fnGlobal Keynote & Roundtables with Adeel Rouf (July 25, 2023)

Adeel Rouf has made a career for himself as a leading expert on special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs)--investment vehicles created with the specific purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing company to take it public through an initial public offering (IPO).

His success has amounted to a total of $1.3 billion raised, two completed IPOs and mergers, and a sharpened expertise for executing high net-worth deals.

SPACs are known to be a market differentiator as they increase the speed at which a company can reach an IPO. Often referred to as ‘blank check’ companies, they meet the market of the day by offering a pathway to accelerated growth.

At a Founders Network global keynote on July 25, Adeel will share how he used his SPAC expertise to take Rubicon Technologies – a leading digital marketplace for waste and recycling – into a combined merger deal worth $1.7 billion on the public market. He will also share his tips for quickly and effectively closing deals of any size.

In this global keynote session, Adeel will also cover:

• How to work with SPACs
• The core pillars for executing a deal
• How to “meet the market of the day”
• Tips for building a strong management team

Opening Remarks @ 12:00pm PT

Join us for opening remarks with Dina Fattom, Member Success Manager at Founders Network, to get the latest updates from the Network and opportunities for getting involved.

Keynote Speaker @ 12:10pm PT

Adeel Rouf has has 12+ years of experience in Special Situations Investing, SPACs, Investment Banking, Capital Markets, and M&A.

Over the past few years, Adeel has been involved with 7 Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) raising approximately $1.5 billion. He has completed 3 SPACs mergers totaling $3.7 billion and has cemented a widespread reputation as a SPACs and Capital Markets specialist.

Currently, he serves as the COO of Northern Revival Acquisition Corp, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC (Ticker: NRAC), and Independent Board Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Zalatoris Acquisition Corp (Ticker: TCOA). Previously, he served as the Founder, CFO, and Advisor to the Founder SPAC, a $321 million SPAC that completed a $1.7 billion merger with Rubicon Technologies (NYSE: RBT). Prior to that, he served as the SVP of Corporate Finance at Altitude Acquisition Corp. which is a $300 million NASDAQ-listed SPAC.

Another firm Adeel has been involved in was Investcorp India Acquisition Corp., which is a $250 million NASDAQ-listed SPAC backed by private equity firm Investcorp. His past SPACs experience includes being an investment professional at FinTech Acquisition Corp. III which merged with Paya in a transaction valuing $1.3 billion and at Insurance Acquisition Corp., which in turn merged with Shift Technologies in a $730 million transaction. Adeel also worked as an Investment Professional at Cohen & Company’s Asset Management arm, which managed $3 billion at the time. Prior to that, Adeel Rouf was part of J.P. Morgan’s investment banking leveraged finance team executing debt transactions.

Adeel graduated from Baruch College with a degree in Accounting and Master of Science in Sustainability Management/Energy Finance from Columbia University.

Stage-Based Roundtables @ 1:00pm PT

Community Partners:

Jeff Erickson

Jeff leads the Partnerships Team at Forecastr — a leading FP&A software company that helps startups create kick-butt financial models to impress investors, confidently raise capital, and effectively run their businesses better.

Jeff serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies and is an active angel investor. He's passionate about startups and enjoys working with founders and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Jeff is an experienced entrepreneur and was the founder and CEO of a successful consumer goods company that he rapidly grew from $1M in sales its first year to over $40M in annual revenue in its fourth year of operations and was ranked #138 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.

Prior to founding his own company, Jeff was a partner at Beanstalk Partners where he led the sales and business development activities. He also served as the National Sales Director for a venture-backed tech startup where he generated over $45M in client contracts and developed the company’s channel partner program.

Jeff has a degree in accounting and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah. After receiving his MBA in Finance from the University of Utah he served as the Vice President of Investments for Sentry Financial Corporation.

Cathy Keeler

Cathy is the Managing Partner at FullScope Growth, a global consortium of elite Fractional Executives and Business Acceleration Partners that provide the exact combination of experts that organizations require.

She has cross-functional experience in sales, management, marketing and business planning, client services, network development and operations. Delivers strong results within highly competitive markets.

Guests Are Welcome!

Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.

All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.

Confidentiality Reminder

All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.