Upcoming Founder & VC Events Happening This Week

Upcoming Events & Tips for Choosing the Best Funding Strategy For your Startup & The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

Author

Mariane Bekker
June 03, 2024

Table of Contents

MongoDB GenAI Hackathon with AWS [Hosted by Me] (Link)

Friday June 14, 9:30am - 10pm

​Attention Generative AI developers and early-stage startups! We're thrilled to invite you to a day-long GenAI hackathon hosted by MongoDB with AWS, sponsored Unstructured.io; and co-hosted with Founders Bay and PolyAgent at the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View, CA, on Friday, June 14!

This week is Data Cloud Summit by Snowflake. Here’s a list of after-parties.

Networking events are a great way to meet fellow founders and investors. Here are events happening in San Francisco this week for founders.

🗓️ Monday, June 3

👉 Data Cloud Summit by Snowflake (Jun 3 - Jun 6) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join the Data Cloud Summit to explore the latest in data technology, cloud innovations, and best practices with industry experts.

👉 AI B2B Investors & Networking (4 PM - 6 PM) [Palo Alto]
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Hosted by Murray Newlands, this event is perfect for AI B2B investors and professionals looking to network and discuss the latest trends in the industry.

👉 How to Lead with Radical Candor with Kim Scott (5 PM - 7 PM) [SF]
📍 South Park Commons, San Francisco
💬 Join Kim Scott for a discussion on leading with radical candor, fostering an open and honest work environment.

🗓️ Tuesday, June 4

👉 Talk Gen AI Summit (12 PM - 5 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Dive into generative AI discussions, innovations, and networking at the Talk Gen AI Summit.

👉 Agents Unleashed: San Francisco Taco Tuesday (5 PM - 8 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Enjoy tacos and networking with Ralph Pahlmeyer, David Minarsch, and Era Qian at this unique event.

👉 AI in Health Tech and Life Sciences (5 PM - 8 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Raja Sundaram and Rajeev Dutt for an insightful evening on the intersection of AI, health tech, and life sciences.

👉 Lean GTM for Seed B2B companies - Founder Roundtable (6 PM - 8 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Ehren Maedge leads a roundtable on lean go-to-market strategies for seed-stage B2B companies.

🗓️ Wednesday, June 5

👉 Startup Pitch (6 PM - 9 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Startup Valley for an evening of pitches from up-and-coming startups.

🗓️ Thursday, June 6

👉 UXRConf 2024 (8 AM - 6 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Attend the UXRConf to explore the latest in user research and experience design.

👉 Morning Tech Brew (8 AM - 10:30 AM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Start your day with tech discussions and networking over coffee with Nuné Zadoyan and Felipe Collin.

👉 Snowflake Dev Day (10 AM - 4 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Dive deep into Snowflake’s development ecosystem and connect with fellow developers.

👉 Friends of Stanford University Blockchain - SF Summer Party (5 PM - 7 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Jay Yu and friends for a summer party focused on blockchain innovations and networking.

👉 Immigrant Founders Network (YEH + OpenSphere + OWOW) (5 PM - 8 PM) [SF] [I'm Speaking]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Connect with immigrant founders and network with industry leaders including Eli Al-Shamari, Atal Agarwal, and Gangesh Pathak.

👉 MemGPT Developers Meetup (5:30 PM - 8 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Sarah Wooders and Charles Packer for a meetup focused on MemGPT development and applications.

🗓️ Friday, June 7

👉 Create the Future Summit: Where tech, government, art and community come together (8:30 AM - 7 PM) [I’m speaking] [Berkeley]
📍 Berkeley
💬 An all-day summit exploring the intersections of technology, government, art, and community, hosted by Michelle Yuan.

👉 Silicon Valley Bootstrappers Breakfast (9 AM - 10:30 AM) [San Jose]
📍 San Jose
💬 A networking breakfast for Silicon Valley bootstrappers to share experiences and insights.

👉 Open Demo - Our last before a summer break! (5 PM - 8 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Attend the final open demo before the summer break to see new innovations and network with the tech community.

👉 San Francisco | Build Together: AI Hackathon (5:30 PM - 12 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Join Annie Liao and Jan Zheng for a collaborative AI hackathon in San Francisco.

