Hi Friends,

Here are some events happening this week and the LinkedIn post about all the events.:

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

Thursday, October 2 - 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM

This Thursday at 11AM in San Francisco we’re hosting an intimate founder + investor breakfast focused on what it really takes to go from demo to deployment in the enterprise.

Hear from:

✨ Expect playbooks on landing Fortune 500 clients, passing security reviews, and negotiating enterprise deals. Breakfast + real connections included.

Wednesday, October 1 - 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

​This is a workshop on winning your startup negotiations. As a founder, investor, or operator, you are negotiating at all times, often without even realizing it - whether with your cofounders, investors, advisers, business partners, M&A partners, and more. Join this interactive workshop and learn from a negotiations expert, Gerta Malaj. We will have a Q&A to give the audience the opportunity to dive deeper into any particular negotiation scenarios.

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.

Friday, October 3 - 11:00 AM –12:00 PM

​This webinar is based on four cases from my personal experience. Why do some startups fail to fulfill their potential despite having a great idea, a strong market, a capable team, and many other preconditions to become a big thing? I will openly share painful lessons and my views on why some of the promising ventures I was part of never transformed into something extraordinary. Better do your own mistakes than repeat mine.

Friday, October 10 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM

FOUNDERSBAY30 (30% off)

Join us for a transformative day exploring the frontiers of human health and lifespan extension. Featuring visionary keynote speakers including Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Niko Dimitriadis, and world-champion surfer and resilience expert Bianca Valenti—alongside top scientists, entrepreneurs, and wellness leaders shaping the future of longevity.

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: Win Your Startup Negotiations, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop: Why Startups Fail - Lessons I Learned the Hard Way, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop - The Magic of Personal Branding: When Investors Seek You Instead of You Chasing Them, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop: Executive Branding: Becoming Indispensable in the Age of AI, Founders Bay Virtual Workshop: Real World Self Defence with Jessica-Rose Clark

Subscribe To VIP Access, get all the workshops above for free and get free tickets to: Founders B2B AI Breakfast @ Cole Frieman & Mallon LLP, Founders Bay Deep Tech & AI Pitch Night - #SFTechWeek, The Future of Robotics: Panel & Happy Hour - #SFTechWeek

👉 AI Agent Builders & Users Mixer (4PM-6PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Meet AI agent builders, users, and investors for an evening of connection and collaboration. Share insights, explore tools, and uncover startup opportunities in the agent space. Drinks, networking, and deep AI conversations await.

👉 Fintech Startup Pitch Night with JCB, Qlay and Startup Intros (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Fintech founders will pitch their ideas to top VCs and industry experts. Expect discussions on how AI is shaping the financial space. A prime opportunity to network and showcase innovative fintech solutions.

👉 AGI Builders Meetup SF w/ Descope (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join fellow developers, founders, and AI enthusiasts for insightful talks and demos. This monthly meetup highlights the latest in AGI innovation. Light refreshments will be served to keep conversations flowing.

👉 Corporate Sustainability: Navigating the New Reality🚀 Bold Moves + Happy Hour & Tasty Bites🥂🥳 (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Corporate leaders, founders, and investors will unpack the future of sustainability strategies. Hear bold insights in a fireside chat with EDF’s Elizabeth Sturcken. Stay after for networking, happy hour, and bites.

👉 Lessons from China and Japan on AI: Opportunities in Asia (4:30PM-5:50PM)
📍 Stanford
💬 Hear from Google DeepMind’s Shane Gu and Stanford’s Dr. Richard Dasher as they discuss AI advancements in China and Japan. Learn how Asia’s unique ecosystem is shaping global opportunities in AI. A must-attend for those tracking international innovation trends.

👉 AI/ML Infra Meetup with AMD, Alluxio, & ML Trading Expert (San Francisco & Virtual) (5PM-8:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Explore the latest strategies for building and scaling AI infrastructure. Speakers will cover ML trading, low-latency systems, and advanced storage solutions. Attend in person or virtually for real-world insights.

👉 AWS Partner Showcase - Agentic AI in Action (SF) (5PM-8:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Learn how AWS, Mistral AI, MongoDB, and more are using Agentic AI to transform operations. Expect live demos, implementation strategies, and practical case studies. Gain insights into how automation drives innovation.

👉 Agents for Web Dev (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join the AI and web builder community for talks on agents in web development. Connect with peers and hear practical applications in a casual setting. Hosted at Mintlify’s new SF office.

👉 SF AI Builders + Engineers Happy Hour by CRV & Comma Capital (5:30PM-7:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Meet AI engineers, builders, and founders at this casual networking event. Share projects, explore collaborations, and discuss the latest in AI. Perfect for those seeking cofounders or new ideas.

