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- A Personal Invite To Our Upcoming Event w/ a16z, Khosla Ventures, Softbank, and many more
A Personal Invite To Our Upcoming Event w/ a16z, Khosla Ventures, Softbank, and many more
Join our biggest event yet!
Mariane Bekker
January 24, 2025
Hi,
I'm excited to personally invite you to our BIGGEST event yet — our upcoming Quarter Century Tech GigaParty —as well as our additional events in January and February. We now have investors from a16z, Khosla Ventures, Softbank, Bain Capital, Mantis, Signal Fire and registered for our event, and have a great agenda in place for you.
RSVP HERE: https://lu.ma/gigaparty?coupon=FOUNDERSBAY10
This is the perfect opportunity to come together, kick off the new year, and connect with other amazing founders and investors. If you’d like to attend the Tech Gigaparty celebration for free, you can join our VIP membership for 50% off!
🚀 Exciting News! We’ve just open-sourced TheAgenticBrowser — a state-of-the-art AI agent that automates browser interactions through natural language commands. Automate browser tasks like web navigation, scraping, research automation, form filling, and more—all via natural language commands. 👉 Ready to explore its potential? Dive into the source code: https://github.com/TheAgenticAI/TheAgenticBrowser
If we’re not already connected, I’d love to hear from you—please 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…
In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix first must burn
Our Women in AI brunch This Week
This week, a good friend and I talked about the many challenges we’ve faced over the years and how we’ve managed to stay strong despite everything. I asked her, "Why do we have to go through so much?" She shared the quote that really spoke to me: “In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix first must burn.”
This powerful quote has been on my mind all week. It reminds me that we grow stronger through our challenges.
And, I’m not going to lie—I needed to hear that this week. Balancing non-stop work with family has been tough and left me feeling overwhelmed. Last weekend, both my kids were sick and had to stay home from school. On top of that, I hosted three different events and two workshops in the same week.
Despite the busy schedule,, I’ve been having the time of my life organizing the Gigaparty event with my co-hosts. Organizing an event of this magnitude has been a lot of work — David Carvalho, Kristopher Floyd, and I have been spending 8/10 hours a day, 7 days a week on this. But it’s all worth it with amazing speakers like Bill Tai, Julie Castro, Jeremiah Owyang, and Humanoid Robot joining us! I’m also putting together a Family Office VIP panel, to bring together in one room top startups, investors and family offices!
For me, this is more than an event, Gigaparty is the culmination of the last two years —a journey of resilience and reinvention after my divorce. Starting from a place where everything felt uncertain after my divorce, I've poured my heart and soul into building something meaningful not just for myself, but for our community. Navigating through personal challenges while striving to create impactful events has been a transformative experience. Join me next Friday to celebrate innovation, community, technology, and music!
So, if this week is hard or if you’re going through a tough time, remember: sometimes you have to go through the fire to come back stronger.
With love,
Mariane Bekker
Founders Bay Upcoming Events
January Special: One Day Only!
🎉 As a thank-you for being part of our community, I’m offering you 1 month of Growth and VIP Access for 50% off ($9 or $49)! This gives you access to all of our workshops and events for FREE!
Friday, January 31 - 5PM - 2AM
Celebrate the first 25 years of the 21st century—and glimpse the next 75!
Join 2,000+ founders, VCs, and tech visionaries for an unforgettable evening of futuristic experiences, forward-thinking conversations, immersive art, cutting-edge demos, and non-stop music.
VC Funds Attending: Khosla Ventures, Bain Capital, a16z, Signal Fire, Mantis VC, TPG Capital, Blackrock, 500 Global, Darwinian Ventures, Nima Capital, Blitzscaling ventures, and many more
Be the First to See These AI Innovations
Embodied AI: Witness the unveiling of Foundation’s humanoid robot—spinning tracks as the world’s first robot DJ!
Enterprise AI Tools: Get an exclusive look at powerful new AI solutions by TheAgentic — redefining innovation for the enterprise.
Are you interested in being a sponsor? Email me at [email protected]!
