Cohesion Crafted

Woohoo! On Friday afternoon, Early Stage Founders gathered in the burbs. Connections were made, resources were shared, pizza was consumed and the Philly burbs became a more connected place to build a business. Thanks again to Brian and Piper Companies for sponsoring the event and to all of the founders that showed up for each other. Stay tuned for details for our March gathering!

If you thought March was full based on our post last week, you were wrong! Check out the events added since last week. 5th – ProductTank Philadelphia – Journey into Product Leadership 5th – Sports Business Leaders – Women’s Wednesday 5th – Keiretsu Forum – Investor Showcase: Advancing Innovation and impact for Women-Led Companies 5th – Founder Institute - Keystone Positioning to Differentiate: how to stand out & make an impact 6th – Philadelphia Tech Entrepreneurs – Comparing Marketing Channels: The Pros, Cons and How to Choose Wisely 7th – Founder Fridays Philadelphia: Pitch Competition - compete for a chance to be on This Week in Startups 11th – Temple Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute – ETA – Entrepreneurship through Acquisition 11th – IT Pros – Tech On Tap: Networking at the Data Center 13th – Technical.ly – Life Sciences Meeetup @ Technical.ly newsroom 21st – Wharton Entrepreneurship Club - Wharton Startup Week Summit 2025 26th – i2n - The Ideas x Innovation Network - Road to LionCage – Women Founders 26th – Philly Analytics – Mastering the voice of the customer

Congrats to Kristine Mascione, an ESFitB, on the launch of Vondern! "Vondern is the social media app that wants you addicted to being off your phone. Find unique experiences, support businesses that deserve the spotlight, and explore new places. Spend less time scrolling and more time living"

Happy Monday all - Looking forward to a week of warmer weather and our next "founder in the burbs event" this Friday. Let's take a look at other things going on in Greater Philadelphia over the next week and the Month of March! First up - Founder Institute - Keystone is gearing up for the Spring Cohort. That application deadline is just around the corner (March 2nd). They are hosting a slew of informative events as they prepare for the incoming startups. Tue - Investor?AMA: How to Make Your Startup Fundable! Wed - Creating a Clear and Compelling Positioning Statement Fri - AI for Startups: What to Choose and How to Use It Mar 4 - Customer Development: Ask Smarter, Validate Faster ?? But wait, there is more! March is chock-full of goodness ?? 1st – Code & Coffee 5th – New Jersey Innovation Institute - Open Coffee Club 5th – Philly Startup Leaders – Welcome Wagon 6th – Venture Café Philadelphia - Thursday Gathering 11th ?Code for Philly – March Hack Night 13 – Innovative Technology Action Group - ITAG – Partnership meeting 14th – i2n - The Ideas x Innovation Network – Scaling for Growth – Patents, Trademarks, Intellectual Property 14th – CCEDC - Chester County Economic Development Council – Executive Insights: A Panel of Visionary CEOs 14th – Rise & Thrive – Summit for Women Entrepreneurs 20th – Venture Café Philadelphia - Thursday Gathering 20th-22nd Tribaja.co – Diversitech 21st- Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT) – Phorum 2025 Demo Pit Application Deadline 26th – Sports Business Leaders – Meetup 27th – Startup Valley – Tech & Business Networking 28th – i2n - The Ideas x Innovation Network Scaling for Growth – Funding Options

The FI Keystone chapter is rockin' and rolling! ???? ?? We're charged??up for our next cohort and have a ton of events happening... ? Kicking it off is our "Quick Takes" webinar series, tackling startup topics, including ?? #startupinvestors, ??#customerdevelopment, building your ??#startupteam, ??#AIforstartups, ??#IP considerations, ??#pitching and much more! ?? ???This is your opportunity to ask questions and get a taste of everything FI and our renowned mentors can do to accelerate your startup and prepare you for funding! (By the way, applications are still open for our updated April start date!) Plus, we'll be showing up IRL too at Philly Startup Leaders #welcomewagon in March and other tech events throughout PA & NJ! Follow us to keep updated, or check out Cohesion Crafted, curator of all tech events in the tri-state area! #whoompthereitis????

?? Another blustery day cannot keep the events away! Here is the roundup of the latest additions to our community calendar. ? 24th – Philadelphia Tech Entrepreneurs – Tech Talks Happy Hour Series (Welcome to the burbs this month!) 24th – Founder Institute - Keystone - Investor Valuation: How to assess your startup’s worth 25th – Entrepreneurs Organization of Philadelphia – The?Breakthrough Exchange: Speed Mentoring for EO Members 26th – Innovators Alliance – Craft a clear & compelling positioning statement Look out for next week, when we’ll include the full list for March!

Early-stage founders in the burbs is back!?Feb 28th in Conshohocken! ?Link in comments Product or Service; Bootstrap or Funded; If you are on your journey from 0-1 in building your business, this event is for you. Thanks to Brian and Piper Companies for sponsoring us this month and welcoming us into their space. Price of entry? ?Tell the group about 1 resource that is helping you in your journey.?This is purposely open-ended.?Tell us about a book that helped you, an unconventional funding source, a podcast, a service provider, your favorite new AI tech, or something else entirely!

?? Happy Monday all – A late start this morning means a late evening event update, but better late than never. Here is the roundup of the latest additions to our community calendar. ? 11th – IT Pros – Tech on Tap: Networking at the Brewery 11th – Pennovation Works - KIZ & Tell: Deiscover the Keystone Innovation Zone 26th – Sports Business Leaders: Princeton 28th – West Chester University of Pennsylvania – Deadline for Business Idea Challenge 2025 Also added 2 more podcasts and links to other event aggregators in our community (Tech and general interest). Check them out!

The Power of Finding Your Entrepreneurial Tribe Had an inspiring moment at our event last Friday - several founders from our community, including our own Mark, shared their experiences with Thrive. What's Thrive? It's a refreshingly different kind of entrepreneur community, thoughtfully built by Eric and team specifically for bootstrapped founders. No pressure to chase VC funding or hit unicorn status - just real conversations about building sustainable, profitable businesses. What stands out is the authenticity. This isn't another noisy Slack channel or generic forum. It's a space where bootstrappers openly share their challenges, celebrate their wins (big and small), and connect with others who truly get it. If you're building without outside funding, you know how valuable it is to find others on the same path. Whether you're just starting or already generating revenue, there's a seat at this table for you. As part of the event last week, we can offer $50 off your first-year membership (yes, it's an affiliate link that supports Cohesion Crafted), but I wouldn't share this if I didn't believe in its value for bootstrapped founders. Interested? Drop a comment or DM for the link. #BootstrappedFounders #Entrepreneurship #CommunityBuilding #CraftCohesion