Ripple Talks | Fireside Chat - VIP Guest Co-Host Guide

VIP Guest Co-Host Guide

As a VIP Co-Host you will participate in a friendly, off-the-record conversation on the virtual stage where the hosts will be moderating and asking you and the Special Guest questions given your incredible journeys. There's no preparation needed on your end, since you won't be interviewing the Special Guest.

Most of our VIP Co-Hosts don’t already know our Special Guests - Ashton Kutcher and Dara (Founder of Delphi), Blake (Founder of Boom Supersonic) and Ben Horowitz, Brian Halligan, Founder of Hubspot ($30B) and Tim Draper, for example. It’s an opportunity for them to meet over a friendly, laid back conversation among seasoned leaders for an hour on the virtual stage.

Event Structure

The VIP Guest Co-Host joins the green room Zoom call 10 minutes before event start time alongside the Special Guest to test audio & video.

Opening and welcome remarks by Ricardo and Alejandro (Hosts).
Ricardo (Host) introduces himself, you (VIP Guest Co-Host) and the Special Guest.
Ricardo & Alejandro kick things off with the first two questions for the Special Guest.
You (VIP Guest Co-Host) ask the third question (from the sample list or your own).
Ricardo & Alejandro will begin to ask your take on questions presented to the Special Guest in order to encourage a lively organic conversation between seasoned founders.
Open-question format (anyone in the panel can jump in and ask their questions).
At the 45-minute mark, Ricardo opens the floor to audience Q&A.
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.
Closing remarks & thank you's by Hosts.
In our current format we record the Zoom only to share a highlight from the conversation that champions the Special Guest & VIP Guest Co-Hosts on Linkedin.

Attendees

The typical attendee is a venture-backed tech founder ($2M - $20B raised).
30% of the attendees are women founders.

VIP Guest Co-Host Sample Questions

Sample Questions

As a VIP Guest 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:

If you were to break down the success of your company into a couple of important moments/milestones, what would those be?
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?
What keeps you up at night now vs. when you started your first business?
Was there an aha! moment before building your company? Were there product pivots?
Do you feel you need to have relevant experience to launch a successful business in a specific industry?
Can you share with us one of your bigger obstacles/challenges during the early years of the company
What have you enjoyed the most about being a founder? The least?
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?