Hi,

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Last week, we hosted multiple workshops and wrapped it up with an epic Friday party for our new SFVibe newsletter —David Carvalho and Bisi (from Justiguide) crushed it on the DJ set, and the room was packed till the last song.

Kristopher’s back from NYC today, and tomorrow the three of us will be at Shack15 working on something new for SFVibe. We’ll be at Tea Happy Hour at 3 PM — come say hi if you’re around!

This week, I’m speaking at multiple events. If you sign up as a VIP, you’ll get free access to all of them — and it’s the best way to support what we’re building.

💸 Fund Update: We’re finalizing our thesis and have received over $100M+ in interest so far. The response has been amazing, and we're continuing to bring on incredible LPs. If you expressed interest but haven’t heard from us yet—thank you for your patience! The demand has been high, and we’re moving through conversations as quickly and thoughtfully as possible. If you want to co-invest with us, apply here to be a limited partner »

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

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

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

Weary founders take the load off. We know you've been hustling. Join us for some good food, libations, cool people

​🥳🎉 Folks have been inquiring as to when our next gathering will be.🥳🎉

​✨✨It'll be a time to kick back and chill.

FOUNDERS25 for 25% OFF the early bird ticket.

March 27, 2025

Join us for a transformative event designed to inspire and guide women on their financial journeys.

Participate in a full day of impactful sessions, including fireside conversations, intimate panels, and engaging discussions with curated peer-to-peer matchmaking.

Walk away richer in knowledge, community, and resources.

Take steps immediately after the event with your Wealth Creation Toolkit. This includes priority-setting exercises, diagnostic worksheets, a resource directory, and various tools and books by our speakers to support you on your journey.

Thursday, March 28 - 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

​​​We’re hosting an exclusive breakfast at a stunning private residence in Noe Valley, co-hosted by Mariane Bekker and Kristopher Floyd from Founders Bay and Paul Jun, Managing Partner at Depth Capital Ventures

​​This event is designed for top investors founders to explore how AI can drive B2B innovation and growth. Over a curated breakfast, engage in meaningful discussions, gain actionable insights, and network with fellow founders & executives shaping the future of B2B AI.

Friday, March 28 - 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

​Calling all founders in the bay! Come unwind, network, and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. This is your chance to take a break from building the future and enjoy an evening of casual golf, great conversations, and inspiring company.

Friday, March 28 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

​Scaling a business requires strong, efficient operations. This workshop will help you build systems that support growth, streamline workflows, and reduce bottlenecks. Learn how to create processes that keep your business running smoothly as it expands.

Thursday, April 3 - 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

​​📌 Join us for an inspiring evening at the Women & Nonbinary Founders' Demo Day, co-hosted by Women x AI and Germ! This exciting event, sponsored by Convex, will showcase innovations from 10 visionary founders, offering a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge technology and connect with fellow enthusiasts, investors, and industry leaders from AI and beyond.

Event sponsored by Convex: Convex is an open-source reactive database built for AI code generation. It lets AI write your queries as TypeScript code. Developers can ship faster and with fewer errors using Convex. Subscribe to their calendar »

Exclusive discount (35%) code: MBlim35

Join us as we take AI INFRA SUMMIT to new heights, diving into the fast-evolving AI infrastructure landscape. From dirt up to APIs, we’ll explore the interconnected layers driving next-gen deployments. With a focus on ecosystem & optionality, top industry leaders will shape the future of AI infrastructure. 

Whether you're an AI builder, enterprise leader, investor, or industry expert, this summit offers a full day of insights, collaboration, and networking—delivered in style.

Don’t miss out on these exciting new offerings! Upgrade your membership today and take your involvement to the next level.

Subscribe To Growth Access and get free tickets to: Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Structuring Operations for Scale, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Mastering the Perfect Pitch Deck, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Backward Approach to Entrepreneurial Success

Subscribe To VIP Access, get all the workshops above for free and get free tickets to: Founders Bay Expert Office Hours: Marketing Advice with Bryce Parrish, Founders Bay Breakfast: B2B AI Strategies @ Luxury Noe Valley Residence, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Structuring Operations for Scale, Mastering the Perfect Pitch Deck, Founders Bay Expert Office Hours: Digital Transformation & AI Strategies, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Backward Approach to Entrepreneurial Success, New Era: Latest Advances in Longevity Biotech, Drug Discovery, and AI, Common GTM Mistakes Made by Startups—and How to Avoid Them, Women in Sustainability: Networking, Innovation, Leadership, Impact, Solutions, Women in Sustainability: Networking, Innovation, Leadership, Impact, Solutions, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop: Securing the Unseen: AI, Cyber Threats & the Battle for Trust

Imagine investing in Ring before its $1.2B buyout by Amazon

Or Nest, before Google's $3.2B acquisition.

