Join 200+ founders and active VCs, angels, LPs, funds of funds, allies, and operators for candid conversations on fundraising, leadership, and scaling. Expect tactical, immediately actionable insight spanning early conviction, fundraising strategy, and the road to $1M ARR and beyond.

Tickets are available here.

Summer Speakers & Programming:

Fireside Chat

• Carina Hong - Founder @ Axiom: Building Mathematical Superintelligence: A conversation with Carina on her journey from math prodigy to founder, raising a $64M seed round for Axiom Math to build self-improving AI systems that push the frontier of machine reasoning.

AI Funded Founders & Mayfield/Divot Honorees in 2025:

• Anna Patterson - Founder @ Ceramic AI
• Eshani Mehta - COO @ Lumari (YCx25)
• Alisha Chowdhury - Founder @ Kiro Money

Early Stage VC / Investors Speakers

• Lu Zhang - Founder & Managing Partner @ FusionFund
• Rocio Wu Dianoux - Partner @ F-Prime Capital
• Bozhena Kulchyckyj - Investor @ Alumni Ventures
• Abbie Strabala - Jr. Partner @ Outlander VC
• Marina Temkin (Moderator) - Senior Reporter @ TechCrunch

How LPs Choose Venture Funds

• Aury Cifuentes - VC @ How Women Invest
• Evan Segal - Founder & Managing Partner @ Segal Ventures
• Asya (ah see ya) Bradley - LP & Startup VC Lead @ Kinship Ventures
• Julie Zinamon - Founder & CEO @ Vataseason

Founder Tracks

• Funded Founders Panel - AI founders share how they moved from ideation to $1M ARR by building conviction, shaping a strong narrative, and turning early traction into real momentum, with lessons from those who raised through top accelerators like YC and leading venture funds
• Founder Leadership & Scale (Breakout Sessions) Hiring, sales, resilience, and scaling without burnout as the company grows

Investor & Capital Tracks

• Angel Investing and Early Signaling - How angels evaluate early conviction, signal strength, and founder readiness
• Early-Stage VC Investing Panel - A candid VC-only conversation on how pre-seed and seed investments are underwritten, and how conviction, signal, and traction are evaluated in today’s market.
• LPs & Fund of Funds - An in-depth look at how LPs allocate capital, evaluate emerging managers, and decide which funds receive backing and why.

Private Cocktail Reception

• An intimate gathering of select growth-stage and Series A+ founders, VCs, LPs, and strategic partners designed for deeper conversations and meaningful relationship building, featuring sushi, caviar, curated bites, and live music.

What You’ll Experience

• You’ll experience stage-specific panels spanning ideation through Series A, curated networking intentionally designed for real connection, and clear investor insight into what capital actually underwrites at each stage. All of this takes place in a premium, high-signal environment built for depth and long-term relationship building.

Who Should Attend:

• The (FFF Summit) is for early-stage founders and funded founders from ideation through Series A+, alongside the investors, operators, and allies who actively support them. This is a curated, relationship-first gathering focused on real conversations, trusted connections, and long-term collaboration, not pitching or networking theater.

Are you interested in sponsoring? Please contact james.gee@startupgrind.com