​The Early Days: Inside the Startup Journey

​What really happens behind the scenes when building a startup?

​Join Draper University for a special evening bringing together people from across the Silicon Valley startup community.

​We’ll kick things off with a panel of people who were part of the early teams at fast-growing startups and have since gone on to build companies and work in venture capital. They’ve been in the room as big decisions were made, helped figure things out without a playbook, and seen what it takes to turn an idea into a growing company. We’ll get into those experiences: what worked, what went wrong, and what being on the early team taught them that they couldn’t have learned from the outside.

​After the panel, stick around for dinner and a chance to meet some great people! You’ll be joining founders from around the world in Draper’s Apex Growth Accelerator and Hero Training cohorts, alongside invited investors and operators who’ve helped build and scale startups. It’s a private gathering of the wider Draper community, with time to trade stories, share what you’re working on, and get to know each other over dinner.

​Event Details

​Date: Monday, November 9, 2026

​Location: Hero City Theater, San Mateo, CA

​5:30 PM: Doors open, refreshments and networking

​6:30 PM: Doors close, panel discussion and audience Q&A

​7:30 PM: Dinner and networking

​9:00 PM: Event concludes

​Meet the Panelists

​Anirudh Nair | Research & Engineering, Base10 Partners

​Went from building a startup as a founding engineer at Lendtable (YC S20) to helping a VC firm find its next investments. Now builds the technology Base10 uses to research companies and markets.

​Devreet Dulay | Founder, Internal Automations

​Joined Respell as employee #2, an AI startup later acquired by Salesforce. Now building Internal Automations, helping companies figure out where AI can make a difference and getting it working for their teams.

​Bailey Spell | Co-founder & CEO, LedgerUp (YC S24)

​Previously at Microsoft and on the early engineering team at Respell. Now building LedgerUp, with AI agents that handle billing and accounts receivable, and taking on everything from product development to winning customers.

​Meet the Draper Founders

​Take a look at the companies joining us from our current programs and meet the founders behind them, who bring different backgrounds from around the world!

​Apex Growth Accelerator: Explore the Apex Founder Lookbook

​Hero Training: Explore the Hero Training Founder Lookbook

​Registration

​We're keeping this event curated so everyone has a chance to make valuable connections. Registration is required and attendance is subject to approval.