Home Speaking at Founded in FoCo Apply to Speak and Present a Session or Workshop

Apply to Speak and Present a Session or Workshop

Last updated on Dec 05, 2023

Do you have a session or workshop idea you want to see at Founded in FoCo?

We’re looking for excellent, dedicated presenters, speakers, and organizers to enhance our program!

Timeline for 2024:

  • November: Application open for sessions & workshops

  • December 8th: Deadline to submit a session

  • The Planning and Programming team reviews all submissions

  • December 15th (tentative): Notify speakers if they've been selected

  • By end of January: Finalize session schedule

What makes for a good session?

  1. 95% to 5% Rule: 95% amazing content, 5% self-promotion (if any). Seriously: do not use this as a self-promotion vehicle. If you do, you will not be asked to speak again.

  2. Attendance goes WAY up when there is a VERY CLEAR take-away from the session: “by the end of this session, you will know how to _______”.

  3. Speakers engage their audience ahead of time and promote their own talk.

    • Speakers create a Facebook event for their session and add FiFC as a host.

    • Speakers have a cover image (use Canva’s PowerPoint slide size, it’s super simple).

    • Promote their session and the event with the network and on social media

  4. Speakers have a hand-out/slides posted to Sched. Don’t rely on your PowerPoint deck. Attendees are there to learn from YOU, not read slides.

  5. Practice, practice, practice. You can organize a listening session with our team when selected.

How is programming chosen for Founded in FoCo?

The volunteer team has track leads who aim to curate 75% of the sessions to align with our core themes. “Curated” means our core team pulls from known speakers and content captains to recruit speakers.

You can discuss your ideas with our planning team and a “Content Captain.” If you haven’t gone through a content captain to apply, you’ll be pooled into the 25% of open submissions, and your session is not guaranteed.

Don’t lose hope if your session isn’t selected for this year’s Founded in FoCo; we plan events throughout the year to help sustain the entrepreneurial community in and around Northern Colorado, and we also have a podcast and recorded panels that help us get to know new speakers while also providing you a platform to teach!

If we like your idea but can’t fit it into the schedule, we’ll find a partner to help you host it another time.