Special Guest Guide
For over a decade, Ripple’s founders—alumni of Y Combinator and Techstars—have hosted conversations for their venture-backed founder networks of 20,000.
Event Structure
The VIP Co-host joins the Zoom call 5 minutes before event start time to test audio & video.
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Opening and welcome remarks by Ricardo and Alejandro (Hosts).
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Host introduces himself, the VIP Co-Host and the Special Guest.
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Host kicks things off with the first question for the Special Guest.
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VIP co-Host asks the second question (from the sample list or their own).
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After the first round of questions, we do a second go-around where Hosts and VIP Co-Host ask one more question.
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Hosts & VIP Co-Host: open-question format (anyone can jump in)
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At the 45-minute mark, Hosts open the floor to audience Q&A.
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The attendees are asked to submit their questions privately to Ricardo throughout the session. Ricardo will call on them to introduce themselves and ask the question directly.
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Closing remarks & thank you's by Hosts.
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In our current format we record the Zoom only to share a highlight from the conversation that champions the Special Guest & VIP Co-Hosts on Linkedin.
Attendees
The typical attendee is a venture-backed tech founder ($2M - $20B raised).
30% of the attendees are women founders.
Sample Questions
As a VIP Co-Host, feel free to ask any question you find interesting. As a back-up feel free to choose any of the sample questions below:
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If you were to break down the success of your company into a couple of important moments/milestones, what would those be?
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I’m sure you have a big notebook of “lessons learned & pitfalls to avoid”. What were a couple of mistakes that you were able to avoid this time around?
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What keeps you up at night now vs. when you started your first business?
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Was there an aha! moment before building your company? Were there product pivots?
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Do you feel you need to have relevant experience to launch a successful business in a specific industry?
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Can you share with us one of your bigger obstacles/challenges during the early years of the company
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What have you enjoyed the most about being a founder? The least?
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Can you give us a sense of what your life will look like 20 years from now? Are there overarching goals you want to accomplish?