Co-Founder Connect

The Venture Debate VC is the default story for startups: raise a round, hire fast, raise again. But most businesses that take venture money don't return the fund, and plenty of great companies never raise at all. So should you be raising VC? The Venture Debate is the second half of our day. It follows Founder Day, where VCs walk founders through how funds work and what they look for. Once you've heard how venture works from the inside, we ask whether you should take it at all. We're bringing together founders and investors who land on very different sides of that question. Some have raised big rounds and would do it again. Others have built without VC, or have taken it and wished they hadn't. It's part panel, part debate, and nobody's there to agree politely. What to expect: Alan Tsen (CDH), will be moderating and will put the big questions to the panel and let them argue it out. When does VC make sense, and when does it quietly break a good business? What do you give up when you take the money? What does the alternative actually look like? Then the floor opens to you, so bring your questions and your own experience. Expect strong opinions, real numbers and a few uncomfortable truths about how venture works, from people who've lived both sides of it. Stay tuned as we'll announce the panellists soon! Schedule 5:30pm - Doors open, drinks and networking 6:00pm - The Venture Debate, panel discussion followed by audience Q&A. 7:00pm - Drinks and networking 7:30pm · Wrap Who should come? Founders who've been told they need to raise, and aren't sure they believe it. Anyone who's watched a well-funded startup burn out, or a bootstrapped one quietly win. It's a good fit if you're: A founder deciding whether VC is the right path for your business Building something profitable and wondering if venture money would help or hurt An investor who wants to test your thesis against some pushback An operator or aspiring founder who wants to hear both sides before you pick one Spending

After Hours: Creator Meetup with frommetoyou.wld 📍 Location - OnAir Cremorne 📅 Wednesday 28 October, 6:30 to 9:30pm What to expect A relaxed after-hours hang for creatives. Drop in after work and meet people who get what you do. There are no speeches, no panels and nothing to prepare. Just good company in a good space. What you’ll walk away with New connections with creators across Melbourne Fresh ideas and maybe your next collab Something memorable from your table to take home Spots are limited, so lock yours in. Bring a mate and come say hi. 🍕🎶

Nemotron is NVIDIA’s family of open-weight models. It comes in different sizes, from lighter models suited to efficient workloads to larger models for more demanding tasks, so teams can choose what fits their product. Open-weight models give you more control over the models you build on. You can download them, fine-tune them on your own data, and choose where they run. Open-weight models are becoming more capable, and that’s changing what small teams can build. About the event Building with Nemotron is a presentation-led session. It’s pitched at technically inclined founders and operators, so it’s accessible but still substantive. You don’t need an engineering background to get real value from it. An NVIDIA speaker will give an overview of the Nemotron family, explaining what the models are for, how they compare, and what it takes for a startup to deploy one. The session finishes with open Q&A. This is the first half of Open Season, CDH’s afternoon and evening on the future of open-weight AI, in partnership with NVIDIA. Stay on for part 2, Building in the Open, an evening founder panel, or come to this session only. How the day will run: Session 1: The Nemotron family: An NVIDIA speaker walks through Nemotron Nano, Super and Ultra, explaining what each is built for, how they compare, and why the startup-friendly tier matters for early teams. Session 2: Putting it to work: This part covers the real choices behind building on Nemotron, including fine-tuning, running costs and deployment. It’s explained in plain terms and grounded in startup use cases. Ask NVIDIA: Bring your questions on Nemotron, tooling and where to start, so you leave knowing your next step. Drinks: Stay on for drinks and networking. The session will be led by an NVIDIA speaker who works on the Nemotron model family. Stay tuned for the announcement! Why you should join You’ll get a clear map of NVIDIA’s open model family and which tier suits your use case. You’ll understand the real trade-offs aroun