Hi Friends,

This week I’ll be at the AI Developer San Jose Conference in San Jose. We’ll have a booth there with You.com, and I’ll also be judging the hackathon — which I’m especially excited about. If you’re attending, come by and say hi. I’d love to meet you in person.

I’m also planning an AI developer event in NYC on March 11th (6–9pm) for about 80–100 engineers. If you know a great venue — or would like to collaborate — just reply to this email. Always open to building something strong together.

On Saturday, I spoke at the Influence & Impact Summit for Women Leaders.

The room was filled with CEOs.
Founders.
High-level executives.
Women leading companies, capital, and teams.

We talked about influence.

Not the vanity kind.
The durable kind.

Over the past two years, I grew from 2,000 followers to 25,000 on LinkedIn and built a 150,000+ subscriber newsletter community that includes founders and investors from top-tier VC firms.

Most of that growth happened during one of the hardest seasons of my life.

I was going through a divorce.
Learning how to be a single mom to a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old who just got diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

It wasn’t a polished chapter.
It was a rebuilding one.

Here are the five lessons I shared.

Influence doesn’t grow from one post.

It grows from systems.

For me, that looks like:

LinkedIn →
Events →
Newsletter →
WhatsApp community →
Back to LinkedIn.

Someone reads a post.
They attend an event.
They subscribe.
They join the community.
They invite someone else.

Each part strengthens the others.

One platform is fragile.
A connected ecosystem compounds.

The growth accelerated when I stopped trying to look polished.

I shared what I was building.
What I was learning.
What was hard.

Not every detail — but the truth.

There were late nights.
Doctor appointments.
Moments of doubt.

People don’t connect to perfection.
They connect to honesty.

When you build in public, you give others permission to do the same.

I never optimized for virality.

I optimized for alignment.

My mission is clear:

Increase diversity in tech.
Create rooms for founders.
Support women builders.

Every post passes one filter:

Does this serve the mission?

Virality is unpredictable.
Mission is steady.

When you stand for something specific, people know why to follow you.

I wasn’t sure people wanted to hear from me.

I wasn’t a founder who had exited.
I wasn’t announcing big funding rounds.
I wasn’t posting highlight reels from boardrooms.

I was a single mom rebuilding her life.

Most tech influencers were talking about exits, valuations, and growth charts.
I was talking about community, diversity, and building rooms for others.

For a long time, I wondered if that was “enough.”

Here’s what I learned:

You don’t need the most impressive story in the room.
You need an honest one.

You don’t need to look like everyone else.
You need to stand for something specific.

Confidence didn’t come first.

Posting did.

And confidence slowly followed.

The online growth came from offline trust.

Hosting events.
Moderating panels.
Introducing founders to investors.
Creating real conversations.

Digital builds reach.
Real rooms build depth.

When both align, influence strengthens.

The room on Saturday wasn’t powerful because of titles.

It was powerful because of honesty.

Behind every visible leader is doubt.
Behind every confident voice is growth.
Behind every “influencer” is consistency.

So I’ll leave you with this:

What have you seen actually work when it comes to building influence?

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Thursday, February 19 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

​Most founders make the same mistake in discovery: they start pitching too soon. In this hands-on workshop, fractional GTM & Sales Leader Laura Garrison will teach you how to run discovery calls that feel natural, consultative, and genuinely helpful—while gathering the insights you need to close deals faster. Instead of guessing what prospects want, you’ll learn how to diagnose their real problems and position your product with precision.

Friday, February 20 - 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

The event brings together a curated lineup of top AI B2B investors and operators who have deep experience closing and funding high-impact rounds.

Speakers include Benny Liao, Principal at Acorn Pacific Ventures, moderating discussions on what founders need to secure funding; Shail Kaveti, Partner at TheFounderVC, and Evan Buhler, General Partner at Talok Capital, sharing insights from recent investments.

