You don't need more information.
You need a plan.
Another year of working this hard should get you further than the last one. The Annual Founder Summit gives you three days in Denver to map the next twelve months, pressure-test it with women building alongside you, and leave knowing exactly what you do next.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Have you ever left an event feeling motivated, but then had no idea what to do on Monday?
Or left with a clear plan you never opened again, because the day-to-day took over?
This Summit is built to make this time different.
WHO THIS IS FOR
You've built something real. And now you're ready for the plan + connections to help you reach what's next.
You're an owner, founder, or CEO. You have customers, revenue, and momentum. Maybe you have a team. Maybe you're still doing too much yourself. You know you're not looking for another startup workshop.
You're looking for:
- Access to the people who can fund your next stage or partner with you
- More profit without more hours
- A business that doesn't depend on you for everything
- A long-term strategy, maybe even an eventual exit
- A way to scale without more complexity
"It takes a village, literally. This is a great place to come together and meet like-minded people, as well as folks who may be ahead of you in their journey."
Shanea
Past Attendee
Hear from past Summit attendees on what this experience meant to them.
The experience
At the Annual Founder Summit, you'll spend three days getting clear, mapping what's next, pressure testing your plan, making it real, and leaving ready.
Every part builds on the last. No dipping in and out of unrelated sessions.
Get clear
Define what your next level actually looks like.
Map what's next
Identify the priorities and moves that get you there.
Pressure-test it
Find what's missing before it costs you.
You can't pressure-test your own plan. Your friends will always tell you it sounds great. Here, you'll find where it could break.
Make it real
Work through the decisions and mindset shifts standing in your way.
Leave ready
Know what you're doing Monday, next month, and next quarter.
SPANISH-LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Translation services will be available during sessions, so more women entrepreneurs can fully participate.
Porque las mejores oportunidades deben estar al alcance de más mujeres empresarias.
The agenda
Day by day
You leave knowing who you serve, why your company exists, where it's going, and the one goal that defines the next twelve months.
Registration & Networking Breakfast
HOPE2Women Welcome
Led by Hana
You'll learn who HOPE2Women is, what the national network offers, and what's available to you after these three days.
The Commitment
Led by Kayla
You'll make the agreement for the three days: this work will be uncomfortable, and you'll learn to read the discomfort as the signal, not the warning.
The Force for Good System
Led by Coco
You'll learn how the system works, what gets built each day, and how the working sessions run.
Core Purpose
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll define why your company exists, then draft and declare your own Core Purpose, with facilitators guiding you through it.
Break
Vision and Long-Range Impact
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll draft your Company Vision and a long-range impact goal: the world your business is building toward.
Lunch
Holding a Vision
You'll hear from a founder who held one vision across years and more than one company: what it cost her, how she held onto it, and what she wanted it to change.
12-Month Breakthrough Goal
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll get coached before the goal gets set, so the number you write down isn't one you've quietly talked yourself down from. Then you'll name your revenue goal and growth ceiling, identify what's holding you back and what could accelerate you, and select your own breakthrough goal for the next twelve months.
Break
A Million Mistakes on the Way to $1 Million
Mary Swenson — World Trade Center Delaware
You'll hear what the road to a million dollars actually looked like, including the parts that went wrong.
The Ripple Card
Led by Kayla
What you're building, and who it's for, put into words and kept in front of you for the rest of the Summit.
Day 1 Wrap
Led by Hana
You'll get the plan for this evening, tomorrow, and any logistics you need.
Welcome Mixer, sponsored by T-Mobile (Gold & VIP)
You leave with the plan itself: the map from here to your goal, an honest assessment of what helps and what's in the way, the year sequenced by quarter, next month assigned with owners, and two people who have read the whole thing.
Registration & Networking Breakfast
Welcome Back
Led by Hana
You'll reconnect with the room and get set up for the day.
Transformational Map
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll get coached on what landed yesterday, and called out on anything you're already quietly negotiating down. Then you'll map the bridge from where your business is now to your breakthrough goal: the outer moves and inner shifts, including the beliefs that quietly cap growth.
