two decades of technology leadership from IBM, Atos Syntel, and Tech Mahindra.
Kelly Anderson — Founder & CEO, DyeConverter™ (FI Silicon Valley Alum)
Kelly Anderson is the Founder & CEO of DyeConverter™, an AI-assisted decision engine that helps food brands transition off synthetic dyes ahead of the FDA deadline. A chef-technologist and the first chef in the world certified by MIT in AI and machine learning, she spent over a decade in R&D and product development with global brands like Nestlé, Disney, Impossible, Panera, Starbucks, and US Foods. She is a graduate of Founder Institute's Silicon Valley Agentic AI program.
Brenda Bernal — Founder & CEO, Compliagence (FI Los Angeles Alum)
Brenda Bernal is the Founder & CEO of Compliagence, an AI-native compliance intelligence platform. With 30+ years in compliance, risk, and security leadership, including executive roles as VP of Product Security & Compliance at DigiCert and Senior Director at Symantec, she launched Compliagence to help organizations stay always-ready as AI regulations accelerate.
Featured Host:
Jai Chinnakonda — Founder & CEO, ENGAIZ (FI Toronto Alum)
Jai Chinnakonda is the Founder & CEO of ENGAIZ, maker of ComplySec360, an agentic AI-powered unified cyber risk management platform that helps SMEs assess, mitigate, comply with, monitor, and transfer cyber risk. ENGAIZ is backed by Techstars, C3iHub (IIT Kanpur), Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Founder Institute, and the NVIDIA Inception Program. Jai brings nearly two decades of technology leadership from IBM, Atos Syntel, and Tech Mahindra.
Kelly Anderson — Founder & CEO, DyeConverter™ (FI Silicon Valley Alum)
Kelly Anderson is the Founder & CEO of DyeConverter™, an AI-assisted decision engine that helps food brands transition off synthetic dyes ahead of the FDA deadline. A chef-technologist and the first chef in the world certified by MIT in AI and machine learning, she spent over a decade in R&D and product development with global brands like Nestlé, Disney, Impossible, Panera, Starbucks, and US Foods. She is a graduate of Founder Institute's Silicon Valley Agentic AI program.
Brenda Bernal — Founder & CEO, Compliagence (FI Los Angeles Alum)
Brenda Bernal is the Founder & CEO of Compliagence, an AI-native compliance intelligence platform. With 30+ years in compliance, risk, and security leadership, including executive roles as VP of Product Security & Compliance at DigiCert and Senior Director at Symantec, she launched Compliagence to help organizations stay always-ready as AI regulations accelerate.
Featured Host:
- Jonathan Greechan - Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute - Jonathan Greechan is the Co-Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, he has grown and scaled the organization to chapters in over 200 and across over 100 countries, producing over 9,000 portfolio companies with nearly $[total funding] in venture funding. In his long career in tech and marketing, Jonathan has advised thousands of startups on marketing, growth, and product strategy and has spoken at startup conferences on four continents.
What You'll Learn:
- What these founders decided in their earliest months, and why;
- Which of their original assumptions survived and which did not;
- What they are building with AI now, and how it changed their roadmap;
- What they would tell a founder at idea stage today;
- How the FI network mattered to them, concretely.
Who Should Attend:
- Idea-stage founders who want to see how the early decisions get made;
- Prospective applicants evaluating what the network actually produces;
- Founders in smaller chapters with limited access to breakout founders;
- Anyone who wants to network with founders beyond their own city.
Additional Resources:
Find more Startup Events (fi.co/events), browse Founder Institute Graduates (fi.co/graduates), or follow Graduate News (fi.co/news) to see what the portfolio is building now.
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.
Speakers
Platinum Partners
Local Partners
Google
Linkedin
Related Events
Applications are now open
Build your startup with AI agents doing the work
Join the FI Agentic Program: an AI-powered curriculum, world-class mentors, and free AI agents to turn your idea into a fundable company.
9,000+ companies launched since 2009
Turn your idea into the next unicorn
Our programs helped launch Udemy, Esusu, and thousands more, with a portfolio worth an estimated $20B. Yours could be next.
200+ cities and 95 countries
Join the world's largest agentic company builder
A global network of founders, mentors, and investors building enduring companies, with free AI agents to help you do the work.
