Demo Day LA - May 2026
Demo Day LA
Presented by Nerdstage
If you're a builder turning hard problems into progress, you might be a fit for the Nerdstage Pitch Accelerator.
Learn more about Nerdstage's Demo Day series here.
LA’s most anticipated startup demo event, bringing together a room full of investors eager to back what’s next.
The night features multiple founder pitch sessions, live demos, and a fireside chat with investors and industry leaders sharing real, unfiltered insight. Expect strong ideas, serious conversations, and networking that actually goes somewhere.
🔥 5:00 PM • Fireside Chat: Raising Capital in 2026
Eric Pulier has founded 16 companies and raised over $1.5 billion. In this fireside chat with Jeffrey Chernick, Eric breaks down what's actually working for founders raising money in today's climate: how to craft a narrative, what investors are really listening for, and how AI is rewriting the math on what it takes to get to MVP.
🎙️6:00 PM • Startup Pitches
Founders pitching to the VC panel
🤝 7:30 PM • Networking and Connections
Food & conversations
Demo Day LA Investor Panels have included:
Demo Day LA is made possible by partnership with:
Venture Best
a part of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
"Our Venture Best® group is dedicated to serving entrepreneurs and investors. We’ve also been in those roles, giving us firsthand insight. We help clients drive strategies for achieving high-growth goals.
We counsel early-stage businesses on entity formation, financing, and other needs as they grow. Our team also provides crucial value-added services, such as advising on business plans and pitches, investor introductions, and team-building referrals.
In addition, we advise funds and sponsors on structuring, forming, and operating all types of investment funds."
VC Match
Stop guessing who to pitch. VCMatch builds your VC target list for you.
Upload your pitch deck and let vcmatch.ai build your target list — ranking 4,000+ VCs by thesis, stage, and check size to fill your round faster. We grade your pitch before you send it and prep you for every meeting. No more cold research, no more burned intros, no more wrong rooms.
Get 50% off with code NERDNEWS here: https://go.vcmatch.ai/vcmatch.ai-nerdstage
Highlights from previous special guests
Mike Jones, General Partner at Science Inc., helped build and invest in companies like Liquid Death and Dollar Shave Club.
Josh Resnick, General Partner at OpenSky Ventures also previously co-founded Pandemic Studios and Sugarfina.
Hank Leber, co-founder at Stanify
📊 Case Study: from 5% to 220% funded using Demo Day