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- A Personal Invite To Our Upcoming Event + Down the AI Rabbit hole Gigaparty Photos & Recap
A Personal Invite To Our Upcoming Event + Down the AI Rabbit hole Gigaparty Photos & Recap
Join us today
Mariane Bekker
May 09, 2025
Hi Friends,
Last week was wild. I got really sick and ended up in the ER with a brutal bug (thank you David, Janet, Amanda, and Kris for getting me there — I literally owe you my life). I’m finally recovered and back in action.
Here are a few of our events happening today and next week:
FUTURECRAFT 2035 – Showcase + Afterparty - Come meet us, network with top AI Founders and watch cutting-edge 2035 AI demos at the brand new Frontier Tower!
Barbarossa 2035: Founder/VC Afterparty - Come listen to top DJs and dance with us!
Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Sales Prep & ICP Buildout: Maximizing Your Sales Strategy sponsored by OpenClassrooms, an online school helping thousands of individuals all over the world develop their skills and progress in their career.
If we’re not already connected, I’d love to hear from you— follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram. Let’s connect!
But before I share more about our events, I want to take a moment to express how I’m feeling this week…
Music is what feelings sound like…
Down the AI Rabbit Hole Gigaparty
I’ve always loved music. But after my divorce, music became something else entirely.
It became a lifeline.
In those first few months, when I could barely get out of bed — when the sadness and fear paralyzed me — I would lie there, staring at the ceiling, empty. The only thing that made me feel anything was music. “You Will Be Found” by Sam Smith played on repeat for hours. That song probably saved my life.
A few months later, I found myself at my first EDM concert — Cosmic Gate — and something shifted. I fell in love with dancing and the way music made us feel united, alive, and free. It was healing.
That’s when I knew what I wanted to build:
A space where tech and music could coexist.
Where founders & investors could feel something.
Where connection meant more than just networking.
On April 24th, we brought that vision to life with our second Gigaparty — Down the AI Rabbit Hole. A completely unique blend of tech summit and music festival, where the lines between business, art, and human connection blur. Here are some of the initial pictures »
It was a massive success.
We sold out.
We packed Temple SF again.
And we built something that felt... alive.
Here is the RECAP VIDEO:
The highlights for me:
💬 Interviewing Fiona Ma, California State Treasurer, and hearing her powerful story of becoming the first Asian American woman in office.
💥 Watching Janet Gehrmann interview Lisa Carmen Wang (GP of Bad Bitch Empire) — and seeing Lisa award Anastasia Trofimova $25K live on stage during our Female Founder Competition.
🎧 Dancing the night away with my closest friends — Eva, Lani, Rashmi, Sako, Jeni (love u besties!) — and behind the DJs Chris DN, Justin Kan, and Arielle Zuckerberg.
🤍 Celebrating all of it with my incredible co-hosts David Carvalho and Kristopher Floyd. Grateful for your support, laughter, hard work, and the moments in between.
What were the highlights for you? Reply to this email and i’ll feature a few of you in the next edition!
Thank you so much for our incredible sponsor Nebius for making this happen, Kuzma and the entire MadHats.AI team, David Carvalho and Kristopher Floyd, 140 of YOU who promoted this on your social, all our volunteers, and all our incredible community partners for spreading the word including:
Nicolas Khonaysser and Gargi Kand from Vently, Josh Constine from Signal Fire, Brian Sparkes from Silicon Valley Venture, Elizabeth Swaney, Steven Echtman from AiiFy.io, Eli Al-Shamari from GLO, Tim Hsia from Context VC, Chris DN, Melanie Uno from Icons Podcast, Janet Gehrmann, Claire Xie from Women In AI Club, Zahava Stroud from AngelLaunch, Adam Swig from Value Culture, Yi Chen from FounderCoHo, Jordan Wahbeh from SV Venture Group, Henry Yin from AGI House, Anto Patrex, Megan Kain, Danae Kiara Diaz from Quantum Society, Jessica Kobilova and Bill Barry from Ignite GTM, Jeni Chang from Founders Institute, Pavel Vinitsky from Synexis, Gangesh Pathak from OWOW, Ed Choudhry from Barricade AI, Ruby Yeh from Light DAO, Ryan Holmes from JetBuy, Sako from LPM, Jasmine Shih
Founders Bay Upcoming Events
Want to sponsor one of our events or partner together? Contact us here
Friday, May 9 - 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
At the FUTURECRAFT 2035 AI Showcase, we're making cutting-edge strategic foresight accessible to everyone. Strategic foresight is a structured approach to exploring future scenarios, identifying emerging trends, and preparing for potential disruptions before they arrive. Traditionally used by Fortune 100 companies to guide major decisions, we're now bringing this powerful method directly to founders, investors, and innovators.
