An Evening with M&T Bank | Wilmington Trust & Wilson Sonsini @ The Roux Institute
Description
Join us for an exclusive, invite-only evening for startups to get face time with two partners who have services and expertise directly relevant to startups.
Leaders from M&T Bank | Wilmington Trust and Wilson Sonsini will share how they work together to support founders across banking, legal strategy, and the journey of scaling a venture — joined by Ben Fichter of ConductorAI, who will add a founder's perspective to the conversation — followed by a networking reception with food and drinks.
Agenda
- 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Panel Discussion and Q&A
This panel discussion offers a rare chance to hear practical guidance from partners who work with startups every day — Elke Trilla (Wilson Sonsini), Yolaine Robitaille (M&T Bank), and Ben Fichter (ConductorAI), sharing a founder's-eye view alongside their expertise.
- 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Networking Reception
Light refreshments and drinks in the Roux’s Collaboration Café. Drop in, meet fellow founders, and connect with our partner network.
Lineup
Elke Trilla
Elke Trilla is an attorney in the Boston office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises high-growth technology companies across a variety of industries. She counsels clients on formation considerations, seed and venture financings, growth equity, strategic investments, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions, with depth in capital-intensive climate and energy businesses. Her practice frequently involves structuring blended capital stacks that integrate venture equity and non-dilutive capital strategies, including federal and stage grants, to align private and public capital with long-term financing objectives and investor alignment. Elke serves as a strategic advisor to entrepreneurs navigating complex capital formation in emerging sectors. She is recognized for her representation of founders and investors building the next generation of sustainability-focused innovation from software to hardware across a range of industries and geographic locations. A trusted advisor in the start-up and sustainability ecosystem, Elke works closely with leading incubators, accelerators, and innovation hubs across the U.S., advising both first-time and repeat founders. She brings a pragmatic, business-oriented lens to transactions, balancing company opportunity with founder protection, investor expectations, and durable governance frameworks to support sustainable growth. Clients value Elke for her ability to combine deep corporate technical expertise with practical judgment and ecosystem fluency. Elke is an active participant in the innovation community and is a frequent speaker and contributor on topics including emerging company considerations, financings, governance best practices, and strategic transactions.
Yolaine Robitaille
Yolaine is a business development and innovation leader focused on supporting high- growth startups and the organizations that help them scale. Based in Boston, she works closely with founders, investors, corporate partners, and ecosystem builders to accelerate commercialization, foster strategic partnerships, and strengthen innovation communities. Drawing on experience spanning science, entrepreneurship, venture support, business development, and startup growth. She is particularly passionate about connecting entrepreneurs with the resources, networks, and opportunities needed to translate breakthrough ideas into sustainable businesses. An active contributor to the innovation ecosystem, Yolaine collaborates with accelerators, incubators, investors, and industry leaders across North America to support founders and drive economic growth through innovation.
Kristin Barishian
Kristin Barishian is a Managing Director at CBIZ. She has more than 15 years of experience in public accounting, focusing on audits of public and private companies. Kristin works primarily with private companies in the technology industry, including software and life science companies. She also has experience providing in-house technical consulting to public and private companies. Additionally, Kristin has worked on Quality of Earnings due diligence projects for buyers and sellers. Prior to joining CBIZ, she worked for four years in private industry as a manager of SEC and financial reporting and as an accounting manager.
Ben Fichter
Co-Founder & CTO of ConductorAI
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