FutureProof Tech Summit:
Building World-Positive Companies
October 22, 2021
Thank you!!
150+ founders, executives, and investors from around the world, and another 50+ joined us in person at Betaworks in NYC to discuss what it means to build more ethical, socially responsible, and world-positive technology companies.
The conversations that took place were fascinating and tactical. We’ve published them below!
-SSI Team
The FutureProof Tech Summit is for founders building the next generation of influential technology companies who want to better center public in addition to commercial interests.
Hear from fellow founders who have been in your shoes — prioritizing ethics, social responsibility, and impact while also making payroll, satisfying investors, and growing their company. Learn practical tools, frameworks, and best practices for building world positive tech companies.
Partners + Supporters
Featured Speakers
-
Dr. Rumman Chowdhury
Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lead, Twitter | GP + Cofounder Parity Responsible Innovation Fund
-
Dr. Safiya Noble
Associate Professor, UCLA + Co-Founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry
-
Davida Herzl
Cofounder & CEO Aclima
-
Ope Bukola
Cofounder & CEO, Kibo School
-
Diego Saez Gil
Co-Founder & CEO Pachama
-
Gabe Kleinman
Head of Portfolio Services, Obvious Ventures
-
Damola Ogundipe
Cofounder & CEO Civic Eagle
-
Meagan Loyst
Investor, Lerer Hippeau
-
Rhonda Allen
CEO, dev/color
-
Claire Shorall
Cofounder & CEO, Topknot
-
Bo Han
Founder & CEO, Buzzer
-
Chapman Snowden
Cofounder, CEO Brick.app
-
Iyah Romm
CEO, CItyblock Health
-
Bo Ren
Director of Startups, Silicon Valley Bank
-
Dr. Leonardo Bonnani
Founder & CEO, Sourcemap
-
Alix Dunn
Founder, The Engine Room
-
Arthur Woods
Cofounder, Mathison
-
Sam Brown
Cofounder, Consequential
-
Sofia Laurell
Founder + CEO, Tiny Organics
-
Kathy Pham
Senior Advisor, Mozilla. Fellow, Harvard.
-
Roxann Stafford
MD, Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund
Program
11:00 – 12:00 pm EST
Opening Keynote Conversation: Why I Converted to Public Benefit Corp When Raising a $40M Series B
A conversation with Davida Herzl, Founder & CEO Aclima
12:10 – 12:55 pm EST
Panel A: Finding Value Aligned Investors
Not all money is good money. How can you vet investors for true values-alignment?
Panel B: Don't Regret What You Build: Good into the DNA of Your Company from the Beginning
You can’t retrofit equity, purpose, or ethics. What are the concrete tools and tactics available to founders for building good into the DNA of your company?
1:00 – 2:00 pm EST
Workshop: Ethical Risk Assessment
Participants will use frameworks such as EthicalOS to unearth tangible ethical risks and possible negative unintended consequences. They will develop solutions and risk-mitigation strategies across product, process, and culture.
2:00 – 2:30 pm EST
Lunch Discussion Groups (Optional Break)
2:30 – 3:15 pm EST
Panel A: Aligning Growth and Values
How can you take advantage of technology-driven scale and not compromise on your values? How can you leverage your values to take advantage of technology-driven scale? What do you do when growth and values seem to conflict? How do you manage these conflicts with shareholders and various other stakeholders?
Panel B: Impact as a Core Strategy
Ethical and social risks are often considered a cost-center — but this doesn’t have to be the case. Accounting for ethical and social risk can be a design constraint — it can drive innovation and lead to holistically more robust and differentiated products.
Panel C: The Next Gen: Gen Z and Impact
The next generation of founders is more impact-driven than ever before. Cited by a 2018 McK study as the "True Gen" - related to their relentless search for truth - Gen Z sees consumption as an expression of individual identity and are more likely to mobilize themselves for a variety of causes. Learn about how Gen-Z founders and funders are treating startups as vehicles of social change and the implications for the broader tech ecosystem.
3:30 – 4:30 pm EST
Closing Keynote: Why Responsible Tech is a Business Imperative
A conversation with Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, Head of Ethical AI, Twitter
