Wednesday, October 8, 2025

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

We're opening our doors to the community for a panel featuring Andrew Goldner (GrowthX) — a Silicon Valley founder turned global investor who’s helped scale companies from idea to acquisition — and Dominick Ard'is (ACT House), a founder and venture capitalist investing in the people behind the startups, moderated by Jaslyn Ferguson, Gradient Director of Programs.This conversation isn’t just for tech founders — it’s for anyone who wants to learn from successful founders and CEOs who’ve built, scaled, and exited companies.

Walk away with clear, actionable insights on:

• What investors are really looking for in a startup’s sales traction
• The key sales metrics every founder should track — and why they matter
• Common mistakes founders make in their go-to-market strategy (and how to fix them fast)

Grab a drink, meet other ambitious builders, and leave with ideas you can put into action the next day.

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Andrew Goldner is a Founding Partner at GrowthX and co-founder of GrowthX Academy, with a career that spans founder, funder, and operator roles across the U.S. and Asia Pacific. Before GrowthX, he helped build and lead companies from startup through acquisition, including co-founding the financial news business that became Reuters’ global acquisition. He’s also advised early tech giants like Salesforce and DoubleClick, bringing decades of real-world experience to founders navigating growth and scale.

Dominick Ard'is is the founder of ACT House and managing partner of ACT Ventures, where he invests in the growth of both startups and the people behind them. A former military brat turned venture capitalist, his journey from launching his first startup to backing more than 35 companies reflects a philosophy of continuous improvement, purpose-driven leadership, and building businesses that make a lasting impact.