Hi Founders Bay Community,

There’s a lot happening at Founders Bay, but some of the most powerful stories inside our ecosystem don’t always get the space they deserve. I personally like to say; it’s just never enough.

So we’re changing that.

I’m Pramanya, Developer & Community Lead at Founders Bay. You’ve seen me host events, run panels, and occasionally flash a camera in your direction. The last few months have been some of the most rewarding and transformative of my journey so far. I stepped into a world that feels alive, founders building late into the night, investors debating big ideas, communities forming around ambition and momentum.

And in the middle of it all, I found myself surrounded by incredibly inspiring women.

As I’ve spent more time in this ecosystem, I’ve met women building ambitious companies, launching funds, and creating high-trust communities across borders.

I kept thinking: these stories deserve more visibility, it’s never enough.

So I brought the idea to Mariane Bekker, and she supported it in less than a second (quite literally). That’s how this began.

Women Founders Bay: Her Story is a monthly initiative to highlight women shaping our ecosystem - builders, leaders, and community creators who are driving real impact.

And it feels right that we begin with the founder of Founders Bay herself.

Head of Developer Relations at You.com | CEO, Founders Bay

In the Bay Area founder ecosystem, Mariane Bekker is more than a name — she is an institution for credibility. Her presence doesn’t just fill rooms. It shapes them.

When Mariane hosts, investors show up.
When she curates, founders listen.
When she builds, ecosystems form around it.

But what most people see today, the global 150,000+ Founders Bay community, the curated founder-investor rooms, the international speaking stages, is only part of the story.

Behind it all is something even more powerful.

Mariane built this as a single mother, she didn’t have the luxury of waiting for perfect timing, ideal circumstances, or excess capacity. She built anyway. She showed up anyway. She created rooms anyway.

Late nights weren’t just for events and strategy. They were for parenting.
High-stakes meetings weren’t separate from life, they were integrated into it. And that’s what makes her story different.

Before Founders Bay became a global ecosystem, it began with one belief: founders grow faster in rooms built with intention. Mariane didn’t just create events, she built infrastructure for connection. A space where capital meets courage. Where operators become investors. Where women aren’t a side panel, they are at the center of the conversation.

What began as curated gatherings evolved into one of the most active founder-investor communities across borders.

That kind of credibility isn’t built overnight.
It’s built through consistency.
Through discernment.
Through resilience.

Mariane’s leadership isn’t performative. It’s foundational.
She doesn’t just build companies. She builds ecosystems.
She doesn’t just create rooms. She creates access.

And perhaps most powerfully, she proves that motherhood and ambition are not opposing forces — they are fuel.

At the core of it all is her philosophy:

Build ecosystems, not just companies.
Build rooms that outlive you.
And make sure there’s space at the table for the women coming next.

Founder, Sisters - Female Founders Initiative

Some of the most powerful builders don’t come from obvious places.

Assel Seitova began her journey in Kazakhstan; a country not often spotlighted in Silicon Valley conversations, yet rich in talent and ambition. Over two decades, she built a global career in investment finance and M&A, working across five countries and earning her CFA certification along the way.

But what shaped her most wasn’t just finance, it was perspective.

Working across borders reinforced a simple truth: talent is universal, but access is not.

After relocating to Palo Alto, Assel immersed herself in the venture ecosystem. She saw incredible women building bold companies, yet many lacked intentional, high-trust spaces to grow alongside one another.

That’s how Sisters - Female Founders Initiative was born.

What began as a network inspired by women entrepreneurs from Central Asia quickly evolved into a globally open community. The name “Sisters” was chosen intentionally, it stands for warmth, trust, personal, long-term relationships, and real support over transactional networking.

In just six months, Sisters has grown into a fast-scaling, high-signal community hosting curated panels, practical workshops, and gatherings that create meaningful connections.

Now, Assel is building even further, developing acceleration initiatives and preparing to launch a venture fund focused on bridging global talent with capital and opportunity.

Sisters isn’t about geography.

It’s about ambition, trust, and women building together.

If you’re a woman building inside the Founders Bay ecosystem, or know someone whose story deserves to be spotlighted, let’s tell that story.

Reply to this email or connect with me directly.

We’re curating intentionally. 🌸

Celebrate International Women’s Week with an inspiring Women Founders & VCs Panel + Networking hosted by Founders Bay on Wednesday, March 4 (5:00–7:00 PM PST) at frontiertower. The evening features a candid VC panel, “Raising in 2026: What Actually Gets Funded,” moderated by Pramanya Guda (Developer & Community Lead, Founders Bay), with panelists Preethy Padmanabhan (EIR & CMO, Emergent Ventures), Amy Yin (Partner, defy.vc), Jyotika Gupta (Co-founder & Partner, Z21 Ventures), and Assel Seitova (Founder, Sisters – Female Founders Initiative). Hosted in partnership with MongoDB for Startups and Sisters - Female Founders Initiative, the event brings together women founders, operators, and VCs for honest insights on what’s getting funded, how founders stand out, pitch red flags to avoid, and how to build authentic investor relationships—followed by meaningful networking.

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