​Early-stage founders building AI products in San Francisco — join a curated afternoon of focused building, meeting other founders, and making real progress.

​The Experience

​Early-stage founders building products with AI often build alone. Or they're surrounded by people who don't share the same challenges.

​Mind the Product and Pendo are bringing together a curated, small group of early-stage founders for a focused afternoon of building, peer learning, and connection.

​Every founder brings their own product and a specific challenge to work through. We pair you with a small group of founders who get it, a coach with the experience to help, and three hours to actually move things forward.

​What's in it for you

​Build meaningful relationships: Every founder leaves with a small cohort of peers who've seen what they're building and share the same ambitions. These are the relationships that matter beyond the event

​Make real progress: Three hours of focused build time, with expert coaches at every table, is enough to move something forward that matters.

​Learn from the best: A thought leadership session from a leading voice in AI product development kicks off the afternoon. Coaches embedded in each group bring deep expertise to the table.

​Who this is for:

This event is limited and designed for a specific kind of founder – and we review every application to make sure the room reflects that.

​You're a strong fit if:

• ​You're an early-stage founder with a product actively in market or in development (not merely in the idea stage)

• ​You're building with AI in a meaningful way

• ​You can come prepared with a specific challenge to work through

• ​You want to actually build and leave having made a real impact in your work

​Agenda:

​1:00pm - 1:30pm: Arrival and Networking

​1:30pm - 2:15pm: Fireside Chat

Building the Right Thing When AI Makes Everything Feel Possible

​When AI lowers the cost of building, the hard question shifts from can we build it? to should we? For early-stage founders, that's both exciting and disorienting — the backlog gets infinite right when prioritization matters most. Todd and Zain are working through this in real time with Novus. This isn't a polished success story. It's an honest conversation about how they're making those calls: how they think about product-market fit, and how they stay aligned on strategy when the landscape keeps moving. They'll open up about what's working, and what they'd do differently.

2:15pm - 5:15pm: Focused build-time in small groups, supported by other player-coach builders.

​5:15pm - 6:15pm: Table show-and-tell & closing remarks

​6:15pm - 7:30pm: Food, drinks and networking

​Coaches Include:

• ​Todd Olson, Co-Founder + CEO at Pendo.io

• ​Zain Lakhani, Chief AI Officer at Pendo.io

• ​Jorge Alcantara, Founder at Zentrik.AI

• ​Dan Olsen, Author of The Lean Product Playbook

• ​Rohini Pandhi, Member Residency at South Park Commons

​This event is organized by Mind the Product, and sponsored by Pendo and Novus