👉 The Newport Discourse (6PM-8PM)
📍 Newport Beach
💬 Lido Village Books x HanaHaus Newport present an evening with local professors. Engage in thoughtful discussions with your community. A new forum for learning and connection in Newport.

👉 Fin x Figma: Shaping the Future of AI Tools (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Leaders from Fin and Figma will discuss building AI-driven SaaS products. Learn how top teams adopt AI to create customer value. Stay for community connections and big conversations.

👉 VAULT SOCIETY PRESENTS: Curating the Future (4AM-7AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A gathering of founders, family offices, and investors to drive impact and purpose. Hosted at the historic Bank at Amador, this event blends legacy with bold future ideas. Enjoy curated networking, bites, and meaningful connections.

👉 Founders Bay Virtual Workshop: Win Your Startup Negotiations (11AM-12PM)
📍 Online
💬 Learn the art of negotiation for startups with expert Gerta Malaj. Gain strategies for investors, cofounders, and partnerships. Interactive Q&A ensures tailored advice for real scenarios.

👉 Artificial Intelligence & Patent Law (5PM-7PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Explore how patent law adapts to the rise of AI technologies. Industry and legal experts will share perspectives on protecting innovation. A must for founders and professionals in AI.

👉 Vibe Coding 101: Session and Games (5PM-7PM)
📍 Palo Alto
💬 A hands-on coding session mixed with playful challenges. Build fun apps, present demos, and join quick games. Learn, create, and connect in a lively setting.

👉 Own Your AI an Evening with Fireworks AI ft. Meta, Uber, Upwork, and AWS (5PM-8PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Fireworks AI CEO Lin Qiao joins leaders from Meta, Uber, and more. Discover how open-source AI helps companies build flexible, scalable solutions. Gain insider insights from top AI innovators.

👉 AI For Developers #29 (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Explore the latest in AI programming, NLP, and computer vision. Learn from experts at Canva, LangChain, and more. Network with fellow developers and sharpen your AI skills.

👉 From Recruiter to AI-Powered Recruiter = SF (5AM-7:30AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Learn how recruiters can use AI to boost productivity and streamline communication with candidates and hiring managers. This hands-on session covers building a personal AI assistant and practical GPT-5 use cases. Network with recruiters and talent leaders driving innovation in hiring.

👉 Founder Breakfast (9AM-11AM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A curated breakfast for Seed to Series B founders in B2B SaaS and AI. Expect candid conversations on hiring, scaling, and investor expectations. Connect with peers backed by YC, a16z, and top operators from Uber, Meta, and more.

👉 The Voice AI Summit: VapiCon 2025 (9AM-6:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 VapiCon brings developers and technologists together to explore production-ready voice AI. Expect technical talks, demos, and interactive sessions covering infra to UX. Enjoy food, networking, and fun dev games throughout the day.

👉 Founders B2B AI Breakfast @ Cole Frieman & Mallon LLP (10AM-12:30PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 San Francisco
💬 An exclusive breakfast for founders, investors, and enterprise leaders. Discuss how AI is reshaping productivity, GTM, and enterprise opportunities. Expect strategic conversations over a chef-prepared meal.

👉 Overnight Success: WorkOS (4:30PM-6:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 WorkOS founder Michael Grinich shares lessons from building infrastructure that powers Vercel, Loom, and more. Learn how boring problems can lead to massive success. Hear the real story of scaling to 200+ customers without a marketing team.

👉 AI x Quant Finance @ RBF Capital (5PM-7PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A salon-style evening on building a new AI platform for finance. Learn about their long-term vision, share ideas, and connect over food and drinks. The team is also hiring engineers to join their early-stage journey.

👉 Semantic search in prod w/ Notion, Cursor & turbopuffer (5:30PM-7:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Hear from Notion, Cursor, and turbopuffer on building semantic search at scale. They’ll share lessons from billions of queries and real-world production challenges. A must for engineers working on RAG, code intelligence, and AI search.

👉 Cloud Native x AI: The next wave of innovation (5:30PM-8PM)
📍 San Jose
💬 Connect with Cloud Native and AI developers to discuss the future of scalable systems. Experts from Nutanix, Canonical, and SigNoz will share insights on AI-native infra and workflows. Expect actionable takeaways and meaningful networking.

👉 HackwithBay – Financial Agents Hackathon (8:30AM-4:30PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 An 8-hour hackathon hosted at Microsoft’s Mountain View office, bringing together top builders and innovators. Collaborate with peers, mentors, and judges to solve real challenges in financial agents. A chance to network, showcase creativity, and win big prizes.