Focused SWOT
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll run your own self-assessment, see it against a live aggregate from the whole room, then name your own top three strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Break
Challenge and Overcoming
Gwen Hart, with additional panelists
You'll hear from founders who've been in the gap between the plan and the reality, on what they actually did to keep moving.
Lunch
Quarterly Map
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll get coached on the real question: not whether it's possible, but who you are and why you're the person to do it. Then you'll work backward from your twelve-month goal and set Q1 through Q4 milestones across breakthrough progress, performance, and systems.
Break
30-Day Goals and Owners
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll leave with the three things that must happen next month, each with a named owner and a date.
Peer Exchange
Led by Coco and Kayla
Real feedback on your plan from someone building alongside you, and you'll do the same for her.
Bringing It All Together
Led by Kayla
You'll close out the day: what you built, and what it means that you built it.
Day 2 Wrap
Led by Hana
You'll get the plan for this evening, tomorrow, and any logistics you need.
Champagne Toast with Terri Eagle, author of The Champagne CEO (Gold & VIP, tentative)
You leave with the plan running: what you measure, when you check it, who is holding you to it, and what you do on the days it gets hard.
Registration & Networking Breakfast
Welcome Back
Led by Hana
You'll reconnect with the room and get set up for the final day.
KPIs and Weekly Dashboard
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll get coached on the real test: you have a plan, and the question now is whether it survives you. Then you'll set three leading and three lagging indicators for your twelve-month goal, and build your own weekly dashboard.
Weekly Acceleration Meeting
Led by Coco and Kayla
You'll design the weekly ritual that keeps your plan moving, and put it on your calendar before you leave the room.
Break
Capital & Compliance: An SEC Perspective
Rose Standifer, Foley Hoag LLP
You'll hear an informal look at what small-business issues the SEC is focused on right now, from a Capital Formation Advisory Committee member.
Lunch
The Long Game
Sara Benken
You'll hear from a founder who kept going through a long flat stretch, and what she did on the days it wasn't working.
Celebration and Commitment
Led by Kayla
What you're building, who you need to become for it, and what changes the day you get home, said out loud.
Break
Next Steps and the Ripple Wall
Led by Kayla
You'll leave with a written support list: coaching, peer groups, mentors, who and when. Then you'll see the wall: three days of cards, one room, and everything this group is creating together.
Graduation
Led by Coco
You'll close on the Three Leadership Commitments: Be Wise, Be Transformative, Be of Highest and Best Use.
Close
Led by Hana
Final takeaways, and everything available through HOPE2Women and AWBC, with full information sent to everyone afterward.
Purchased separately
Special Excursion: Cog Railway
A separate fourth-day experience, booked and paid for on our host site, not through Summit checkout.
$144
Purchase on host site →Summit agenda is subject to change as new speakers and sessions are added
THE PEOPLE
You can find information anywhere.
You can't replicate this room.
The real value of the Annual Founder Summit isn't the agenda. It's who's next to you: founders, funders, bankers, national partners, sponsors, and leaders from the 140+ Women's Business Centers in the AWBC network. This is where strategy meets access.
SPEAKERS & FACILITATORS
"It was an amazing experience. I got to find out about different opportunities available to small businesses. I learned so many different resources that are out there that I never knew existed."
Awnica
Past Attendee
WHAT CHANGES
We know what it costs to step away from your customers, your team, your inbox, your day-to-day...
But we also know what it costs to keep doing the same thing and expect growth to feel different. Three days gives you something you rarely get as an owner: uninterrupted time to make decisions, map what's next, and get in front of the people you need to know.
After the HOPE2Women Annual Founder Summit:
- You stop carrying all of it in your head.
- You know what you're doing Monday, next month, and next quarter.
- You know what's most likely to stop you, because you found it in a room in September instead of alone in January.
- You're positioned to be funded rather than hoping to be. The plan is what makes you fundable.
- You're clearer about what you sell and who you sell it to, which is what actually makes you visible.
- You have eight or ten people who know your business and expect to hear from you.