Friday, May 9 - 9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
Join us for the first official FUTURECRAFT 2035 afterparty, bringing together the Bay’s brightest futurists, founders, artists and investors for an unforgettable evening at the historic and sexy Barbarossa Lounge.
Wednesday, May 14 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Join us for a focused virtual workshop designed to help founders and sales leaders optimize their sales strategy. Learn how to build an effective Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), refine your sales process, and align your outreach to attract the right customers. This session will provide practical tools to maximize sales conversions and streamline your approach for long-term growth.
Tuesday, May 20 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
AI is growing fast — and so are the risks. In this workshop, you’ll learn why building secure AI systems is important, what threats to watch for, and how to protect your projects from common mistakes. We’ll break down complex ideas into simple, real-world strategies you can use right away.
Tuesday, May 20 - 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Join us for the AI for Good Pitch Competition, where mission-driven startups harnessing artificial intelligence for social impact take the stage. This event brings together visionary founders, impact investors, and AI experts to spotlight solutions addressing some of today’s most pressing global challenges—from climate resilience and public health to education and equitable access.
Sunday, May 25 - 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
This exclusive gathering brings together top-tier limited partners, venture capitalists, and cultural leaders for a day of conversation, connection, and collaboration at the intersection of capital, culture, and innovation.!
Tuesday, May 27 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Join us for a dynamic virtual workshop focused on helping startups accelerate their revenue to reach $1M in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). This session will provide actionable strategies to optimize your sales, marketing, and customer retention efforts, ensuring sustainable growth. Whether you're in the early stages or scaling, you'll learn key methods to boost your revenue quickly and effectively.
Tuesday, May 27 - 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Join us for an Exclusive AI Founders & VC Dinner, an intimate evening designed to connect top AI startup founders with leading venture capitalists. This private gathering brings together a curated group of innovators, builders, and investors at the forefront of artificial intelligence for meaningful conversations, shared insights, and lasting relationships.
Wednesday, May 28 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Join us for a dynamic virtual workshop focused on helping startups accelerate their revenue to reach $1M in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). This session will provide actionable strategies to optimize your sales, marketing, and customer retention efforts, ensuring sustainable growth. Whether you're in the early stages or scaling, you'll learn key methods to boost your revenue quickly and effectively.
Thursday, May 29 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
AI is changing the way businesses grow, compete, and operate. In this beginner-friendly workshop, you’ll learn how to use AI tools and strategies to make your business more efficient, more innovative, and better prepared for the future. Whether you're a startup founder, small business owner, or team leader, this session will give you the confidence to take the first steps toward using AI in smart, practical ways.
Thursday, June 12 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Join us for a hands-on workshop designed to help you master the art of engaging inbound leads. This session will cover key strategies for converting inbound inquiries into valuable sales opportunities, optimizing your sales process, and building lasting relationships with prospects. Learn how to nurture leads effectively and turn them into loyal customers with personalized outreach and tailored messaging.
Wednesday, June 25 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Join us for an insightful workshop on how to transform your Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy with the latest tech innovations. This session will explore emerging tools and technologies that can help optimize your GTM efforts, improve efficiency, and drive growth. Learn how the evolving landscape of GTM tech is reshaping marketing, sales, and customer success strategies for modern businesses.
Managing Partner, Founders bay
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.
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