By the time we hear about industry-changing companies, it’s usually too late. But right now, there’s a smart home startup making their way to homes in America. This tech startup is RYSE, and unlike Ring, you can still invest before their $1.90 round closes May 30.

Like how Ring disrupted home security, this company is revolutionizing smart blinds & shades.

With $10M+ in revenue, 200% YoY growth, and sold in 127 Best Buy stores, they are primed for massive expansion and forecast 5X in revenue this year.

Earn up to 25% in free shares.

_{Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.}

👉 SF Awesome AI Dev Tools - March (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​You probably already know that AI is changing the world. Come learn about some of the awesome AI dev tools being worked on. This event brings together developers, AI enthusiasts, and industry experts to showcase cutting-edge tools and innovations. Expect insightful talks, live demos, and networking opportunities.

👉 San Fran's Largest Tech Startup, Business & Entrepreneur Networking Soiree (5:30PM-7:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Calling All: Tech Startups! Entrepreneurs! Business Owners! Professionals! Freelancers, policy-makers, game-changers, and heroes!

👉 Founders Bay Expert Office Hours: Marketing Advice with Bryce Parrish (2PM-5PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 Online
💬 ​Struggling to grow your startup? Join Bryce Parrish for expert marketing advice tailored to early-stage founders. Whether you're refining your brand, optimizing customer acquisition, or scaling your marketing efforts, this session will provide actionable insights to help you navigate the complexities of startup marketing. Get personalized feedback, proven strategies, and data-driven tactics to accelerate your growth.

👉 Ask Me Anything with Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google (5PM-8PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 ​Join an AMA session with Peter Norvig, former Director of Research at Google, as he shares insights from his 20+ years leading Google's core search algorithms and research teams. He’ll discuss AI advancements, the early days of Google, US-China AI competition, and the future of artificial intelligence.

👉 Celo L2 Hardfork Party w/ Vitalik & Frens! (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Celebrate Celo’s migration to an Ethereum L2 with key ecosystem figures, including Vitalik, Celo co-founder Marek Olszewski, and others. Enjoy flash talks, networking, and a night of drinks, music, and Ethereum-powered excitement.

👉 Surreal: AI Agents (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Join a roundtable discussion with developers and researchers exploring the future of AI agents. What needs to be unlocked for AI Agents to deliver on expectation?

👉 MCP Night by Mintlify x Speakeasy (5PM-7PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​A meetup focused on the latest advancements in Machine Code Processing (MCP) hosted by Mintlify & Speakeasy.

👉 Startup Founders Happy Hour [I’m co-hosting] (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​A casual networking event for founders, investors, and mentors to unwind and connect over food and drinks.

👉 Private VC / Startup - B2B SAAS / Wine Tasting Mixer (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A private mixer for startup founders and VCs, featuring curated wine tastings and networking with industry leaders.

👉 Women Tech Meetup w/Puzzle & micro1 (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Celebrate women in AI and tech with engaging discussions, networking, and complimentary drinks.

👉 Demo Night - Just Give'r, Eh? (5:30PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​A night for Canadian founders to showcase their work in a series of five-minute demos.

👉 Data for AI Presents: The Open Source Afterparty w/ Nvidia, Langflow, Pinterest, Datastrato, & More! (5:30PM-8:30PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 ​An evening of discussions and networking on data infrastructure, ML, and AI-driven innovation.

👉 Winning Contracts With AI: Unlocking SAM.gov Opportunities at General Lithium (6PM-7:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Learn how AI can help businesses navigate federal contracting and secure opportunities on SAM.gov.

👉 ACTIVATE Hack Night @ GitHub HQ (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​A hacker night featuring networking, demos, and a coding session at GitHub HQ.

👉 AI in Production Meetup (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Join Google Cloud & AI User Group to explore real-world AI applications and best practices.

👉 Code smarter: AI for developer productivity feat. Graphite & Claude Code (6PM-8:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A fireside chat on how AI is transforming software development, hosted by Graphite, Anthropic, and Accel.

👉 SF Founders Brew Mixer (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A casual networking event for ambitious founders over drinks. No agenda, just good vibes.

👉 Rise Together: LaFamilia x Finix Community Kickoff 2025 (6PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A community event for Latine founders, investors, and industry leaders to connect and collaborate.

👉 Juicebox x Paraform: Recruiters in SF Mixer (6:30PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​A networking event for recruiters and talent professionals in the SF tech ecosystem.

👉 TWIF & SVB March SF Fintech Coffee (8:30AM-10:30AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join This Week in Fintech for a networking coffee event! SF Fintech Coffee, hosted by TWIF and Silicon Valley Bank, brings together fintech professionals for casual networking over breakfast. RSVP for the location.

