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November 24-26th 2023
MindsDB SF AI Collective,
3154 17th St,
San Francisco, CA 94110


TECHSTARS
‍STARTUP WEEKEND
SAN FRANCISCO AI



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WHAT IS TECHSTARS STARTUP WEEKEND?

Techstars Startup Weekend is a dynamic accelerator program condensed in 3 days
where you can develop, prototype, design, and validate your startup ideas.
You'll be immersed in an invaluable network of AI mentors and seasoned coaches,
and gain access to valuable resources that will help you refine your AI
concepts, and pitch your ideas effectively in front of the best investors in the
Bay Area.

Get ready for a high-speed startup experience!

Fun

Immerse yourself in an exciting, high-energy environment where innovation meets
excitement. Enjoy creative problem-solving and collaborative challenges, making
your startup journey an adventure.

Learning

Gain hands-on experience, learn from industry experts, and develop essential
skills as you bring your ideas to life. It's an intensive crash course in
startup success!

Networking

Forge invaluable connections with like-minded individuals, mentors, and
potential collaborators. Expand your professional network and build lasting
relationships that can drive your startup forward.




ATTENDEES

100+

participants

10+

mentors

5+

speakers and workshops

15+

sponsors and partners


SCHEDULE

Day 1

5:00 p.m.
Registration, Networking/Icebreaker, Dinner 
6:30 p.m.
Welcome
7:00 p.m.
Speaker
7:30 p.m.
Pitches
8:00 p.m.
Voting
9:15 p.m.
Team formation
10:00 p.m.
Work begins
10:30 p.m.
Go home

Day 2

8:30 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m.
Kick-off
9:30 a.m.
Workshops (Optional)
10:00 a.m.
Work
11:30 a.m.
Mentor sessions annoucement
12:00 p.m.
Lunch
2:00 p.m.
Mentor meetings
5:00 p.m.
Teams Check-Ins
6:00 p.m.
Dinner Break
8:00 p.m.
Wrap-up announcements
10:30 p.m.
Go home

Day 3

8:30 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m.
Kick-off
9:30 a.m.
Pitch Workshop/ Mentoring Session (Optional)
10:00 a.m.
Work
12:00 p.m.
Lunch
2:00 p.m.
Teams Check-Ins
4:00 p.m.
Final Presentation submission deadline
5:00 p.m.
Early Dinner/snacks
5:30 p.m.
Evening presentation starts
6:00 p.m.
Final pitches start
7:30 p.m.
Judges deliberate
8:00 p.m.
Winning teams are announced
8:15 p.m.
Event wrap-up
8:30 p.m.
Post-event networking and celebrations (afterparty)
10:30 p.m.
Go home


SPEAKERS

Hien Luu
Head of ML Platform - Doordash
Author, Speaker, Advisor
Passionate AI/ML engineering leader, building scalable infrastructure to power
real-world applications. Author of the Beginning Apache Spark 3 book. Speaker at
MLOps World, GHC 2022, Data+AI Summit, XAI 21 Summit, YOW Data!, appy(), QCon
(SF,NY, London).
Igor Markov
Research Scientist - Meta, Director at Nova Ukraine
Igor L. Markov is Research Scientist at Meta. He previously worked as professor
at the Univ of Michigan. He received his M.A. in Mathematics and Ph.D. in
Computer Science from UCLA. He is an IEEE Fellow and an ACM Distinguished
Scientist.
Anton Borzov
Partner at STRATMINDS. Product Design at WhatsApp, neeva
Anton is a Partner at STRATMINDS, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm
focused on applied Artificial Intelligence. Prior to STRATMINDS, he was a
Founding Product Designer and Head of Design at Neeva, an AI-powered, ad-free,
private and personal search engine with ambition to create a better alternative
to Google. Neeva was acquired by Snowflake in 2023 for its amazing AI search
tech after growing to 2M users. Before Neeva, Anton was a Founding Product
Designer at WhatsApp, where he hired and mentored a global design team serving
its growing user base (0 to 1.5B users). He is passionate about integrating life
into products and design, and has been studying at buildingbeauty.org, a program
based on the works of Christopher Alexander. Anton actively supports the
Ukrainian startup and design ecosystems, enjoys connecting designers with
businesses and publishing books about design and unfolding life.
Iain McIntyre
Growth & Events - MindsDB
Iain has ten years of experience as a founder, CEO, and Head of Growth, building
and scaling innovative products and teams across fields ranging from wearable
neuro-technology to applied AI. His startup experience includes raising $6M in
funding, conducting extensive user testing, clinical trials and shipping
hardware/software products to thousands of paying users, garnering mainstream
press attention and establishing strategic partnerships.


