Hot Seat: A Working Session to Help Founders & Builders Move Faster

About this event

Do you ever feel like you could be moving faster? Maybe you know what needs to happen next, but you keep getting "distracted" by comfortable work. Maybe you're moving but unsure about direction. Or maybe the hardest part isn't the work, it's doing it alone. The Trenches is a no-bullshit community of founders and builders helping each other win. This "Hot Seat" event is our mastermind session designed to get you honest and actionable input from your peers and from us: Nick and Romain, startup veterans and founders who've built real businesses. 🔥 How It Works: The hosts will kick things off by sharing more about their experiences and valuable lessons they learned along their journey. Then each person gets time in the hot seat. You'll talk through: • What you're building and who it's for (current state) • Where you're trying to get to, and by when if relevant (future state) • What you want the room's help with (a decision, a blind spot, a technical problem, or a gut-check on direction) You’re welcome to bring some slides, doc or demos if you want to but it's not required. Then the room challenges your assumptions, helps you see your blind spots, and gives practical, actionable input based on what you actually shared. What you get: new insights, clear direction, and real accountability. At the end, you commit to one meaningful action for the week ahead. And the following week, we'll share who hit their goals. Meet your hosts: Nick: • Former VP and Director at 5 tech startups, including 3 unicorns, across NYC and London. • Now building Shippingwise: An AI-Powered Platform to help E-commerce Brands save money on parcel shipping. Have helped clients save >$40M in the last 3 years. • Nick’s LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-fanelli1/) Romain: • Formerly worked for the French National Defense. • Founder of Motion Live, a 3D movie production and software company. • Built a 3D online school with over 200 students and 4 teachers, grown through his YouTube channel (22K subscribers, 2M+ views). • Romain’s LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/romain-gilliot) We know how hard it is building alone. We've made the mistakes — avoided hard decisions, chose the comfortable thing over the hard thing, and delayed what we knew we should do. We eventually learned how to move an idea and business forward. Now we help others do the same. 👉 Who This Is For: Anyone building something of their own: a business, a side project, or an idea you want to launch. You don't need to have it all figured out. You don't need to be stuck. You just need to be building something and want honest and practical feedback. 💵 Price: $400 NTD (discounted from $800 for the first cohort) - coffee/tea included :) Please bring cash 📍 Location: Taipei City (exact address to be shared with approved applicants) Participants and group size are intentionally small and curated to add value. Exact time per person depends on turnout but expect a solid 15-25 mins each. RSVP now — you'll be asked a few questions. We'll review your response and follow up to confirm your spot and share the exact location.