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  <div class="vevent h-event"> <h1 class="summary p-name">Velocity to Market: Market Strategy to Help Founders Succeed in the Chaos of the Moment</h1> <div class='date'><time class="dtstart dt-start" title="2026-10-22T17:30:00" datetime="2026-10-22T17:30:00">Thursday, October 22, 2026 from 5:30</time>–<time class="dtend dt-end" title="2026-10-22T19:30:00" datetime="2026-10-22T19:30:00">7:30pm</time></div> <div class="location vcard p-location h-card"> <a class="url" href='http://calagator.org/venues/202397629'><span class='fn org p-name'>Kiln</span></a> <div class="adr p-adr h-adr"> <div class="street-address p-street-address">1120 Southeast Madison Street</div> <span class="locality p-locality">Portland</span> , <span class="region p-region">OR</span> <span class="postal-code p-postal-code">97214</span> <div class="country-name p-country-name">US</div> (<a href='https://maps.google.com/maps?q=1120%20Southeast%20Madison%20Street,%20Portland%20OR%2097214%20US'>map</a>) </div> </div> <div class="description p-description"> <p>Everyone is being told to move faster: ship the product, leverage AI, raise the round, make the brand, post the content, find product-market fit...pronto! How can it ever be possible to do all the things, just right with less money, fewer people, and a screaming free-for-all to get to the market amidst the chaos and noise of the landscape?</p> <p>Our collective work with hundreds of startups has shown us that, in the chaos of this moment, fast is not always the same as forward.</p> <p>Velocity to Market brings together four deeply experienced Portland practitioners who work alongside founders and innovation teams every day: Kate Carter (Saint Friend), Nick Carter (Saint Friend), Ali Maaxa (ProductTheory), and Jeremy Solly (Defyner).</p> <p>We will share candid stories from the field: what they are seeing work, what is quietly failing, where founders are lured into wasting precious time and capital, and how the smartest teams are building momentum without skipping the work that makes a business viable.</p> <p>This is not a generic “AI will change everything” panel, nor a dog-and-pony show of startup clichés. It is an honest conversation about how companies move from an interesting capability to:</p> <p>A product people need A story people understand A brand people trust A go-to-market motion that can survive contact with the real world We are on a mission to helping founders avoid misdirection that comes from using outdated frameworks or half-baked new tools.</p> <p>Together, we'll explore:</p> <p>How founders can distinguish urgency from actual progress Why product-market fit, customer understanding, and positioning cannot be automated away Where AI genuinely helps teams work faster—and where it creates costly false confidence How brand, narrative, and trust become strategic advantages in an increasingly crowded market What investors, advisors, and founders can do to build companies that are not merely launchable, but durable How to “game” the moment without being gamed by its hype cycles, pressure, and endless stream of supposedly essential tools Come for sharp stories, useful provocations, practical frameworks, and a more grounded way to think about building in 2026.</p> </div> <h3>Links</h3> <ul> <li><a class="url u-url" href="https://eventship.com/event/velocity-to-market-lessons-from-innovation-leaders-on-how-founders-innovators-can-succeed-in-the-chaos-of-the-moment">Website</a></li> </ul> </div>