JUDGES

Neal Sales-Griffin
Managing Director at Techstars in San Francisco (eBay Future of eCommerce),
Oakland (J.P. Morgan), and Chicago
Managing Director at Techstars for the San Francisco-based Future of eCommerce
program (powered by eBay), Oakland (powered by J.P. Morgan), and Chicago
programs. Loves solving meaningful problems and helping people make progress. At
Techstars we #givefirst and help founders succeed.
Kevin Liu
Head of Investments & Portfolio Capital at Techstars
Kevin is the Head of Investments and Portfolio Capital at Techstars and helps
manage the global investment portfolio of over 3500 portfolio companies. As of
2023, Techstars has more than $1B in AUM across both Accelerators and Venture
and Techstars alumni have a combined market cap of more than $105B. Kevin is a
pre-seed and seed investor in over 40 companies including Retool, Vise, Culture
Biosciences, Hightouch, Causal, Certn, and Seldon. Kevin is based in San
Francisco.
Hendrik Dahlkamp
Serial Entrepreneur, several exits to Apple and Google
Hendrik loves building deep robotics and computer vision tech. Co-founder Google
Street View, Co-founder Google Maps GroundTruth, First engineer Waymo, DRI
HomeKit Secure Video, Stanford AI Lab.
Nick Bilogorskiy
Managing Partner, 408 Ventures, Co-founder - Nova Ukraine, ex-Google, Meta,
Microsoft
Nick Bilogorskiy was the director for Security Intelligence at Google, leading
an engineering team to promote trust and ensure user safety at Google. He has
over 20 years experience building great security engineering and operations
teams. Nick was a founding member at Cyphort, which was acquired by Juniper
Networks; created and led the Cyphort Labs Threat Research team and played a
critical role designing Cyphort’s malware detection logic and product user
experience. Prior to Cyphort, Bilogorskiy was Chief Malware Expert at Facebook
and also held security research leadership positions at Fortinet and Sonicwall.
Pranav Reddy
Founding investor - Conviction VC
Founding Investor at Conviction, interested in AI, ML & more. Previously
engineering and product lead at Neeva. Prior to that, published first-author
neuroscience work and was a Rhodes finalist. Motivated by learning to do hard
things well from talented mentors.
Kevin Leffew
Replit
Kevin Leffew is a Sr. BizOps Manager at Replit; helping companies and developers
go from idea to software, fast.
Tara Tan
Founder and General Partner - Strange Ventures
Tara Tan is Founder and General Partner at Strange Ventures, an investment firm
focused on AI and the future of human creativity. An industry veteran who has
built and backed startups in emerging technologies for nearly 20 years, Tara
previously drove investments at global design and strategy firm, IDEO.
Prior to that, she led design at deep tech startups, and founded an interactive
media and gaming company in 2012. Tara is a frequent contributor and speaker on
the intersection of creativity, technology, and capital, and has appeared at
SXSW, SF Design Week, DevCon, and more.
Nadine Fahoum
Principal - Crane Street Capital
Nadine is a Principal at Crane Street Capital, focusing on the education and
healthcare sectors. Her approach blends solid private equity principles with a
focus on technological advancements. Nadine plays a key role in integrating AI
solutions into her portfolio companies, improving their processes, efficiency,
and growth. She is passionate about identifying and applying practical,
innovative strategies while maintaining a strong emphasis on sustainable capital
allocation and long-term business health.Prior to that, she led design at deep
tech startups, and founded an interactive media and gaming company in 2012. Tara
is a frequent contributor and speaker on the intersection of creativity,
technology, and capital, and has appeared at SXSW, SF Design Week, DevCon, and
more.
Safa Rashtchy
Founding Managing Partner - Think + Ventures
Safa Rashtchy is the founder and Managing Partner of Think + Ventures, a
thesis-based and research-drivenearly-stage fund in Silicon Valley. Safa has
been a Silicon Valley investor, advisors, and board member for over 15 years and
has invested in over 60 companies. His investments include Bina Technologies
(acquired by Roach), Tubi.tv (acquired by Fox Media), Nimble VR (acquired by
Facebook), and several other exists.Safa is an advisor/board observer to
Snapwire, Spry Health, Axgen, and Contilio. His thesis on consumer value
proposition and market-driven investments have been at the core of Think +
Ventures. Safa pioneered the concept of “Teen Focus Groups” for internet and
online trends and has continued his mission to encouragecompanies to get close
to their customer and to listen to them. Safa has worked with and advised
numerous public companies during his Wall Street years, including Google,
Alibaba, Netflix, Yahoo, and others. From 1997 until 2007, Safa was a Managing
Director at Piper Jaffray and Company. He led the firm’s expansion efforts in
the Internet industry and its expansion to China, as well as active involvement
with leading Internet and technology companies.Safa enjoyed top ranking and
recognition from Wall Street, including three consecutive years of the
prestigious Institutional Investor (II) ranking, as well as top rankings for
stock picks and earnings estimates. In 2007, Safa was named the Investment
Analyst of the Year and received the 2007 New Economy Award from iResearch in
China. In 2002, Safa was named to The Wall Street Journal’s ”Best on the Street”
analyst survey and was also a winner in Institutional Investor magazine’s “Home
Run Hitters of 2001ʺ top stock pickers list.
Nazar Gulyk
Tech Entrepreneur, Stanford GSB, Techstars Community Leader SF
Nazar is a passionate and experienced Ukrainian tech entrepreneur and startup
founder based in San Francisco. With a strong background in business and
technology, he is dedicated to empowering young founders and companies to bring
their innovative ideas to life.
Additionally, he serves as a TechStars Community Leader in San Francisco,
leading a local pre-acceleration program.


