How to Create a Successful Startup: Kurt Walker of Fusion42 - Founders Live Conversations

In a dynamic Founders Live Conversations session, Nick Hughes, CEO of Founders Live, sat down with Kurt Walker, founder and CEO of Fusion42 accelerator, filmed in Las Vegas during stop #6 of our 2025 Exploring Greatness US tour.

Walker emphasized Fusion42's northstar: "Creating more founders that go on to become funders than anybody else on earth." He detailed how Fusion42 builds communities for founders (Fusion42), angels (Angel X), and family offices (Main Sail), while also developing technology to streamline the often opaque fundraising process. Walker also discussed the "Raise Summit," designed to teach founders how to effectively raise capital, highlighting his belief that the vast majority of available capital (trillions, with only 3-5% being traditional VC) sits outside venture capital and that founders need "fundraising fluency" to access it.

Walker further shared key lessons for early-stage companies, stressing the importance of "ownership" and "market readiness." He advocates for testing problem fit with "minimum viable experiments" before building a product, noting that what once cost $5 million in tech now costs $50,000, and what was $50,000 is now free, making it crucial to "sell it first before you build it." He discussed how capital breaks down into client/sales, dollar, and human capital, and how understanding these "capital macros" is vital for growth. Regarding Las Vegas, Walker sees it as an ideal hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in hospitality, sports tech, medical, EV, and content creation, due to its unique ecosystem and ability to facilitate deals.