🗓️ Saturday, June 8

👉 Pathways to Partnerships: Connection for Female Founders, Funders & Friends (3:30 PM - 5:30 PM) [Palo Alto]
📍 Palo Alto
💬 Tess Robinson hosts an event focused on building partnerships among female founders, funders, and friends.

👉 Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Everyday Tech (4 PM - 5:30 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Explore the concept of democratic design in everyday tech at this engaging event.

👉 AI Networking San Francisco (5 PM - 9 PM) [SF]
📍 San Francisco
💬 Connect with AI enthusiasts and professionals at this networking event in San Francisco.

Are you looking for an accountant for your startup?

Founders Bay partnered with MontPac to offer you discounted Accounting Services starting at $40/hour.

MontPac, founded in 2006 is a full-scope accounting, financial management, and business process outsourcing service provider to startups.

MontPac management has the combined experience of over 50 years in accounting, financial management and business process outsourcing (BPO) services with its operating center strategically located in the Philippines, home to highly qualified and skilled accountants.

If you’re interested, book time with them and let them know that Founders Bay referred you

Tips for Choosing the Best Funding Strategy For your Startup


By Mariane Bekker

One of the toughest hurdles for startups is finding the right way to fund their growth. Luckily, there are several ways to raise money, each with its own set of pros and cons. In this post, we’ll dive into three popular methods: bootstrapping, crowdfunding, and VC-backed funding.

As the founder of Upward, I had to make the crucial decision about how to fund our journey. After weighing my options, I decided to go with bootstrapping. It’s not the usual route, but it offers a lot of benefits, especially in terms of control and profitability.

Bootstrapping:

Pros:

  • Retain control: By self-funding your startup, you maintain complete ownership and control over your business decisions.

  • Flexibility: You have the freedom to experiment, pivot, and make decisions without external pressures or obligations.

  • Financial discipline: Bootstrapping forces you to be frugal and prioritize expenses, leading to increased financial discipline and resourcefulness.

Cons:

  • Limited resources: Bootstrapping may restrict your ability to scale quickly or undertake ambitious projects due to limited capital.

  • Slower growth: Without external funding, it may take longer to achieve significant growth milestones compared to well-funded competitors.

  • Personal financial risk: Depending solely on personal savings or credit cards can expose you to personal financial liability if the business fails.

Tips for Choosing Bootstrapping:

  • Assess your financial situation: Evaluate your personal savings, creditworthiness, and risk tolerance to determine if bootstrapping is feasible.

  • Prioritize profitability: Focus on generating revenue and achieving profitability early on to sustain your business without external funding.

  • Seek efficiency: Emphasize lean operations, cost optimization, and resourcefulness to make the most of limited resources.

Crowdfunding:

Pros:

  • Market validation: Crowdfunding allows you to test your product or idea's market appeal and receive early feedback from backers.

  • Access to capital and audience: Successful crowdfunding campaigns can generate substantial funds while building a community of enthusiastic supporters.

  • Limited dilution: Crowdfunding enables you to retain ownership and control over your business since you are not giving up equity.

Cons:

  • Intense competition: Crowdfunding platforms are highly competitive, requiring strong marketing efforts, a compelling value proposition, and a well-executed campaign.

  • Time and effort: Running a crowdfunding campaign requires significant time and energy for planning, creating engaging content, and managing backer expectations.

  • High expectations: Crowdfunding backers may have high expectations and demands, requiring diligent communication and transparency throughout the process.

Tips for Choosing Crowdfunding:

  • Thoroughly research platforms: Evaluate different crowdfunding platforms to find the one that aligns with your product, target audience, and fundraising goals.

  • Develop a compelling story: Craft a compelling narrative, engaging visuals, and enticing rewards to capture the attention and support of potential backers.

  • Leverage your network: Leverage your existing network, social media channels, and influencers to create awareness and drive traffic to your campaign.

VC-backed Funding:

Pros:

  • Significant capital infusion: Venture capital funding can provide substantial financial resources to fuel rapid growth and expansion.

  • Expertise and networks: VC firms often bring valuable industry expertise, connections, and guidance to help scale your business.

  • Validation and credibility: Securing VC funding can enhance your startup's reputation and attract further investments from other sources.

Cons:

  • Dilution of ownership: VCs typically require equity in exchange for their investment, leading to a partial loss of ownership and control.

