What to expect
This is not a demo day, a networking mixer, or a content event attended in passing. Founders First is a structured, high-trust half-day get-together in which the most ambitious founders engage directly with the capital partners and operators positioned to support meaningful growth.
VC Reverse Pitch
The conventional format is inverted. Leading venture funds offer direct insight into current capital allocation priorities and the profiles of companies they are actively seeking to back.
The Operator's Playbook
Leaders who have scaled companies beyond $100M ARR share the frameworks and practices that drive durable growth: go-to-market design, sales motion evolution, talent acquisition under pressure, and sustaining performance across multiple cycles.
Building from Day Zero
Candid founder case studies examining the realities of building AI-native companies: architectural decisions, early distribution strategy, and an honest account of what succeeded and failed.
Built for Collisions
Unstructured time is preserved on purpose. The most consequential outcomes rarely occur on stage; they emerge from curated introductions and the conversations that follow. Rather than leaving these moments to chance, we engineer the conditions for them.
Who Attends
Seed and Series A founders building category-defining technology companies.
Nationwide venture funds actively deploying capital in 2026 and beyond.
Growth equity investors searching earlier for breakthrough companies.
Executives and operators from category-defining tech companies.
Agenda
Founders
If you are a founder or employee at an early-stage, privately held technology company, this pass is for you.
Investors
Your full-time day job is an investor in startups.
General
If you work for a late-stage startup, a publicly traded company, or provide services to startups, this is the ticket for you.
VIP Lunch
$200
* Must purchase a Startup, Investor, or General ticket as well to attend Lunch.
Lunch 11:45-12:45 with Ralph Sampson.