Founders Showcase
Join us for the Malaika Founder Showcase, a live pitch experience designed for founders with a clear vision and strong market insight. This showcase creates a space for early founders to share what they are building, gain meaningful feedback.
This event is built for founders who want to transform their ideas into real technology outcomes but may be navigating challenges such as defining the right technical approach, managing an engineering process, or understanding the complexities of building a first product. It is also a gathering point for ecosystem partners and sponsors looking to connect with founders, builders, and investors in an intimate, high-signal environment.
Finalists will pitch live at the Showcase, receive feedback from experienced judges.
More about the hosts:
Malaika
Malaika is a community of founders and investors in San Francisco focused on connection, collaboration, and growth. Through monthly mixers, pitch showcases, and curated events, Malaika creates space for meaningful conversations and opportunities that move founders forward.
OAK - Informal Spaces (formerly Port Labs)
Rooted in the heart of Oakland, Informal Spaces (formerly Port Labs) is a dynamic community for the city's most curious makers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. By rebranding from Port Labs to Informal Spaces, the mission remains the same: fostering a collaborative environment for people building physical things. Whether it's prototyping a new invention or scaling a manufacturing run, this is where Oakland’s "work-in-progress" becomes a finished product.
What to Expect:
• Founder showcases and live feedback from investors
• Networking with founders, funders, and ecosystem partners
• Great energy, community, and meaningful connections
Meet the Judges
Adedapo Sobayo - Chief Evangelist, Metrifox
Priscilla Christie - Chief Growth & Operations Officer | Founder, Priscilla Christie, LLC
Adesola (Kikelomo) Oshinoiki - Technical Programs Manager @ SAP
Anna Duan - B2B Enterprise Sales | NVIDIA Supply Chain
Harshaneel Gokhale - Senior Software Engineer @ AngelList | Ex-Coinbase | Ex-Amazon
Vamshidhar Reddy Parupally - SDE at Servicenow | AI/ML | Agentic AI | Gen-AI | Ex- Amazon