Startup founders – especially those doing it for the first time – don’t always know what to expect when it comes to valuation, dilution, and fundraising, generally. This session will dig into why it’s critical to get the valuation right, how you can put yourself on the strongest footing, and what you can do to prepare. We’ll also touch on fundraising trends and best practices, pulling back the curtain on what some of the smartest founders are doing to raise successfully. This session is best suited to founders who are raising a pre-seed, seed round, or Series A.

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Kristen Craft  | VP of Business Partnerships at Fidelity

Kristen Craft brings deep startup roots to her role as VP of Business Partnerships at Fidelity. In this role, she's building out Fidelity's startup engagement platform, supporting founders and investors with equity management tools, fundraising strategy, and go-to-market best practices. Prior to Fidelity, Kristen was a founder herself, and then a longtime startup operator. She enjoyed working on strategic partnerships and digital marketing, predominantly in B2B SaaS companies. A Boston-area native, Kristen holds a B.A. from Brown University, an M.Ed. from Harvard University, and an MBA from MIT Sloan. She's particularly passionate about building community, creating connections, and supporting diverse founders.

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Anoosheh Kalantari | Founder & CEO of Crimson Founders

Anoosheh Kalantari is the co-founder of Crimson Founders, a network designed to support MIT and Harvard startups by connecting founders with investors, partners, and potential team members. Through Crimson Founders, she and her team organize events like Demo Days and conferences focused on AI, energy, and entrepreneurship. Anoosheh is also the Chief Operating Officer and board member at Six Star Bulk Bag, a vertical packaging manufacturing company based in the Middle East. She co-founded one of the largest manufacturing sector organizations in the region and is an investor in Guofu Hydrogen Energy Equipment Technologies in the UAE. She has been involved in several MIT initiatives, organizing events and pitch competitions for the MIT community, including the MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition and high-profile events featuring Dr. Jordan Peterson, General David Petraeus, and Dr. Andrew Lo. Anoosheh holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a BASc in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto, and an AAS in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design.​​

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