👉 Product Market Fit workshop with Jeroen Coelen (8:45AM-1PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 A hands-on workshop to help early-stage startups achieve product-market fit. Participants must apply in advance.

👉 Workshop: Science through Computation (9AM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A 2-day hackathon connecting scientists and builders to develop computational science tools.

👉 Find Your Niche & Nail Your Pitch: How to Attract Customers WORKSHOP (11AM-1PM)
📍 Online
💬 A workshop for women entrepreneurs to define their niche, craft a strong elevator pitch, and refine their business strategy.

👉 Imagined Futures w/ Neal Stephenson, Ken Liu & more (4:30PM-6:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A discussion on how speculative fiction influences the future.

👉 Z21 Ventures + Alma + Turing: Cracking the US GTM Code (4:30PM-7PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Insights and strategies for international founders scaling in the U.S. market.

👉 Arize AI Builders Meetup @ GitHub (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Talks on deploying, evaluating, and monitoring AI agents at scale, featuring Crew AI, Union AI, and Arize AI.

👉 Bay Angels Live Pitch Event @ The Multiverse (5:30PM-8PM) [I’m Judging]
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Join Bay Angels at The Multiverse in Palo Alto on Wednesday, March 26th for an evening of innovation, insight, and connection!

👉 OpenHands Software Development Agent Meetup (5PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A meetup for GenAI enthusiasts featuring talks, research challenges, and a hacking session with OpenHands.

👉 vibe and code w/ windsurf x mintlify (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A casual gathering at Mintlify’s penthouse for developers to code, network, and enjoy music and drinks.

👉 Arize AI Builders Meetup @ GitHub (5:30PM-8:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 An in-depth discussion on AI agent deployment, monitoring, and evaluation.

👉 bem AI + data panel (5:30PM-7:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A panel discussion on AI and data product building trends and challenges.

👉 AI Builders Night @ San Jose - Women Leaders in AI (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Jose
💬 Celebrating women leaders in AI with talks and live demos at Zoom HQ.

👉 Integrations for AI Meetup (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Discussions on integrating AI products with existing tools and workflows.

👉 SF Demo Night 🚀 (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A showcase of innovative tech demos hosted by GenAI Collective and Product Hunt.

👉 TSVC AI Vanguard Collective: Invitation-Only Inaugural Gathering (6PM-9PM)
📍 Los Altos
💬 An invite-only gathering for top AI founders, investors, and domain experts.

👉 🧠 The Thought Experiment Lab [public] (6:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A discussion group exploring classic philosophical thought experiments.

👉 AI Agent Founder Dinner (6:30PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 An invite-only dinner for AI Agent founders to discuss competitive advantages, technical moats, and industry trends..

👉 Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit (8AM - 7:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​At the Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit, we’re bringing together the brightest and most successful women to share the tools, insights, and inspiration you need to grow, manage, and elevate your wealth. Subscribe to a VIP Access Membership and get 50% off »

👉 Q&A: Founder Institute - Ask us anything! (10:30AM-12PM)
📍 Virtual

👉 🚀 PAI Palooza Weekly AI Training Series: Integrate Azure OpenAI into Your App (12PM-1PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 ​Ready to bring AI to life in your apps? Join our 1-hour hands-on workshops and learn how to integrate Azure OpenAI models into real-world applications. Perfect for developers, founders, and tech teams ready to build with AI today!

👉 Pitch Your Startup! Looking for blunt, honest and practical feedback? (1PM-2PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Get real feedback on your startup idea! Pitch your startup to experts and receive honest, no-nonsense insights. Spectators are welcome to learn from the critiques.

👉 EmpowerHer.ai (3PM-7PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Women in AI Summit—Join the movement to bridge gender gaps in AI and redefine leadership in tech.

👉 Her X Factor: Building a Standout Personal Brand (4PM-7PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Master personal branding! This workshop, led by Donna Griffit, helps women in VC and startups stand out in their industries.

👉 3/27 SPIN #10: How Investors Evaluate AI Startup PMF (4:30PM-6:30PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Connect with investors and startup leaders at this strategic networking event focused on AI startup product-market fit.

👉 Scaling Data Processing and ML Training with Daft + Ray (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Engineers from Daft and Ray dive into scaling AI applications, from local development to production.

👉 Qdrant AI Builders: Evaluating AI Agents @ Cloudflare HQ with Groq, Athina AI, and TrustGraph (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Learn best practices for evaluating AI agents and integrating RAG and automation into enterprise workflows.

👉 TikTok for Developers AI Agent Platform (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Jose
💬 Discover how TikTok is leveraging AI agents to transform businesses and streamline automation.

