Zo? Foundry

?? From Solo Founder to Studio Builder: A Story of Reinvention "I knew how to build ONE company. Now I'm learning to build MANY." - Garrett Viggers In this powerful clip, Garrett Viggers, an exited founder, dives into his transition into the venture studio world. After the success of his own startup, he faced a crossroads: follow the same path or take the bold step of joining a collaborative ecosystem. Building in a studio means setting aside the familiar playbook, embracing vulnerability, and multiplying impact alongside other founders. It’s not about starting over—it’s about reshaping entrepreneurship through collective innovation. Curious about the next wave of company building? The future isn’t solo founders—it’s collaborative creation. ?? Watch the full episode in the link below for more insights. https://lnkd.in/gwW8Dksa #StartupStudio #Entrepreneurship #VentureBuilding #Innovation #LeadershipLessons

?? #motivationmonday Doing good is always good! Last week at our Zo? Foundry events at InsureTech Connect we raised $5,495 of our $10,000 goal to fund a well for a community. ?? SEE LINK BELOW TO DONATE BY THIS FRIDAY. ?? This past weekend I visited the charity: water event in Franklin, TN, and experienced their Water Walk with a 40lb jerry can of water, which many around the world walk miles to get water. ?? Donate here: https://lnkd.in/gpvyN45c #dogood #waterchangeseverything #charitywater #waterislife #zoefoundry #employeebenefits #startupstudio #venturestudio

Our Zo? Foundry Kairos Connection & Ideation Event at InsureTech Connect was ??????. The room was filled with 50 benefits thought leaders, Zo? advisors, corporates, founders, investors and friends! We dove into our venture studio model, portfolio company updates, and had a mini ideation + validation workshop with 4 concepts around Voluntary Benefits and/or Distribution. Thanks to our event sponsors + Live Painting for Good Experience (Shane Grammer artist: charity: water) Principal Financial Group, Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated, Aflac Ventures, OneDigital, TriNet, Sydney Consulting Group, The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business Vaughan Institute of Risk Mgmt. The future is bright! ?????? #venturestudio #startupstudio #employeebenefits #insurtechconnect #itcvegas #kairosconnection #charitywater #dogood

Excited to have Bob Ruff (Aflac Group Insurance) & Vinay Gidwaney (OneDigital) at our InsureTech Connect Kairos Connection & Ideation Event both sharing market perspective and challenges for our two Zo? Foundry concept validation focus areas: ?? Voluntary Benefits ?? Benefits Distribution #startupstudio #venturestudio #employeebenefits #insurtech #voluntarybenefits #benefitsbrokers #dogood

?? Zo? Foundry is also hosting a OPEN INVITE BENEFITS FOCUSED MEET-UP at InsureTech Connect Vegas Oct 17 1-2pm. ?????? The Illusion of Innovation {Derisking for Corporates & Startups}. Earlier this year I became friends with Elliott Parker, CEO/founder of High Alpha Innovation and devoured his new book "The Illusion of Innovation". Check it out! Link to the book in comments. Elliott will be speaking on the "illusion" of innovation for corporates and myself along with Jason T. Andrew, Jennifer Fitzgerald and Karan Mishra will be sharing stories & insights on the "illusion" of innovation as exited/repeat founders building in the employee benefits space and surviving multiple near-death experiences along the way. Grateful for our benefits focused sponsors: Principal Financial Group Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated Aflac Ventures OneDigital TriNet Sydney Consulting Group The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business Vaughan Institute of Risk Management #venturestudio #startupstudio #employeebenefits #itcvegas #insurtech #illusionofinnovation #innovation

?? Excited to host Zo? Foundry's benefits-focused Kairos Connection & Ideation Event at InsureTech Connect Vegas on Tuesday, October 15th, from 1-5 PM. This invite-only event will bring together thought leaders in the benefits industry through our Zo? Collective Network, which includes exited founders, active and retired executives, corporates, and investors. The goal is to connect, build trusted relationships, and dedicate time to focus on the most relevant and timely (kairos) problems worth solving for our next portfolio company. I'm grateful for our event sponsors and our Live Painting for Good Experience with Shane Grammer and art auction supporting a charity: water well project. Principal Financial Group, Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated, Aflac Ventures, OneDigital, TriNet, Sydney Consulting Group, The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business Vaughan Institute of Risk Management. See Zo?'s charity water fundraiser link in Comments. #venturestudio #startupstudio #employeebenefits #itcvegas #insurtech #charitywater #dogood #culturematters

Super excited to be bringing 2 Zo? Foundry (employee benefits focused) events to InsureTech Connect Vegas as a BRONZE sponsor. Get ready...on Monday we begin ?? amplifying both events and our incredible sponsors ?? as we continue building and backing startups in the employee benefits space. Sneak peak... we will be hosting our next Kairos Connection & Ideation Event and including a ?? Live Painting for Good Experience (as we did in Des Moines at the Principal Charity Classic). This time we will be supporting charity: water to fund a clean water well and our featured mural artist is my good friend Shane Grammer DM me if you're attending ITC and committed to serving the employee benefits space. #venturestudio #startupstudio #employeebenefits #itcvegas2024 #insurtech #charitywater #kairosconnection #livepainting