  • Pressure to perform: VC investors often have high growth expectations, placing significant pressure on the startup to meet ambitious targets.

  • Lengthy funding process: Securing VC funding can be a time-consuming process, involving due diligence, negotiations, and legal formalities.

Tips for Choosing VC-backed Funding:

  • Assess compatibility: Evaluate if the VC firm's expertise, industry focus, and network align with your business goals and vision.

  • Understand the terms: Thoroughly review and negotiate the investment terms, considering factors such as valuation, board representation, and exit expectations.

  • Seek guidance: Engage legal and financial professionals who specialize in venture capital to navigate the intricacies of the funding process.

Choosing the right funding method is a critical decision that will shape your startup’s path. Each option has its unique set of advantages and disadvantages, so it’s essential to consider your financial situation, growth aspirations, control preferences, and business strategy.

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

Last week’s slowdown persisted, with fewer large funding rounds this week. A significant AI round likely boosted overall figures and interest, but beyond that, big investments were scarce. The holiday week could be a factor, or it might be that VCs' checkbooks are cooling off after a strong start to the year with numerous nine-figure rounds.

  1. xAI

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $6B

    • Details: Elon Musk’s generative AI startup, xAI, raised $6 billion, making it the second-most-valuable generative AI company after OpenAI. The round included investments from Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Fidelity Management & Research Co., valuing xAI at $24 billion. The company released its AI model Grok-1.5, trained with data from X (formerly Twitter), earlier this year.

  2. Solutions by Text

    • Sector: Fintech

    • Funding: $110M

    • Details: Solutions by Text, a Dallas-based startup enabling financial transactions via text, raised $110 million in a mix of equity and debt, led by Edison Partners and StepStone Group. Founded in 2008, the company has raised $145 million and offers services like loan origination, collections, and bill payment.

  3. Frore Systems

    • Sector: Mechanical Engineering

    • Funding: $80M

    • Details: Frore Systems secured an $80 million Series C led by Fidelity Management & Research Co. The San Jose-based startup develops the AirJet, a solid-state active cooling chip that helps AI applications stay cool and maintain performance. Founded in 2018, Frore has raised $196 million.

  4. Mavenir

    • Sector: Network Software

    • Funding: $75M

    • Details: Mavenir, a network software provider, raised $75 million from an existing investor. The Richardson, Texas-based company builds cloud-native software for managing complex networks without relying on traditional telecom hardware. Founded in 2005, Mavenir has raised $1 billion.

  5. CinRx Pharma

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $73M

    • Details: CinRx Pharma, based in Cincinnati, raised $73 million from undisclosed investors. The company has a diverse portfolio in medicine and therapies. In early 2023, its former portfolio company CinCor Pharma was acquired by AstraZeneca for $1.3 billion. Founded in 2015, CinRx has raised $176 million.

  6. BabylonChain

    • Sector: Blockchain

    • Funding: $70M

    • Details: BabylonChain, a Palo Alto-based developer of security protocols for decentralized systems, completed a $70 million round led by Paradigm. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $103 million.

  7. (tied) Squared Circles

    • Sector: Consumer

    • Funding: $40M

    • Details: Squared Circles, a Los Angeles-based consumer brand incubator, raised $40 million in a Series A led by L Catterton. Founded in 2020, this is the firm’s first disclosed fundraising amount.

  8. (tied) Transcend

    • Sector: Privacy

    • Funding: $40M

    • Details: Transcend, a San Francisco-based data privacy platform, raised $40 million in a Series B led by StepStone Group. Founded in 2017, Transcend has raised nearly $90 million.

  9. Gameto

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $33M

    • Details: Gameto, a New York-based biotech firm focused on women’s health, raised $33 million in a Series B led by Two Sigma Ventures and RA Capital Management. Founded in 2020, the company has raised $73 million.

  10. Reibus

    • Sector: Industrial

    • Funding: $30M

    • Details: Reibus, an Atlanta-based independent metals marketplace, raised $30 million in a combination of equity and debt from existing investors including Canaan Partners and Nosara Capital. Founded in 2018, Reibus has raised nearly $132 million.

Source: Crunchbase 

CEO, Founders Bay

Hi! I'm Mariane Bekker, 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 recently founded Founders Bay, a venture studio for early-stage founders with a mission of empowering women founders to grow their startups. Learn more: www.foundersbay.com