speaker photo

Alistair Croll (he/him)

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

Startup Essentials

Welcome to the 16th Edition of Startupfest!

Join Startupfest founder Phil Telio and content chair Alistair Croll as they kick off our 16th edition with a no-nonsense, insider's guide to what you need to do to get the most out of the next 3 days! See More.
Startup Essentials

The Loop

We live in exponential times. All meaningful growth comes from compounding: a constant, gradual, inexorable bending of the curve in your favour. If you want to ride the curve rather than being crushed by it, you need to start thinking in loops. See More.
Startup Essentials

Welcome Back!

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.
AIFest

Welcome to AIFest

Join Startupfest Content Chair Alistair Croll as he kicks off AIFest, a half day deep-dive that goes beyond the hype and looks at how AI agents are fundamentally changing the cost of software, the reality of customer retention, and the fundamentals of tech entrepreneurship. See More.
AIFest

Workshop: Your Agentic Co-Founder

Join Startupfest chair and bestselling author Alistair Croll for a two-hour dive into the world of AI-augmented startups. It's a two-hour, interactive discussion on what's working, what's changing, and where entrepreneurship is headed with a second intelligence joining the team. See More.
Pitches

Welcome to Day 3!

Today is all about the prize finals! Join Alistair as he kicks off the third and final day of Startupfest 2026! See More.