S-01 / 23+
Theodore Savage
Founder, The Cultivation Effect®
opening the summit
Two decades developing leaders across corporate, fitness, and education — featured on Good Morning America and the Today Show.
Theodore Savage
forge the future summit · August 2026
The room keeps what you missed.
All eight sessions live in Founders After Hours — replays, office hours, and the founders who showed up.
forged together · built to last · aug 10–20 · free · eight nights · forged together · built to last · aug 10–20 · free · eight nights ·
nights
operators
minutes a night
to attend
This is the first one. Eight nights, ninety minutes each, across every unit of the business you’re building — brand, influence, sales, marketing and PR, technology, capital, and the exit you haven’t thought about yet. You won’t sit and take notes. You’ll work on your own business in real time, in the room, with the people who’ve already done it.
How it works
1
Save your free seat.
Free registration on Luma. Your confirmation arrives with the calendar invite attached — add it, and you're locked in for every night you choose.
2
Show up live.
Monday through Thursday, 6:30–8:00 PM ET. Choose your nights when you register — all eight, or only the ones your business needs. Every session is live and worked, not watched: exercises, breakouts, and real questions answered in the room.
3
The room stays open.
Every session replays inside Founders After Hours 24 hours later — along with speaker office hours, and the founders you met in the chat. It's where two weeks turns into a practice.
The 2026 speakers
rev 04 · aug 8 · twenty-three named
Twenty-three builders, operators, and funders — no professional motivators. More announced weekly. Get the speaker announcement →
S-02 / 23+
Darren Willoughby
Brand & business strategist
hosting The Art of Desire
A decade helping companies find their voice, sharpen their message, and show up with intention — equal parts analytical and human.
Darren Willoughby
S-03 / 23+
Timothy Robertson
Founder, STATUS International
forge the future summit
Brand work for Visa, JP Morgan Chase, Amazon AWS Sports, NBC Universal — and F1 Monaco hospitality when no one else could deliver.
Timothy Robertson
S-04 / 23+
Tiffany Bethea
Executive Director, Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce
forge the future summit
Award-winning speaker and brand strategist whose clients double revenue in 30–60 days — 16 years launching profitable online brands.
Tiffany Bethea
S-05 / 23+
Keisha Bradley
CEO, The PR Alliance
forge the future summit
Client visibility in Forbes, ESSENCE, ABC, FOX and Black Enterprise — and a TEDx Talk nearing 2 million views.
Keisha Bradley
S-06 / 23+
Gilbryonna Shaw
Founder, Nü Momish
hosting The Rainmaker's Craft
Building the village mamas deserve — community and resources for mothers from preconception to empty-nesting.
Gilbryonna Shaw
S-07 / 23+
Calvin Royster
Encore Insurance Group
hosting The End of the Beginning
Insurance as a business asset — risk strategy for businesses, nonprofits, and government contractors.
Calvin Royster
S-08 / 23+
Tony Wagner
Sales Performance Strategist
forge the future summit
B2B sales across real estate, construction, and professional services — multimillion-dollar portfolios closed, #1 in regional growth.
Tony Wagner
S-09 / 23+
Quintel Harcum
Founder, QS Studio
hosting The Modern Advantage
Johns Hopkins' first Black food-service partner, $720K in revenue — now coaching 40+ businesses on AI systems.
Quintel Harcum
S-10 / 23+
Jeffrey Scruggs
Founder & CEO, Majestic Light Group
forge the future summit
AI engineer built at the Department of Defense and Booz Allen Hamilton — currently building 50 AI-powered applications in public.
Jeffrey Scruggs
S-11 / 23+
Alex Johnson
Founder, Optumize Solutions
forge the future summit
Automation that recovered $150K+ in lost annual revenue for one client — and is projected to drive $1.2–1.6M in another.
Alex Johnson
S-12 / 23+
Jerone Anthony Tyler
Founder, Posteridy.ai
hosting Capital & Command
Has helped entrepreneurs secure $30M+ in funding.
Jerone Anthony Tyler
S-13 / 23+
Claudius Taylor
Angel Investor, Gaingels
forge the future summit
Co-invests Seed to pre-IPO alongside top VCs — a three-time founder with two exits.
Claudius Taylor
S-14 / 23+
Lyndsae' Peele
Senior Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager, Kiva U.S.
forge the future summit
Finance coach and ESSENCE Fest 2026 speaker — $1M+ in first-year real estate sales, five years helping families of color build wealth.
Lyndsae' Peele
S-15 / 23+
Lake Mitchell
Founder & CEO, Lake Tax & Advisory Group
forge the future summit
Wealth Engineer — $2M+ in client tax savings identified; U.S. Army First Lieutenant and PhD researcher.
Lake Mitchell
S-16 / 23+
Robin Haynes
Business Advisor, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
hosting The Endgame
800+ entrepreneurs advised across 25 years — client revenue growth of 72% or more.