GenAI & Emerging Tech GITPRO World Conference [I’m Speaking][MARIANE20OFF discount code]
Saturday, Jan 25 - 8AM - 5:30PM
This day-long event organized by Gargi Kand features 4 parallel tracks— Gen AI for Devs, Applying AI, Emerging Technologies, and Career Development—with 30+ speakers, 30+ topics, and 400+ attendees. Explore cutting-edge insights, network with professionals, and discover opportunities to learn, lead, and grow.
RSVP here: https://lu.ma/GenAI-ETech (Student tickets: $50, Early Bird: $100 ending Jan 20) 🎟️
Thursday, January 28 - 9AM - 11PM
Need quick legal guidance to navigate your startup journey?
Sign up and you'll be assigned a 15-minute 1:1 session with Arohi Kashyap, a seasoned attorney specializing in Startup Law, Technology Law, Data Privacy, and Cross-Border Transactions.
Tuesday, January 28 - 5:30PM - 8:30PM
Are you a startup founder looking to raise money to grow your business? Want to improve your pitch and meet top investors? Join us for an evening of learning, networking, and getting feedback at the Founders Bay Talk Series: Mastering Fundraising for Startups.
Workshop 1: Building Your Fundraising Story & Marketing to Investors
Learn how to tell your startup’s story in a way that attracts investors.
Discover marketing and sales tips to keep investors interested.
Use data to make your story stronger.
Improve how you communicate and present your ideas.
Workshop 2: Structuring Your Pitch Deck for Maximum Impact
Find out what makes a great pitch deck.
Learn design tips to make your deck look good and easy to read.
Customize your pitch deck for different investors.
Avoid common mistakes and make your pitch stand out.
Get hands-on help with your pitch deck (optional).
Wednesday, January 29 - 11AM - 12PM
Starting a new business is exciting, but choosing the right legal structure is crucial for your startup’s success. In this one-hour workshop, you'll learn how to select and set up the best business entity for your startup, with a special focus on C-Corporations (C-Corps).
Wednesday, January 29 - 5PM - 9PM
Join us for the AI Innovation Summit x AIO Pre-Launch Party of the world’s first All-In-One AI platform for restaurants!
We'll have an evening of networking, game-changing product demos and restaurant AI Insights.
C-Suite Panel - 2025 and the road ahead
Dave Faugno, Co-CEO, 1Password
Gary Hicok, Vice President, Nvidia
Jukka Alanen, Managing Partner, Rebellion Ventures
Jessica Kramer, Operating Partner, Techne Infiniti Ventures
Tuesday, February 4th - 9AM - 12PM
Get a 15 minutes 1×1 with me. With extensive experience as an investor, engineer, and community leader, I offer personalized advice to help your startup succeed. Here’s how I can assist you:Fundraising Strategy: Technical Guidance, Co-Founder Matching, Talent Recruitment, Personal Branding
Wednesday, February 5 - 5:30PM - 8:30PM
Join us for the next installment of the Founders Bay Talk Series as we delve into "The Future of AI Agents." This exclusive event is tailored for visionary founders, influential VCs, and leading AI experts eager to explore the transformative potential of AI agents and digital workers across various industries.
Workshop: Building AI Agents like Devin AI
Dive deep into the practical aspects of creating sophisticated AI agents with our comprehensive workshop.
Wednesday, February 5 - 11AM - 12PM
Starting or investing in a startup is exciting, but understanding the details is crucial. Our "Effective Due Diligence Strategies for Founders & Investors" workshop helps both founders and investors learn how to evaluate businesses effectively. Whether you want to invest in a promising startup or seek investment for your venture, this workshop gives you the insights you need to make confident decisions and build trustworthy relationships.
Friday, February 7 - 10AM - 5PM
This bootcamp is for early-stage founders who want to learn the fundraising process. You’ll get practical advice, hands-on experience, and learn from industry experts and founders who’ve successfully raised funds. By the end of the day, you’ll have the knowledge, tools, and confidence to fundraise for your startup.
Friday, February 7 - 6PM - 10PM
🎉 Join Us for the Engineering Leadership Soiree at Tesla! 🚗✨
Network and celebrate with the brightest minds in the industry at an unforgettable soirée filled with innovation, meaningful connections, and world-class entertainment. Here’s what awaits you:
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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