MENTORS

Adi Kancherla
Prev. Dist. Systems - Google
Adi Kancherla, holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. His impressive career trajectory includes a significant
role at Google, where he developed vital software for Fortune 500 companies. As
a serial entrepreneur, Adi founded three venture-backed startups in the Web 3
space, showcasing his acumen in identifying and nurturing nascent ideas into
successful businesses. He served as CTO and CEO, raising nearly $5.3 million
USD. Adi’s expertise extends to building talented teams, proving his knack for
recognizing and cultivating potential. As a mentor, he offers invaluable
insights, a robust industry network, and a proven track record in transforming
innovative ideas into thriving enterprises. His guidance is a beacon for
startups striving to make a mark in the tech world.
Alyona Mysko
CEO/Founder at Fuelfinance
Founder of a fintech startup Fuelfinance.me and raised $1M in seed round and
recently hit $100k MRR. Alyona is building startup with a mission to help
founders avoid financial mistakes. Fuel is used to manage more than $250M in
customers' P&L. Fuelfinance won #2 Golden Kitty Award and was mentioned in
Business Insider, CNN, American Banker. Alyona was also a guest at Masters of
Scale podcast.Alyona has 10+ years in finance (PwC) being expert in financial
planning, analysis and risk management.
Chinar Movsisyan
CEO & Founder - Manot
An AI enthusiast with a specialization in the Computer Vision field, Chinar has
successfully delivered over 15 AI-powered products from inception to completion.
With experience gained at various research labs and venture-backed startups,
Chinar is the founder of Manot, a startup dedicated to providing an insights
management platform for computer vision performance. The platform aims to
streamline the AI development pipeline for companies, resulting in cost and time
reduction while crucially eliminating catastrophic failures.
Fabio Marastoni
Chief of Staff & Strategy - Improvado.io
At Improvado, Fabio played a key role alongside the CEO in securing $22M for the
Series A funding round. Responsibilities included the preparation of crucial
presentations for investors, strategic business planning, and ensuring
meticulous readiness for scrutiny and due diligence. Fabio was also actively
involved in preparing board of directors' meetings.Simultaneously, Fabio
provided support to founders by assisting in the restructuring and enhancement
of pitch decks. Leveraging past experiences in customer-facing sales pitches,
Fabio contributed valuable insights to optimize presentations.
Mohammad (Hamudi) Naanaa
Co-Founder & CTO - Portal AI, AI Researcher
As the technical co-founder of Portal AI, Hamudi is dedicated to assisting
entrepreneurs in effortlessly elevating and managing their businesses through AI
intelligence. With a robust background spanning 6 years in AI research,
engineering, and community building at Apple, Google, and Amazon, Hamudi has
contributed significantly to major hardware and software releases, impacting
millions of users. During this time, Hamudi played a key role in spearheading AI
research and product development.Hamudi actively participates in the hackathon
circuit, earning awards for innovative product ideas. Beyond this, Hamudi
frequently serves as a judge, leveraging their expertise to evaluate the work of
others. Fueled by a strong belief in the transformative potential of startups,
Hamudi is passionate about utilizing their knowledge to empower and inspire
emerging tech entrepreneurs.
Amy Pragel
Founder, Sales, Product, Strategy - Moody’s Analytics
Stanford LEAD
With 17 years of experience in FinTech spanning Sales, Product, and Strategy,
Amy founded a for-profit public benefit corporation during Stanford LEAD,
disrupting charitable giving in the US. Serving as a founder in the school's
incubator program, Amy actively manages the business, mentors, and strategizes
on design thinking. While maintaining a corporate role in third-party due
diligence, Amy is gearing up for the winter season launch of their venture,
actively pitching for external capital. Currently enrolled in an incubator
program, Amy leverages their diverse background to refine the business model and
understand customers. Passionate about mentoring and startup advising, Amy has
consistently guided startups to top 10 placements in incubator cohorts.
Deep S.
Startup Advisor on Pitch Deck, Revenue Growth and Startup Exit, Acquisition
A dedicated mentor across four incubator programs and alumni, Deep S. possesses
expertise in guiding startups through pitching, messaging, scaling, and exits.
Deep S. serves as an executive coach and advisor, having conducted workshops
attended by over 23,000 individuals from 50 countries. Active mentor at Berkeley
Skydeck, FalconX, Y-Combinator Alumni and TechStars Alumni.
Tove Andersson
Entrepreneur, Founder - KryptoGäris
Tove Andersson is an accomplished entrepreneur and leader in the blockchain
space. She founded KryptoGäris, the largest network for women in crypto in
Scandinavia and she has held positions such as CMO of a dev tool startup and
board member of a publicly-listed health tech company. Moreover, she has been a
popular speaker at SXSW and Eth Denver and mentored and judged at the respective
hackathons. Before transitioning into the tech industry, Andersson was a
professional Art Director at the renowned advertising agency DDB where she
