Beyond the AI Hype: What Investors Are Backing — #SFTechWeek
Cut Through the Noise: How AI Startups Stand Out & Get Funded
Building with AI is easier than ever. Standing out is not. Investors are seeing more AI startups, more similar pitches, more companies competing for the same attention and capital. So what actually makes an AI startup stand out?
Join us during SF Tech Week for a working session on how to tell your story, followed by direct time with investors backing the next generation of AI companies.
The Format
Storytelling Session with Carl Fudge - Carl, founder of Presentation Mode and former IDEO storytelling lead, opens with a practical session on how to sell your product in three minutes, how to talk about value instead of features, and why "we use AI" isn't a story on its own.
Investor Breakout Rooms - Smaller, curated breakout rooms give founders the chance to engage directly with investors, ask questions, and go deeper on what it takes to build and fund an AI company today.
What You'll Take Away
A clearer understanding of what investors are looking for, how to position your company beyond "we use AI," and a sharper story to bring into the room right after you've built it.
This event is part of #SFTechWeek. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.
Interested in joining?
To RSVP, please sign up through our official Partiful page — SF Tech Week policy requires registration to go through the host's primary link:
https://partiful.com/e/eKYOMUoCG7Ed9puWq4uX
What is Venture Dock
Venture Dock is a founder-first community and fund based in Palo Alto and Milpitas. We give founders access to resources and relationships that would normally take years to build on their own, expert 1:1s every week, investor sessions monthly, and a Master Session where operators who've actually built and sold companies share what that was really like.
When it's time to raise, our Funding Labs walk you through it directly with investors in the room, and our Demo Days put you in front of our network once you've got traction to show. None of it works without the 200+ founders in the community itself — people who tell you what's working, and what isn't, before you find out the hard way.
Become Part of the Venture Dock Community
If you're building something and want a community that actually shows up for you, we'd love to have you.