fnGlobal Keynote & Roundtables with Cynthia Benjamin (July 22, 2025)

Cynthia Benjamin, CEO and Co-Founder of Together Senior Health, takes us through her inspiring entrepreneurial journey, from the founding of her innovative healthcare startup to its acquisition by Linus Health. With a career that spans health, tech, and nonprofit sectors, Cynthia will share the key insights that guided her as she built a company dedicated to helping Alzheimer's and dementia patients live healthier, more independent lives at home.

In this fireside chat, Cynthia will explore the critical role of strong co-founder relationships, the delicate balance between cutting-edge technology and the human touch, and the challenges and rewards of securing both grant and private funding. She’ll also reflect on the MVP development process, team-building strategies, and navigating the complexities of healthcare innovation.

Throughout the discussion, Cynthia will emphasize the value of diverse career experiences in shaping an entrepreneurial mindset and offer key lessons on the power of continuous learning, perseverance, and intuition in building a successful business.

Opening Remarks @ 9:30am PT

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

Keynote Speaker @ 9:40am PT

Cynthia Benjamin has a long and varied career, beginning in 1985 as a Product Design Engineer at IDEO Product Development. In 1989, she founded and became President of Samson-McCann, Inc. She later joined Strategic Decisions Group in 1998 as a Senior Engagement Manager, leading strategy and management consulting teams. In 2006, Cynthia took on the role of Director of Innovation at IMS Health, where she helped create a Big Data and Health IT growth platform. She also served as an Innovation Lab Principal and Global Process Lead, as well as a Principal in Strategy and Portfolio Analytics Consulting.

In 2014, she joined Thrive Foundation as Director of Design and Innovation, leading the foundation’s tool and resource development initiatives. Cynthia began consulting independently in 2016, focusing on Strategy, Innovation, and Impact. She became the CEO and Co-Founder of Together Senior Health in 2017, a leading digital therapeutic and community platform for individuals with Alzheimer’s or cognitive decline. Cynthia also teaches at Stanford University’s d.school, where she provides design and forecasting frameworks to innovators.

Cynthia holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, a MS in Mechanical Engineering/Product Design from Stanford University, and a BS in Product Design Engineering from Stanford. She also participated in Semester at Sea, Institute for Shipboard Education.

Stage-Based Roundtables @ 10:30am 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.

Blake Caldwell

Blake Caldwell is the CEO & Founder of FoundersBoost. He has 350 alumni, 100 new startups a year, 8k newsletter readers. He's driven by his passions to create and build community. He's also the founder of 2332 Collective (music production & festivals with the goal of bringing music to West LA) & The MoGuard (consumer product cup attachment protecting glorious mustaches).

FoundersBoost is a free pre-seed & seed stage mentorship driven pre-accelerator helping promising tech-startups with accelerators, investment, and revenue.

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 Policy:

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.