Hi All,

Check out our new foundersbay.com/directory page with 400+ VCs actively deploying. You can now subscribe to a free trial and message 400+ founders & VCs in the Bay Area.

I wanted to personally invite you to a few of our upcoming events & workshops:

If we’re not already connected, I’d love to hear from you — please follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram. Let’s connect!

I became a software engineer, moved to the Bay Area, and coded my way up to Director of Engineering.

But when my youngest son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy during COVID, I stepped away from engineering leadership to have the flexibility for his daily therapies.

In that chapter, I found another love — building inclusive communities. Through Founders Bay and Women Founders Bay, I’ve connected over 80,000 founders and VCs, creating spaces for belonging and growth.

Now that my son has walked into kindergarten on his own, I’m blending my two passions — community and technology — and I couldn’t be more excited to share that I’ve joined You.com as Head of Developer Relations to lead their global developer community.

The timing is incredible: You.com — at the forefront of Generative AI, founded by Richard Socher and Bryan McCann (the inventors of prompt engineering) — just raised a $100M Series C backed by Salesforce.

Power your AI agents with the most accurate, freshest, and fastest search results — at a fraction of the cost.

You.com’s Search API gives you the ability to explore what is truly possible:

For me, this brings everything full circle — combining community, innovation, and technology into one mission.

Here’s to coding, community, and scaling the future of AI together. 🚀✨

👉 What is Possible Today?
Subscribe for a free trial of the You.com Search API — includes 1,000 API calls to start building.

Want us to sponsor an event or partner together? Contact us here

October 27 - October 30th

A 100% virtual hackathon for developers building real-world, agentic AI.
Cash prizes, Get $5k in cash prizes and API credits, mentorship, and much more.

Friday, October 31 - 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM

🎃 FREE HALLOWEEN BLOCK PARTY: Nightmare on Front Street 🎃

​We welcome DJ Clayton William from Empire Dance Record Label.

​Get ready for a spook-tacular Halloween celebration in the heart of downtown San Francisco!

​Join us for Nightmare on Front Street, a hauntingly fun block party featuring themed cocktails, live music, creepy-cool activities, and costumes galore — all happening within California’s first-ever Entertainment Zone on Front Street.

​Experience Halloween like never before as Schroeder’s, Harrington’s Bar & Grill, and Royal Exchange take over Front Street for one massive outdoor celebration — where you can sip, dance, and mingle right in the street with your favorite spooky spirits.

​Bay Area-born and raised, Clayton William is a Billboard-charting, Grammy-nominated producer, engineer, DJ & remixer. After seven years in L.A. working with top artists like Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Walshy Fire (Major Lazer), E-40, Too Short, Lil Jon and YG, he now serves as A&R and in-house producer/DJ at EMPIRE Records in San Francisco. He’s releasing club/festival bangers that fuse hip hop, Latin and pop music.

Thursday, October 23 - 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

​Securing funding is one of the biggest challenges for early-stage founders, and non-dilutive grant opportunities can be a powerful way to fuel growth without giving up equity. In this workshop, Kyle Pickett will guide founders through the complex landscape of grants, showing where to find opportunities, how to qualify, and how to strengthen applications.

Friday, October 24
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM

🎟️ The first 3 people who join as VIP get a FREE Ticket

This is not a conference -- it’s an intimate, highly curated gathering of 250 global leaders (Founders, Investors, Technologists, and Media Icons) who are intentionally shaping the future of tech and culture.

Hosted by Transform VC, the Impact a Billion Summit challenges leaders to move beyond talk and set audacious, measurable goals to deliver time-bound impact.

On October 24th in San Francisco, connect directly with the pioneers driving innovation across AI, Health Tech, Venture Capital, and Energy. Featuring speakers like prolific VC Bill Tai (Zoom, Canva), Guardant Health CEO Helmy Eltoukhy, and Empire Records Founder Ghazi Shami. Plus, witness a major fintech company come out of stealth with a significant fundraise announcement.

Wednesday, October 29 - 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

​Led by Aleks Gollu, Founder & CEO of 11Sight, the session will cover the realities of co-founder dynamics, equity decisions, and operational structures. Through real-world examples, Aleks will share mistakes that can derail momentum and the best practices that create a strong foundation for your company.

Wednesday, October 29 - 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

​Join an exclusive evening of connection and conversation at the Founders Bay VC & LP Dinner, hosted at the iconic Millennium Tower in San Francisco. 🍷 This intimate gathering brings together venture capitalists, limited partners, and ecosystem leaders for a curated dining experience designed to spark collaboration, share insights, and explore the future of investing.

Sponsored by:

​Kruncher AI powers the entire deal lifecycle with intelligent data that drives better decisions with:

​Schedule a call with the Founder (ex Microsoft OpenAI for Banks): Calendly

Thursday, October 30 - 10:00 AM –11:00 AM

​Get ready to pitch your startup to leading investors and venture capitalists at the next Founders Bay Virtual Investor Pitch Session. This online event connects early-stage founders with seasoned investors eager to discover the next wave of high-impact startups. Whether you’re raising your pre-seed or Series A round, this is your opportunity to showcase your vision, traction, and growth potential to an audience that matters.

Thursday, October 30 - 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

​Come hang out with founders, funders, and tech operators from across the Bay Area for a relaxed evening of great conversation, and real connections.

October 27 – 29, 2025

THE BIGGEST TECH CONFERENCE IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING SOON!

I’ll be speaking at Techcrunch Disrupt and hosting a panel on Family offices. Join me with coupon code FOUNDERSBAY25 to get 25% off

TechCrunch Disrupt is where you’ll find innovation for every stage of your startup journey. Whether you’re a budding founder with a revolutionary idea, a seasoned startup looking to scale, or an investor seeking the next big thing, Disrupt offers unparalleled resources, connections, and expert insights to propel your venture forward.

Thursday, October 30 - 11:00 AM –12:00 PM

​A strong personal brand can change the way opportunities come your way. Instead of constantly chasing investors, clients, or partners, the right brand presence makes them come to you. In this workshop, Bruna Grace will share how founders and leaders can create a brand that attracts attention and builds trust in competitive markets.

Wednesday, November 5 - 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

​Join us for a laid-back evening of networking, drinks, and great conversations! Whether you're a startup founder looking for funding, a VC seeking the next big idea, or just someone passionate about innovation, this event is for you.

​Grab a drink, share your journey, and connect with people who can help take your vision to the next level! 🍹

Thursday, November 6 - 11:00 AM –12:00 PM

​In today’s fast-changing, AI-driven world, leaders can’t afford to blend in. This workshop - provided by the team that created executive brands for leaders at Apple, Amazon, Omnicom, Booz Allen Hamilton, and New York City ​- is designed to help you understand how to align your unique strengths with market opportunities, so you can compete with confidence and position yourself as the voice people trust.

Friday, November 7 - 3:00 PM –4:00 PM

​Spend an hour with Jessica-Rose Clark — professional mixed martial artist, world champion, and hands-on self-defence coach — as she shares practical tools to help you feel safer and more confident in everyday life. Jessy combines her years of experience in competitive fighting with her passion for teaching to make self-defence approachable and effective for everyone.

Hi! I'm Mariane Bekker, an investor and a tech executive with over a decade of experience building high-performing engineering teams at leading startups such as New Relic and Mindbody. I've led engineering through 5 acquisitions and 1 IPO. 

I’m the founder of Founders bay and Women Founders bay, connecting founders with expert guidance, events and funding opportunities in the Bay Area.