About us
The Startup Traction & Funding Network brings together aspiring and experienced tech entrepreneurs to discuss, meet, and collaborate to build great new startups and to push the local startup ecosystem forward.
This group hosts numerous free events throughout the year where you can learn the best practices of starting a company from people who have been there and done that. You’ll have the opportunity to meet local founders and investors, exchange ideas with experts, get feedback on your idea, participate in startup workshops, and more.
Typical startup event topics include:
• Refining your startup idea
• Startup legal basics
• How to pitch your startup
• How to launch a global company
• How to raise funding for your startup
• And much more!
Join the group to be invited to our next event!
For information about the investors, incubators, and tech events available, see our list of Startup Resources (https://fi.co/startup_resources). Interested in perfecting your pitch? Read our Pitch Deck Guide (https://fi.co/pitch_deck) and download templates.
Featured event
FounderX Silicon Valley: VIP Gathering of Global Founders/ Investors
FounderX is a highly-curated, intimate conference will gather ~300 investors, founders, technology executives, and startup ecosystem leaders from across the globe for three days of networking events, group workshops, and engaging talks from top Keynote Speakers.
Previous speakers for FI events include Elon Musk, Steve Jurvetson, Yamini Rangan, Naval Ravikant, Esther Dyson, Jason Calacanis, Ben Horowitz, and many more.
❯❯ Meetup members must RSVP at https://luma.com/659pksxq?coupon=WE2SPJ to attend, the early bird price is available until May 31st.
TO REGISTER, YOU MUST RSVP AND PAY AT THE LINK ABOVE. RSVPING TO THIS MEETUP DOES NOT GRANT YOU ACCESS TO THIS EVENT.
See all the latest event details at http://FounderX.com (exact details and speakers will not be updated on this Meetup page).
Please note: this event is mainly for Founder Institute investors, alumni, mentors, and leaders - so Meetup availability will expire.
The goal of FounderX is to facilitate meaningful connections and learning across the FI and Decile Group Networks, which span 40,000+ innovators across 100+ countries and 6 continents.
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❯ See all the latest event details at http://FounderX.com (exact details and speakers will not be updated on this Meetup page).
❯ Meetup members must RSVP at https://luma.com/659pksxq?coupon=WE2SPJ to attend, the early bird price is available until May 31st.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: To register, you MUST RSVP and pay at the link above.
❌ RSVPing to this Meetup does NOT grant you access to this event.
Upcoming events
4
Vibecoding 101 for Startups: Build Your First App w/ Mark Montalban
·OnlineOnlineThe technical barrier between your idea and a real product just disappeared. Vibecoding 101 is a free, beginner-friendly introduction to Replit, the AI-powered tool that lets you build working apps using plain language, no coding experience required. In this free online session, Mark Montalban, a top-rated startup mentor and vibe coding instructor, will walk you through it live, step by step. No developer needed. No prior experience needed. Just your idea and 60 minutes. Register now and come ready to build.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- How Replit works and why it's the go-to tool for non-technical startup founders
- How to use natural language prompts to build real product features
- The fastest path from idea to a prototype you can show to users or investors
- Common mistakes first-time vibe coders make and how to skip them entirely
- How this approach fits into a full AI-native startup building workflow
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25170 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Who Should Attend
- Experienced professionals with a startup idea who have been waiting for a technical co-founder
- First-time solo founders who want to validate an idea without writing a single line of code
- AI-curious professionals who want to use AI to build products, not just automate tasks at work
- Anyone who has been told they need a developer to get started
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❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/25170 to get your link and join us live!1 attendee
Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni
·OnlineOnlineTurn your startup vision into a real plan. Join a live, interactive online Q&A with Founder Institute alumni, founders who've collectively raised $2B+ and built some of the fastest-growing tech companies worldwide. Get practical advice on launching and scaling, hear what the FI pre-seed accelerator is actually like, and understand what you can realistically achieve through an accelerator. Save your spot and learn what it takes to succeed.
❯ What You’ll Learn:
- The various types of startups that join the Founder Institute
- What it’s like to be part of an accelerator program
- Key success metrics that investors look for
- Essential tactics for building a strong startup
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23171 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Featured Speakers:
- Liza Rodewald (FI Washington DC Alumni) - Founder & CEO @ Instant Teams: Liza brings 16+ years of technical experience as a software engineer and 4x entrepreneur, with a background building enterprise software for government and healthcare. A Computer Science graduate from the University of South Alabama and top 3% Founder Institute alumni, she launched Instant Teams to reshape how companies build remote teams through a talent funnel of military-connected professionals. She is a Forbes contributor, SheEO Top 25 honoree, and active mentor for female founders. Instant Teams is a remote talent marketplace connecting military families with flexible remote jobs. Raised $13M in a Series A led by Tiger Global, hit $19M in revenue in 2024, with CEO Liza Rodewald named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist.
