​What you'll learn:

In this interactive session, we’ll explore several real-world communication challenges that founders and startup leaders commonly face in the earliest stages of building a company. Together, we’ll examine practical approaches for navigating difficult conversations, aligning teams around shared goals, and building a culture of clarity and trust—even when the path forward is uncertain."

In early-stage startups, communication can make or break a team. Founders must constantly communicate up to investors and boards, across their teams, and down through the organization—often while navigating ambiguity, rapid change, and intense pressure to deliver results. In this interactive session, we’ll explore several real-world communication challenges that founders and startup leaders commonly face in the earliest stages of building a company. Together, we’ll examine practical approaches for navigating difficult conversations, aligning teams around shared goals, and building a culture of clarity and trust—even when the path forward is uncertain.

More about the speaker:

Julia Austin is an executive coach to startup founders, an angel investor, board member, and former technology executive who has spent more than three decades building and advising startups. She held early leadership roles at Akamai, VMware, and DigitalOcean and has advised hundreds of entrepreneurs through her work with startups, boards, as an educator, and as a longtime mentor at Techstars.

Julia is an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, where she previously taught Product Management and created several popular courses, including Startup Operations and The Startup Toolkit. She is the author of _After The Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup_ and the founder of Good For Her, a nonprofit supporting founders who identify as women.

NOTE: THIS EVENT IS ONLY OPEN TO CURRENT NYU STUDENTS, FACULTY, & STAFF. EACH ATTENDEE WILL BE REQUIRED TO SIGN IN WITH THEIR NYU ID CARD

THIS EVENT IS NOT OPEN TO ALUMNI