worked with clients Klarna, Samsung, and Volkswagen and won awards including a
Cannes Lion and a Webby Award for her work.
Dane Patterson
Startup attorney, Partner - Goodwin
As a startup attorney and Partner at Goodwin, Dane brings nearly a decade of
experience in providing counsel to startups and founders. Dane has played a
pivotal role in advising on numerous company formations, venture capital
financings, and navigating M&A and IPO exits. The breadth of Dane's practice
includes collaboration with high-profile companies, and a particular passion for
working closely with early-stage founders at the inception of their startup
journey. Dane also serves as a mentor for Techstars Silicon Valley, further
contributing to the growth and development of the startup ecosystem.
Samuel Ekpe
Cofounder, CEO - Grupa
As a three-time founder, Samuel currently holds the position of Cofounder and
CEO at Grupa. With a background encompassing building, engineering, and
fundraising, Samuel is actively involved in developing an autonomous software
system at Grupa, where human engineers play a pivotal role in the loop. The
company is presently in the process of raising $2.5M to execute and scale this
mission.
Toni Xu
CEO of Lvlup, Inc. 
A serial entrepreneur with a track record of building successful teams and
products. Toni identified market opportunities and critical problems, devised
creative solutions, built A-teams, turned things around, and scaled things up
multiple x, many times. Toni designed and built 2 game platforms, 1 e-commerce
platform, designed, produced, and published 50+ games across web, mobile, and
VR, Blockchain, acquired and operated 30M users.
Giordano Tovo
Sales, VC - LvlUp ventures
In the EU, Giordano has played a pivotal role as a founding member of a
marketing agency and consulting business specializing in sales services. In San
Francisco, Giordano collaborated with venture capitalists, contributing to deal
sourcing, analysis, and due diligence. Giordano’s efforts facilitated funding
for startups by enhancing pitch decks and establishing connections with suitable
investors. Additionally, Giordano extends support to startups in optimizing
sales strategies to drive revenue growth.
Girish Kejariwal
Vice President, Digital (Global Conversational AI Lead) - Genpact
Throughout the majority of their career, Girish has dedicated their efforts to
constructing innovative solutions that drive digital transformation within
enterprise settings. Known for an exploratory approach, Girish delves into
challenges to gain a profound understanding, analyzing multiple paths toward a
solution, and collaboratively working with teams to identify optimal win-win
outcomes. In recent achievements, Girish's startup secured a notable position in
the top 3 at the Stanford Lead Incubator and Startup Accelerator. With a robust
background, Girish brings extensive experience in product development,
consulting, and the management of enterprise application products and solutions.
Arjun Arora
Founder - Advisor.AI
With over a decade of experience, Arjun brings expertise in B2B enterprise
sales, data science, machine learning products, marketing, customer success, and
GTM strategy to the table.
Matthew Fanciullo
Strategic Advisor and Legal Program Manager
Matthew Fanciullo is a legal professional at Chime, America's largest digital
bank. He has a robustbackground in the fintech and legal sectors, with
significant experience from Google, Chime, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and
Wells Fargo Securities. Matthew has also worked as a Strategy Advisor for the
Silicon Valley tech startup Abundance Protocol, where he worked with the CEO on
corporate strategy, fundraising, and compliance solutions. His expertise in
legal frameworks and startup environments makes him a standout in the field.
Michael Popchuk
Building successful SAAS products
Michael is a serial entrepreneur with a track of record in SAAS B2B
startups.Since 2007 he started 3 and successfully exited one startup.As a
management consultant, I helped market leaders in fintech, e-commerce, and
entertainment to achieve transparent and predictable delivery.
Dr. Samy Movassaghi 
Technical Lead in AI - Vanguard, Ex- Google 
Serial award-winning technical expert in Generative AI, Deep Learning and
Artificial Intelligence. She is currently an AI technical lead at Vanguard which
is an American registered investment advisory firm that has been around for
close to 50 years with $7.7 trillion in global assets under management. Samy's
cutting-edge research contributions have been acknowledged through various
awards: - Making a Breakthrough in Computer Science Award by Google, - PhD of
the year awarded by the Professional Association for Australia's ICT sector -
Featured Amongst Top seven researchers as CSIRO's seven. She has also been
featured in 20+ newspapers and magazines Worldwide, some of which are: The ABC
Science Show, SBS, The Financial Review, WHO magazine, The Deal & many more.
Yurii Filipchuk
Serial Tech Entrepreneur
A serial tech entrepreneur from Ukraine now based in San Francisco. As founder
of the virtual events platform Party.Space, raised over $2 million in funding,
closed deals with Google, Zapier, Grammarly, and UC Berkeley, and navigated
pivots before winding down operations. Have experience in investments and
helping companies fundraise. Now working on a new venture in the AI field. Yurii
makes meaningful connections and enjoys barbecue, shisha, and shawarma.