Robin Haynes
S-17 / 23+
Cedric Powell
M&A Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
forge the future summit
Advises private equity buyers and sellers on acquisitions, divestitures, and recapitalizations.
Cedric Powell
S-18 / 23+
Margo Burr
Dance studio co-owner
forge the future summit
A Baltimore Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree serving hundreds of children across Maryland.
Margo Burr
S-19 / 23+
Jaren Kirkland
M&A Investment Banking, Wells Fargo
forge the future summit
Built a $5M last-mile delivery business at 21 — plus two auto-body franchises grossing $1M+ each.
Jaren Kirkland
S-20 / 23+
James Busia
State Farm® Agency Owner
forge the future summit
Chairman's Circle in two of his first three years — agency grown from $220K to $1M gross annual revenue.
James Busia
S-21 / 23+
Erika Baez-Grimes
M&A Advisor, CM&AP
forge the future summit
$350M+ in business scale and exit activity across the companies she's founded, led, or advises.
Erika Baez-Grimes
S-22 / 23+
Dr. Rashae Barnes
Founder & CEO, Barnes Media Group
forge the future summit
Fifteen years of media placements and brand strategy — Google, Amazon, BET, Verzuz — and founder of National Black Funding Day.
Dr. Rashae Barnes
S-23 / 23+
Jay Hill
Founder, Jay Hill Network
forge the future summit
Host of The Jay Hill Podcast — conversations with entrepreneurs, athletes, and artists that have reached millions.
Jay Hill
Two weeks, mapped
week one
- Aug 10The Weight and the VisionLeadership — a fireside conversation on leading from the inside out
- Aug 11The Art of DesireBrand — building a brand that commands the room
- Aug 12RenownedMarketing & PR — the art of influence, press & becoming a movement
- Aug 13The Rainmaker's CraftSales — turning passion into profit
- aug 14–16 · off — go build
week two
- Aug 17The Modern AdvantageTechnology & AI — tech, AI & doing more with less
- Aug 18Capital & CommandFinance & Funding — mastering business finances and funding
- Aug 19The EndgameExit Strategy — preparing for an exit before you need one
- Aug 20The End of the BeginningThe Founder's Reality — the real cost & reward of building
All sessions 6:30–8:00 PM ET. One registration, and you choose the nights. Fridays through Sundays are yours — go build with the week.
Save My Free SeatFree · virtual · one registration covers all eight nights
Who is this for?
Idea-stage entrepreneurs you have the vision and the nerve. What's missing is the blueprint, and the conviction to start before it's perfect.
Early-stage entrepreneurs zero to three years in, revenue coming through the door, and every system in the business still running through you.
Scaling entrepreneurs the thing works. Now the questions are capital, leverage, and what this becomes when you're not the one holding it up.
If you’re serious, you belong here.
August is National Black Business Month. Most of what that means arrives as a conference — a flight, a hotel, a badge, and three days away from the business you’re supposed to be building. This is the other thing. Ninety minutes a night, from the beach, the office, or the edge of your bed. Eight small deliberate moves instead of one big weekend. Come September, you won’t have a lanyard. You’ll have momentum.
— Justin Shaw
Questions, answered
What does it cost?
Nothing — the seat is free. Register on Luma and you're in every night live.
What if I can't make a session live?
Every replay lands in Founders After Hours 24 hours later — that's Ventriq's working community, where the summit keeps going. The live seat is the free one, and it's where the real work happens. Save it and show up.
What time is this in my zone?
6:30–8:00 PM ET each night — so 5:30 CT, 4:30 MT, 3:30 PT. The calendar invite in your confirmation will convert it for you automatically.
How much time is this, honestly?
Ninety minutes a night, Monday through Thursday, for two weeks. Fridays through Sundays are yours. It's built for people running businesses, because you are.
Who are the speakers?
Operators, builders, and funders — people who've done the thing they're teaching. Twenty-three of them named across the eight nights, with more announced weekly.
Do I have to attend all eight nights?
No. Choose your sessions when you register — one night, four, or all eight. Most founders come for the nights that map to what they're solving right now, then stay for the ones they didn't expect to need.
What do I need?
Zoom, a notebook, and one real challenge in your business you want to move.
Can I send my team?
Yes — registration is per person, so have them grab their own seats. It's free for everybody who builds.
What's Founders After Hours?
Ventriq’s working community: replays, office hours with advisors, webinars, and a monthly in-person hour where founders do the work together. Read about it →
backed by
Put your name behind the builders
Summit sessions can be sponsored by companies and organizations that want to reach serious entrepreneurs — visibly and usefully.
Eight nights. Two weeks. Your move.
Save My Free SeatAug 10–20 · 6:30–8:00 PM ET · live on Zoom · free · one registration, all eight nights
Free · virtual
Aug 10–20