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Global Bridges: Scaling Smart from Montenegro to Phoenix

What does it take to scale a startup globally, starting from Arizona? On June 26, our CEO, Daniela Santangelo, joined Tech Arizona Advocates at Digital Den live in Montenegro to spotlight how Phoenix is becoming a soft-landing zone for international founders. From AI to semiconductors, with programs like GPEC’s Aisle program, Phoenix offers capital-efficient growth, deep talent, and access to U.S. venture markets.

Catch the highlights and discover how Freeway is building global bridges to help cultivate more global diversity and collaboration.
👉 Download the slides

Webinar: $100M Learnings: The 3 Biggest Lessons I’ll Never Forget

Join us for a #RealTalk Webinar with Freeway Founder and CEO Daniela Santangelo.

📅 July 15, 2025 🕚 9 a.m. PST

From 2015 to 2022, Daniela co-founded a company that scaled to $100M. But the real growth didn’t come from the numbers — it came from the lessons she had to learn the hard way. In this live, unscripted session, Daniela will share the three most defining lessons from that journey — what worked, what didn’t, and what she wishes someone told her sooner.

If you're a founder, builder, or leader navigating your next phase, this is for you. ✨ 

Special Bonus Segment: “Unlocking Revenue Growth: How to Build the Right GTM Engine for Your Stage” with Sabrina Guler, 2x founder and scale strategist

Walk away with tactical insights on:

• The most common GTM mistakes that stall early revenue

• How to build a lightweight, repeatable sales engine

• What levers to pull first when you need traction—fast.

Reid’s Real Estate Corner: Crowdstrike Co-Founder Purchases Scottsdale Quarter for $645M

by Reid Simpson, REALTOR® & Team Lead GolfCourseHomes.com

George Kurtz has fully switched gears from being the "Father of Cloud Security" at the helm of both Foundstone and Crowdstrike, to now being the acquirer of Scottsdale's crown jewel mixed-use properties. Kurtz adds Scottsdale Quarter to his portfolio at FalconEye Ventures (founded in 2020), which also owns two other notable North Scottsdale sites: The Promenade and The Parque.

Scottsdale Quarter - Luxury retail and dining with second story office space, just recently closing at $645.1M (over 755,000 sq ft).

The Promenade - Full retail with anchor tenants such as Michael's & Nordstrom Rack, sold for $180M in 2022 (over 581,000 sq ft).

The Parque - Over a $1B project at the former CrackerJax golf and amusement park along Scottsdale Road (to include commercial space, a hotel, residences, restaurants, and a walkable design within its 32 acres).

All three of these deals are record-breaking in their own respects and signal the capital commitment to Arizona's growth. FalconEye plans to invest $100M in new improvements for Scottsdale Quarter and has submitted Phase 1 plans for The Parque, but construction has yet to begin. All three properties are on the East side of Scottsdale Rd, and all within one mile of each other. Kurtz is committed to this area, which also has the Scottsdale Airport and TPC Scottsdale (home to the PGA Tour - Phoenix Open) as neighbors.

Phoenix-Based Fintech CreditKey Surpasses $1B in Transactions

What happened: Phoenix-grown B2B fintech CreditKey, which offers instant net terms to small businesses, hit $1 billion in total platform transactions and is expanding its engineering team locally.

Why it matters: This milestone cements CreditKey as a Valley-born fintech player. It also draws attention to Phoenix’s maturing enterprise SaaS and financial infrastructure startup community, which benefits from proximity to regional banks and SMBs.

Startup Impact: Proof that Arizona-based fintechs can scale nationally without relocating.

💸 31 Funding Rounds in 2025 💸 

🗓️ Save the Date: Fall Tech Talent Summit + Startup World Cup 2026 🏆️ 

November 6 - 7, 2025

Planning committee has been assembled and kicked off! Investors, Founders, Ecosystem Partners and Job Seekers this event is for you. The 4th Tech Talent Summit will be a new iteration as a 2-day event and an international edition encouraging cross boarder collaboration & support. Interested in getting involved, reply to this email.

📆📍 Upcoming Events You Won’t Want to Miss

🏓 8/5 The 2025 AZTF Pickleball Cup

🗣️ 8/14 Pitch Practice

❓ 8/27 Tech Trivia Night

Got a News Tip?

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We’re committed to elevating the discussion about the dreamers and doers, funders and founders who are putting Phoenix on the map in a big way. Contact us for story ideas, to submit a guest blog, or to visit our podcast studio.

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