speaker photo

Alistair Croll (he/him)

Co-author, Just Evil Enough

Content Chair, Startupfest

Alistair makes early-stage companies improve their go-to-market strategies, and works with some of the world’s largest firms on business model innovation. He also helps governments understand the impact of technology on society, ethics, and resiliency.

As an entrepreneur, Alistair co-founded Coradiant; the Year One Labs accelerator; and a variety of other startups. He has also launched and chaired some of the world’s leading conferences on emerging technology, including Startupfest, Strata, Cloud Connect, FWD50, Bitnorth, Scaletech, and more.

Alistair is the author of four books on technology and entrepreneurship, including the best-selling Lean Analytics, which has been translated into eight languages and is in its tenth printing in China. He speaks internationally on topics such as data science, innovation, scaling startups, digital government, AI, and applying critical thinking to technology. A graduate of Dalhousie University, he has also been a visiting executive on data science and critical thinking at Harvard Business School.

Sessions

Startupfest

Welcome to our 15th edition of Startupfest!

July 9, 202510:00 AM EDT – 10:10 AM EDT
PORT STAGE
English
Join Startupfest founder Phil Telio and content chair Alistair Croll as they kick off our landmark 15th anniversary edition with a no-nonsense preview of what's actually worth your time over these three days. See More.
Startupfest

A million tiny horses

July 9, 202510:10 AM EDT – 10:30 AM EDT
PORT STAGE
English
The economics of venture capital depend on the idea of a unicorn—a rare startup so successful it more than repays all of the money investors lost elsewhere. But as the barriers to entry and scale vanish, and small teams can create massive systems, the unicorn is going extinct. Smaller companies can target a microniche, and extract enough profit to fund a sustainable business without ever taking on venture funding. These “lifestyle businesses”, once derided by startup founders, are looking far more appealing in uncertain economic times. Hundreds of thousands of laid-off tech workers no longer believe the myth of profitable stock options. And the cost of experimenting is vanishingly small, so everyone can have a side hustle. See More.
Startupfest

Welcome back!

July 10, 202510:00 AM EDT – 10:15 AM EDT
PORT STAGE
English
Join us as we kick off day 2 and make sure you're up to date on what's going on on site today! See More.
Startupfest

Marketing therapy - LIVE!

July 10, 20252:30 PM EDT – 3:10 PM EDT
PORT STAGE
English
In a world where everything from infrastructure to coding to distribution can be bootstrapped from scratch, and where AI is draining every competitive moat, go-to-market strategy and differentiation are how you stand out. We've summoned marketing experts for lightning-round answers to your most pressing questions. Come armed with a problem, and expect some unconventional, media-savvy, and slightly subversive answers! See More.