👉 Founders Bay Virtual Workshop: Why Startups Fail - Lessons I Learned the Hard Way (11AM-12PM) [HOSTED BY ME]
📍 Online
💬 Learn from real stories of startups that had strong ideas but still failed. This workshop highlights leadership pitfalls, market dynamics, and timing mistakes. Gain insights you can apply directly to your own venture.

👉 AI Founders Lunch - Discuss GTM & Scaling (12PM-2PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A curated lunch for 8–10 founders navigating post-PMF challenges. Share honest conversations on growth, GTM, and scaling experiments. Build meaningful connections with fellow startup leaders.

👉 AgentX: Rethinking Agent Memory (3PM-5PM)
📍 Sunnyvale
💬 A builder-first event series kicking off at Google’s Sunnyvale campus. Hear from AI leaders on scaling agents, reasoning, and safety. Expect technical, high-signal discussions without the hype.

👉 SF Devtools Drinkup - Fall Edition (6PM-9PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A casual meetup for devs who love APIs and tools. Enjoy tacos, drinks, and conversations with fellow builders. Hosted by WorkOS.

👉 Burning Heroes x EF Hackathon (9AM-7PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A one-day hackathon inspired by Burning Man, blending creativity and coding. Build features or side projects while enjoying mentorship and Slavic food. Expect fun vibes and co-founder connections.

👉 Power BI Bootcamp - 2025 (Free Event) (9AM-10AM)
📍 Online
💬 Explore the latest in PowerBI and data analytics at this free bootcamp. Learn from experts through demos and hands-on sessions. A great opportunity to upskill and network with data professionals.

👉 NASA Space Apps Mountain View Hackathon (9AM-5PM)
📍 Mountain View
💬 Part of NASA’s global hackathon, uniting technologists, artists, and innovators. This year’s theme is “Learn, Launch, Lead,” encouraging projects using NASA’s open data. Build impactful solutions while connecting with the STEM community.

👉 Supabase Select Hackathon (9:30AM-6:30PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 Hack alongside the Supabase team the day after their big event. Expect prizes, good food, and a high-energy atmosphere. Sponsored by Figma and Resend.

👉 Outdoor Meetup: AI for Developers (10AM-1PM)
📍 Alameda
💬 Take AI discussions outdoors for a refreshing meetup in nature. Includes lightning talks, coding sessions, and casual networking. Bring a blanket, water, and your AI questions for a unique experience.

👉 Alignment 2025 ｜Valley101 Annual Tech Summit - Inside the Story, Beyond the Chaos (9AM-6PM)
📍 Sunnyvale
💬 A full-day summit exploring breakthroughs in AI, robotics, Web3, and more. Features top speakers, stories, and the Global Startup Challenge pitch finals. Expect big insights and Silicon Valley connections.

👉 Walk&Jam! Make Art With AI (12PM-3PM)
📍 San Francisco
💬 A creative walk in Golden Gate Park where participants snap photos and animate them with AI tools. Casual, fun, and social with food afterward. Open to anyone who wants to play and explore AI art.

Raising capital is a milestone moment—but for many founders, term sheets can feel like a maze of jargon, hidden risks, and investor-friendly clauses. Get them wrong, and you might give away too much of your company too early.

At our recent Founders Bay Workshop, we invited Ellisha Blechynden, a San Francisco-based corporate attorney specializing in startups and venture capital, to break down the essentials of negotiating term sheets. With years of experience guiding founders through equity financings, Ellisha shared tactical advice on how to protect your equity, avoid common pitfalls, and build strong investor relationships.

💡 Key Takeaways

🔹 Safes vs. Convertible Notes vs. Preferred Stock
Safes are quick and low-cost but can chip away at equity faster than founders realize. Convertible notes give investors more protections, while preferred stock is heavily negotiated and sets the foundation for future rounds.

🔹 Know Your Investor Rights
From liquidation preferences to information rights, founders should understand which provisions are “market” (like 1x non-participating liquidation preferences) versus investor overreach. Getting these terms right early on avoids painful renegotiations later.

🔹 Cap Table & Diligence Readiness
Investors scrutinize your cap table and IP. Before fundraising, ensure all equity grants, option pools, and invention assignment agreements are properly documented—messy records can kill momentum fast.

🔹 Leverage Investor Relationships
The best term sheet isn’t always the one with the highest valuation—it’s from investors who add strategic value, open doors, and support your company’s long-term growth.

✅ Why It Matters for Founders & Leaders

Ellisha reminded us that term sheets aren’t just legal formalities—they’re a blueprint for your company’s future. With the right preparation, founders can turn term sheet negotiations into a moment of strength, not stress.

👉 Want to learn more? Connect with Ellisha on LinkedIn or check out her boutique corporate practice for startup-focused legal support.

View the entire workshop video here: