Open to all and FREE to attend! We believe that great things don’t happen in a vacuum, and we encourage everyone to venture out to network at Chance Meetings.

Join us on July 6th from 5–7pm at The Virginian for a candid conversation with two people who know firsthand that the path to building something real is rarely straight.

Rob Kellogg is Executive Director of Silicon Couloir and a former instructor of entrepreneurship at the Watson Institute. He's spent years mentoring founders through the moments that don't make it into the highlight reel, and he has plenty of his own stories about what it actually takes to get something off the ground.

Tana Hoffman Cook founded Mountainist and ILLA Adventures on a simple conviction: that getting outside, trying new things, and doing it alongside other people changes how you think and what you're capable of. She's built two businesses around that idea, helping thousands of women step into uncertainty on purpose, and learned plenty of lessons along the way about what it takes to turn a good idea into something that actually works.

Most panels skip the hard part. This one starts there: running out of runway, launching something few people wanted, realizing a model needed to be torn down and rebuilt. More importantly, what came next.

Whether you're early in building something, navigating a rough patch right now, or just want to hear honest stories from people who've been through it, you'll leave with a clearer sense of how to recognize when a pivot is necessary, how to act on it without losing momentum, and how to build the grit that keeps you moving when the plan falls apart.