For founders, by founders
As founders, we created Flightpath to unite growth leaders and venture builders across startup communities.
Our manifesto
Start with community
Flightpath is built on community pillars of leadership, apprenticeship and fellowship that guide our members and actions
We built Flightpath to unite growth leaders and venture builders across communities.
We are fierce champions of founder-led startup communities. They’re powered by ever-evolving, micro-communities that form and grow, some incorporated, and many more of the “grassroots, organized-by-allies” kind (our favorite).
We've lived it first hand. As a ragtag group of local tech founders, we created and built Startup Edmonton. We organized DemoCamps, Startup Drinks, Startup Weekends, Launch Parties, Hackathons, GameCamp, Founders & Funders, Preflight Workshops, Startup Week, Startup Crawl, and Student DevCon.
We built physical startup hubs, innovation labs and maker spaces to create gravity and connectivity; helped members organize hundreds of meetups of their own; and started a local fund (Flightpath Ventures) to invest early in high-potential founders, many of whom are anchor companies in our community today.
Our approach has always been simple: create hub platforms that empower our peers to build communities together.
Yet today, local ecosystems are littered with transactional mentorship and accelerator programs, with mismatched coaches and demo days that put programs (and funders) first, and founders and builders second.
At Flightpath, we focus on lifelong connections between community members as peers and allies. We empower members with simple groups and starter frameworks to lead and grow, instead of selling them intensive, cohort programs they don't have time for.
It's when shared context, ambition and trust exist between leaders and builders - big things happen.
That's why we believe that, who you build with is just as important as what you’re building.
Welcome to Flightpath.
The beginning
Flightpath was founded by Ken Bautista and Cam Linke, to develop founders and fund early teams through Startup Edmonton (which we also founded and led).
Mobilizing community
From Democamp to Launch Party, Preflight to Startup Week, we led and organized the rise of our local tech and startup community.
Building a hub
We built a home base for hackers, creators and founders at the historic Mercer Warehouse in the heart of our downtown.
Investing in founders
We invested early in our Flightpath portfolio founders watching them lead their startups from seed to growth.
Flightpath 2.0
Today, we’re expanding Flightpath to mobilize growth leaders and venture builders across startup communities.
Hi, I'm Ken.
I'm co-founder of Flightpath.
As an educator-turned-entrepreneur, I offer a unique perspective in developing founders, builders and leaders in communities. From starting my first venture as a university student, to organizing founder-led communities to building physical innovation hubs, shaping national entrepreneurship initiatives, and mobilizing capital into cities through venture and real estate funds, I've gained 20+ years of insights exploring the intersection of technology startups, talent communities and city building.
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