MENTORS

Alex Kalish
Global Operations AI at Amazon
Alex Kalish
Global Operations AI at Amazon
Alex Kalish
Global Operations AI at Amazon
Alex Kalish
Global Operations AI at Amazon
Alex Kalish
Global Operations AI at Amazon
Alex Kalish
Global Operations AI at Amazon


SPONSORS










FAQ

Is Techstars Startup Weekend open to participants of all experience levels?

Yes, Techstars Startup Weekend is open to everyone, regardless of their
experience level. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting to
explore the world of startups, you're welcome to join and contribute your unique
perspective and skills.

Do I need a pre-existing startup idea to participate?

Not at all! You don't need a pre-existing startup idea to join Techstars Startup
Weekend. Many participants come with an open mind, ready to collaborate and
contribute to other teams' ideas. It's a great opportunity to brainstorm and
work on innovative projects, even if you don't arrive with a concept in mind.

What resources/assistance are provided to participants over the weekend?

Techstars Startup Weekend offers participants a wealth of resources and expert
guidance. Our mentors, community experts in fields such as entrepreneurship,
software development, marketing, and more, are available throughout the event to
provide invaluable advice to participating teams.

What should we bring to the event?

For a successful and enjoyable Techstars Startup Weekend, make sure to bring:
Your creative ideas and enthusiasm
A laptop or any other tech tools you might need.
An open mind and readiness to collaborate.

How are teams formed at Techstars Startup Weekend?

Teams are often formed through a collaborative process at the beginning of the
event. Participants have the chance to pitch their ideas, and then everyone
votes on their favorites. Teams naturally come together around the most popular
ideas. It's a fantastic way to meet like-minded individuals and create diverse,
dynamic teams.

What happens after the weekend?

Techstars Startup Weekend is just the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey.
After the event, you'll have the opportunity to continue working on your startup
idea, seek further mentorship, and explore potential funding opportunities. We
encourage participants to stay connected with the community and tap into the
network and resources offered by Techstars to help take their startup to the
next level.
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