- You have more ease, because decisions that used to be daily are now already made.
WHERE YOU'LL STAY
Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center
The official Summit hotel, right on-site at the event. No shuttle, no separate venue to find, and more chances to connect with other attendees outside of sessions.
The investment
The question isn't “Can I afford to go?”
It's “What changes if I do?”
Three ways to join us in Denver. Every ticket includes breakfast and lunch each day. Travel and hotel are separate.
Silver
$595 / seat
The full three-day workshop.
- Full 3-day workshop access
- Breakfast & lunch each day
- Professional headshot
- A copy of Coco Sellman's Force for Good
Gold
$749 / seat
The workshop, plus the room.
- Full 3-day workshop access
- Breakfast & lunch each day
- Professional headshot
- A copy of Coco Sellman's Force for Good
- Tuesday Night Welcome Mixer, sponsored by T-Mobile
- Wednesday Night Champagne Toast with Terri Eagle, author of The Champagne CEO
- Summit swag
VIP
$949 / seat
Everything in Gold, plus 30 days of follow-through.
- Full 3-day workshop access
- Breakfast & lunch each day
- Professional headshot
- A copy of Coco Sellman's Force for Good
- Tuesday Night Welcome Mixer, sponsored by T-Mobile
- Wednesday Night Champagne Toast with Terri Eagle, author of The Champagne CEO
- 1-hour virtual plan review, 30 days post-Summit
- Business spotlight in the national newsletter & recap email
- Bonus swag
Purchased separately · Day 4
Special Excursion: Cog Railway
A separate fourth-day experience, booked and paid for on our host site, not through Summit checkout.
Contact us at events@awbc.org for group rates
YOUR BRAND, A NEW NETWORK
Walk away looking the part, carrying the playbook, and having real connections in your corner.
Professional headshots
Leave with a photo you'll actually use: on LinkedIn, your website, your next pitch deck. On-site all three days, no extra cost, any ticket tier.
A copy of A Force for Good
Take home the book behind the system you'll spend three days working through, written by your facilitator, Coco Sellman.
Welcome Mixer, sponsored by T-Mobile
An evening reception built for real conversation: meet the founders, funders, and partners who can actually move your business forward.
Spread the word
Know a founder who needs this room?
Share the Summit with someone who's ready for what's next.
Suggested caption: copy & paste anywhere
You don't need more information. You need a plan. The HOPE2Women Annual Founder Summit is three days in Denver for women founders, owners, and CEOs who are ready for what's next. Facilitated by Coco Sellman and a lineup of speakers, you'll get clear on your next stage, map the moves that get you there, and pressure-test it with women building right alongside you. Along the way, you'll connect with funders, investors, and partners who can actually move things forward. September 15–17, 2026. Denver, Colorado. Register: https://hope2women.org/summit #H2WSummit26
Common questions
Before you register
Who will attend?
What if I can only attend part of the Summit?
Tickets are for the full three-day experience and can't be split or prorated for partial attendance, since each day builds directly on the last.
What's the refund or cancellation policy?
Full refund up to 30 days before the event, 50% up to 14 days before, and no refunds inside 14 days of the Summit.
Do you offer group or team rates?
Yes. Bringing a small group? Email events@awbc.org for group pricing. Women's groups, brands, and organizations can reach out to the same address for member deals or partnerships.
What happens right after I register?
You'll get a confirmation email with your ticket details, the hotel booking link and rate, and the full agenda as it's finalized. Nothing else to do until September.
Is there a deadline to register?
The last day to purchase tickets is September 14, 2026. The hotel room block closes August 14, 2026, so book your room early if you want the Summit rate.
What about dietary needs or accessibility?
Your registration includes a question about dietary restrictions, so just let us know what you need. Translation services will also be available during sessions, so more women can fully participate.
Who can I contact with other questions?
Email events@awbc.org and we'll get back to you.
SPONSORS + PARTNERS
Made possible by organizations committed to women entrepreneurs
EXHIBITORS
Connect with products, services, and resources built for your next stage
Sept 15-17, 2026 | Denver, Colorado