👉 AI Agents Infra & Application (5:30PM-7:30PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Investors & AI Builders Unite—A high-impact evening connecting top talent with top deals in AI.

👉 The AI x Marketing Meetup #8 (5:30PM-8:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 AI-powered marketing strategies—Learn how leaders are making smarter, data-driven decisions with AI.

👉 AI & Tech for Human Evolution: Accelerating Global Well-Being & Conscious Transformation - Light DAO Salon (SF) (6PM-9:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Expand collective consciousness—A networking event exploring AI’s role in human evolution and well-being.

👉 FinTech Running Club in SF! (6PM-7PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join the FinTech Running Club for an easy run through Golden Gate Park—network while staying active!

👉 vLLM & Ollama Inference Night (6PM-8:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Hosted at Y Combinator SF—A deep dive into AI inference with food, drinks, and networking.

👉 AI Insiders: The Launch (Join Waitlist) (6:30PM-9:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 An exclusive AI networking event—Connect with top AI founders, investors, and industry leaders.

👉 Neural Nights: Chill out & Chat AI @ District SF (8PM-10PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 The official AI afterparty at District SF—network and unwind with fellow AI enthusiasts.

👉 Founder Flow - Peak Performance Coaching (12AM-1AM)
📍 Remote
💬 Monthly coaching call for founders, led by Angel Gambino and Tarin Calmeyer, focused on time optimization and productivity through guided breathing and wellness techniques. Sponsored by Mercury.

👉 Bootstrappers (7AM-8:30AM)
📍 Remote
💬 Silicon Valley Bootstrappers Breakfast (Online).

👉 Deep Tech Connections Networking Breakfast (8:30AM-10:30AM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 A monthly breakfast networking event for deep tech entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and corporate innovators.

👉 Founders Bay Breakfast: B2B AI Strategies @ Luxury Noe Valley Residence (10:30AM-12:30PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Exclusive breakfast for investors and founders to discuss AI-driven B2B innovation, co-hosted by Founders Bay and Depth Capital Ventures. Subscribe to a Growth or VIP Access Membership and attend for free »

👉 Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - Structuring Operations for Scale (11AM-12PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 Online
💬 Learn how to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and build scalable systems for business growth. Subscribe to a Growth or VIP Access Membership and attend for free »

👉 AI Engineering Summit (12PM-5:30PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 A summit exploring AI’s impact on engineering functions, featuring expert talks and networking.

👉 Session 2: Prompt Engineering & Defending Against Cyber Threats (12PM-3PM)
📍 Oakland
💬 A cybersecurity and AI training session by BRIDGEGOOD for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds.

👉 AI Founders Topgolf Social by Trinet and Women in AI Club (5PM-8PM)
📍 Burlingame
💬 A casual networking event for founders at Topgolf, hosted by Trinet and Women in AI Club. Subscribe to a Growth or VIP Access Membership and attend for free »

👉 Spring Break SF Tech Connect (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A relaxed tech mixer with networking, a lightning panel, and socializing opportunities for students and industry professionals.

👉 AI Bootcamp: Accelerated Training for Leaders and Disruptors (8AM-5:30PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 This hands-on AI bootcamp bridges the gap between theory and business impact. Learn how to drive measurable AI-driven results for your organization.

👉 Sampleapp.ai AI Hackathon (9AM-3PM)
📍 Online
💬 A hands-on hackathon where developers, founders, and AI enthusiasts can build innovative solutions using the latest AI tools and APIs.

👉 Vently x Blue Whale DJ Patio Party (12PM-5PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Celebrate spring with a lively DJ patio party featuring upbeat tech, minimal, and disco house by talented local artists.

👉 Weirding AI || Fine-tuning & RAG for Artists & Poets (1PM-4PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A 2-day workshop exploring AI-generated poetry and fine-tuning models to craft unique poetic voices and creative expressions.

👉 🧠 GenAI Collective 🧠 Marin AI Investors Roundtable (2PM-6PM)
📍 San Rafael
💬 A private investor-only event fostering discussions on AI deal flow, investment strategies, and emerging opportunities.

👉 A Talk on Building & Scaling for AI Founders (2PM-5PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Join AI founders, investors, and experts for insights on scaling AI-driven businesses and navigating the evolving AI market.

Raising capital is one of the most critical—and complex—challenges founders face. This workshop from Ramandeep Shergill from Fiscal Founders is designed to give you a solid understanding of the financial essentials that drive successful fundraising, helping you make informed decisions to grow your startup strategically.

​In this interactive session, you will learn:

​By the end of this workshop, you’ll have the tools and frameworks to:

​Whether you’re preparing for your first pitch or scaling up for a larger round, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge to secure the right investment while keeping your startup’s long-term vision in focus.

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.