Additionally, Ella Shukho, member of Global Women in VC and ex-500 Global, moderates a session on defensibility and execution, joined by Yangchen Bhutia Sharma, General Partner at Roundtable Ventures, and Anna Zakowska, Managing Partner at Dragons and Angels Fund, who collectively offer actionable lessons on metrics, red flags, and strategies that make AI-first B2B companies attractive to investors.

Tuesday, February 24 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

This is a chance for startup founders to get direct legal guidance from an experienced professional. Led by Jessica North (Jorrie), Partner at Perkins Coie LLP, this session is perfect for founders seeking clarity on legal matters. Jessica specializes in advising emerging companies, venture capital funds, and private equity investors, making her a valuable resource for startups at any stage.

Tuesday, February 24 - 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join top founders, venture capitalists, and tech leaders for an exclusive, limited-capacity dinner hosted by Mariane Bekker of Founders Bay at the Millennium Tower Penthouse in San Francisco. Connect, collaborate, and gain insight into the trends shaping AI, frontier technology, and the future of startups and venture capital.

Wednesday, February 25 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Led by Bobby Console-Verma, CEO of 1fs Wealth, this workshop offers unparalleled expertise in wealth management and family office solutions. Bobby brings years of experience working with sophisticated investors and ultra-high-net-worth clients, helping them simplify complex processes, reduce friction, and implement smarter workflows that drive measurable results.

Wednesday, February 25 - 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Mariane brings a unique blend of experience as an investor, engineer, and community leader to help startups succeed at every stage, offering hands-on guidance in fundraising strategy, technical decision-making, co-founder matching, talent recruitment, and personal branding. From crafting compelling investor pitches and selecting the right technology stack to building strong founding teams and credible personal brands, Mariane provides personalized, practical support designed to turn ambitious ideas into scalable, investable companies.

Thursday, February 26 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

PR shouldn’t feel like a line item you’re afraid to touch. In this founder-focused session, Gina Milani, seasoned PR Pro and founder of PRToolFinder, demystifies public relations for early-stage startups and growing companies navigating launches, fundraising, and traction-building.

Wednesday, March 4 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Join Holly Roland, Founder & CEO of Rebel GTM, for a hands-on virtual workshop designed to help founders turn their websites into powerful revenue engines. Learn how AI can optimize your site’s performance, content, and user experience to attract, engage, and convert visitors more effectively.

Wednesday, March 4 - 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

​To celebrate International Women’s Week, we’re bringing together some of the most inspiring female founders and VCs under one roof.

​Join us for an evening of conversation, connection, and shared learning as we explore how we can accelerate progress toward greater gender diversity in tech — and support more women building and investing in the future.

Thursday, March 5 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

​Early-stage founders often rely on gut instinct when making sales decisions—but intuition alone doesn’t scale. In this workshop, fractional GTM & Sales Leader Laura Garrison will teach founders how to build simple, actionable sales reporting that reveals what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus next. You’ll learn how to make informed, data-driven decisions without needing a data team, BI tools, or complex dashboards.

Wednesday, March 11 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Navigating U.S. immigration can be one of the biggest challenges for startup founders and growing teams. This virtual workshop is designed to help founders, operators, and early employees understand the immigration pathways available to startups and their workforce—so you can plan with confidence and avoid costly missteps.

Sunday, March 15 - 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

​Use FB10 for 10% off

Renaissance 2026 is AI+’s flagship summit bringing together the founders, researchers, and engineers defining the next decade of intelligence.

​Over two days on the weekend between GDC and Nvidia’s GTC, we convene 40 AI leaders, 20+ top AI startups, and 2,000 founders, builders & investors to explore frontier breakthroughs across Multimodal Intelligence, Agents, AI Infrastructure, Embodied AI and Robotics.

Wednesday, March 25 - 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join us for an exclusive evening designed for founders who have raised $1M+ for their current company. This private dinner brings together a select group of high-growth founders, with limited spots reserved for aligned investors looking to connect in a meaningful, intimate setting.

​Enjoy curated conversations, shared learnings, and a panoramic penthouse view—perfect for building relationships that move companies forward.

​This dinner is proudly supported by Fidelity Private Shares.

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