Upcoming Events, Courses, and Talks

Industry Disruptors returns with the first installment of the 2026 series, in conversation with Kristi Ross, a serial entrepreneur who has spent three decades building, scaling, acquiring, and reinventing companies—and then did it all again by jumping industries entirely.

Kristi helped scale tastytrade, one of Chicago’s most successful fintech companies, culminating in a $1B+ acquisition. Across her career, she has also operated through 40+ mergers, acquisitions, capital raises, and startups, gaining firsthand experience in how companies evolve, scale, and reinvent themselves.

In 2022, Kristi made a deliberate shift from fintech into the coffee industry, launching U3 Coffee, a mission-driven brand focused on connecting farmers, entrepreneurs, and customers through transparency and storytelling.

Attendees will walk away with:

• Perspective on how experienced founders think about building, scaling, and reinvention

• Insight into the decisions that shape long-term company trajectories, not just short-term wins

• A clearer lens on navigating uncertainty, inflection points, and career-defining moments

• Inspiration drawn from real operating experience across multiple industries and cycles

The Industry Disruptors series brings founders and innovators into the room with people who have built at scale and are still building. This event is designed for startups, early-stage teams, and members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem looking to learn directly from someone who has repeatedly navigated the hardest parts of company building.

Thursday, April 2

mHUB – 1623 W. Fulton Street, Chicago, IL 60612

5:30 – 6:00 PM – Doors open and registration
6:00 – 7:00 PM – Fireside conversation
7:00 – 8:00 PM – Networking reception

About Kristi Ross:

Kristi Ross is a serial entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience building, scaling, and exiting technology-driven companies. As a co-founder of tastytrade, she helped launch and grow seven companies in under a decade, culminating in a $1B+ acquisition—one of the most significant fintech exits to come out of Chicago’s startup ecosystem.

Her career spans every stage of company building, from bootstrapping and capital formation to mergers, acquisitions, and large-scale integration. Kristi has led organizations through market cycles, regulatory complexity, and industry disruption, serving in executive and board roles across fintech, trading, AI, and technology-driven businesses.

In 2022, Kristi made a deliberate shift from fintech to consumer and coffee, founding U3 Coffee to reimagine how brands, technology, and community connect. She remains deeply engaged in entrepreneurship as an active angel investor, board member, and advocate for founders, with a long-standing commitment to empowering builders, do-ers, and the next generation of innovators.