- Johanna Behm (FI Silicon Valley Alumni) - Co-founder & CEO @ Envire: Johanna brings a decade of experience across live events, bioinformatics, enterprise software, and climate tech. A Finnish engineer raised on sustainability as a default, she built Envire to become the AI-native intelligence layer for the global events industry, helping venues cut emissions and eliminate 90%+ of manual reporting. She also co-founded Global Climate Solutions to accelerate capital to climate founders and scientists worldwide. Envire is an AI-powered platform helping event venues and organizers reduce their environmental footprint through consolidated data and sustainability insights…
Envire is an AI-powered platform helping event venues and organizers reduce their environmental footprint through consolidated data and sustainability insights, targeting the events industry's contribution to global carbon emissions.
❯ Featured Host:
- Chris Foltz is a Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Founder Institute and Managing Director of Responsible Solutions, a Silicon Valley-based global strategy firm. He advises founders, executives, and policymakers across 6 continents on brand storytelling and go-to-market strategy. Named to the IRG100, an annual list of the world's top 100 CMOs and change agents, Chris brings a rare, unfiltered perspective shaped by a career that has spanned partisan politics, personal adversity, and a remarkable reinvention.a seed-stage fintech fund backing embedded financial technologies that expand economic access for low- and moderate-income Americans and small businesses.
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❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23171 to get your link and join us live!3 attendees
What It Takes to Get Funded: Live Investor Q&A w/ Maayan Teper
·OnlineOnlineDo you want to ask questions to startup investors about fundraising in a friendly, judgment-free environment? Are you looking to raise funding in the future, and want to learn what investors look for and how they evaluate potential investments? Then join us for this live, interactive Q&A event featuring Maayan Teper, Investor at Resilience VC. Don't miss this opportunity to expand your network and ask in-depth questions.
❯ What You'll Learn:
- The key metrics investors evaluate in early-stage startups
- What makes founders stand out during fundraising
- How investors assess traction, market opportunity, and risk
- The differences between angels, VCs, grants, and other funding sources
- Practical ways to prepare before raising your next round
❯❯ RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23991 to get your link and join us live!
❯ Featured Speaker:
- Maayan Teper is Investor at Resilience VC, a seed-stage fintech fund backing embedded financial technologies that expand economic access for low- and moderate-income Americans and small businesses. Before Resilience, he evaluated investments at Better Ventures across climate, healthcare, and the future of work, and worked as a senior associate at Social Finance. Maayan has spent his career at the intersection of capital and impact; and brings a rare combination of financial rigor and mission-driven perspective to every conversation about what makes an early-stage startup worth backing.
❯ Featured Host:
- Chris Foltz is a Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Founder Institute and Managing Director of Responsible Solutions, a Silicon Valley-based global strategy firm. He advises founders, executives, and policymakers across 6 continents on brand storytelling and go-to-market strategy. Named to the IRG100, an annual list of the world's top 100 CMOs and change agents, Chris brings a rare, unfiltered perspective shaped by a career that has spanned partisan politics, personal adversity, and a remarkable reinvention.a seed-stage fintech fund backing embedded financial technologies that expand economic access for low- and moderate-income Americans and small businesses.
❯ Who Should Attend:
- Founders preparing to raise their first round
- Early-stage entrepreneurs seeking insight into investor decision-making
- Aspiring founders planning to fundraise in the future
- Anyone curious about how investors evaluate startups
About the FI Venture Network
The FI Venture Network is an exclusive network of investors actively funding pre-seed and seed-stage startups before anyone else. Learn more by visiting the FI Venture Network page.❯❯ Don’t miss this live, interactive online event packed with valuable insights! RSVP now at https://fi.co/startupwebinar/23991 to get your link and join us live!
1 attendeeFounderX Silicon Valley: VIP Gathering of Global Founders/ Investors
various locations, 319 Sally dr, 2118 Bayvale, San Francisco, CA, USFounderX is a highly-curated, intimate conference will gather ~300 investors, founders, technology executives, and startup ecosystem leaders from across the globe for three days of networking events, group workshops, and engaging talks from top Keynote Speakers.
Previous speakers for FI events include Elon Musk, Steve Jurvetson, Yamini Rangan, Naval Ravikant, Esther Dyson, Jason Calacanis, Ben Horowitz, and many more.
❯❯ Meetup members must RSVP at https://luma.com/659pksxq?coupon=WE2SPJ to attend, the early bird price is available until May 31st.
TO REGISTER, YOU MUST RSVP AND PAY AT THE LINK ABOVE. RSVPING TO THIS MEETUP DOES NOT GRANT YOU ACCESS TO THIS EVENT.
See all the latest event details at http://FounderX.com (exact details and speakers will not be updated on this Meetup page).
Please note: this event is mainly for Founder Institute investors, alumni, mentors, and leaders - so Meetup availability will expire.
The goal of FounderX is to facilitate meaningful connections and learning across the FI and Decile Group Networks, which span 40,000+ innovators across 100+ countries and 6 continents.
////
❯ See all the latest event details at http://FounderX.com (exact details and speakers will not be updated on this Meetup page).
❯ Meetup members must RSVP at https://luma.com/659pksxq?coupon=WE2SPJ to attend, the early bird price is available until May 31st.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: To register, you MUST RSVP and pay at the link above.
❌ RSVPing to this Meetup does NOT grant you access to this event.2 attendees
Past events
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