The Future of Work Pitch Night + Open Demos: Worktech, Robotics & Agentic AI
Deadline for startup pitches: Sunday, August 23rd, 23:59 PT
Last batch of decision emails: Monday, August 24th, 23:59 PT
Join us in downtown San Francisco for yet another edition of our Future of Work-themed pitch night + open demos! This is the "origin story" edition. We'd love to hear your "why" — not just your pitch.
When & Where
📍 Tesla Showroom, 999 Van Ness, San Francisco
📅 Tuesday August 25th 2026
🕔 5:00-8:30 PM PT
📅 Agenda:
5:00 - 6:00 PM | Networking
6:00 - 6:10 PM | Welcome from Organizers, Sponsors & Jury
6:10 - 6:20 PM | The Ontology of Value® Demo by Natalia Bielczyk, PhD
6:20 - 6:30 PM | Fireside Chat with Nichol Bradford, Human+Tech Week, SHRM, Niremia Collective. Moderators: Patrycja Brzozowska, MOS Health, Natalia Bielczyk, Ontology of Value
6:30 PM | ThirdPlaces.ai Demo by Mike Prince
6:35 - 7:00 PM | Blitz Pitches 🚀
7:00 - 8:00 PM | Open Demos
8:00 PM | The Winner Announcement
8:00 - 8:30 PM | Continued Networking; music, greetings, farewell
The Tesla Experience:
Take a vehicle on a Full Self-Driving (Supervised) experience guided by a Tesla Advisor
Explore the newest models in the showroom
Chat with Tesla Advisors about ownership options
Witness Tesla’s signature Light Show!
Our Distinguished Jury
Reconciled verification limitations and prioritized efficient list completion
Serephina Ha — AXCI Capital
LinkedInTonya Long — Daymaker Ventures
LinkedInMaria Pienaar — Unicorn Growth Capital
LinkedInEllen Damaso — Plus Ultra Capital Partners
LinkedInLauren Dermody — Informal Fund
LinkedInPorter Wong — VCI Fund
LinkedInShawn Trabanino — Berkeley SkyDeck
LinkedInTarun Kishnani — Ramana Capital
LinkedInAmitt Mehta — Angel Investor
LinkedInPancrazio Auteri — Angel Investor
LinkedInSalvatore Gallo — Angel Investor
LinkedInHarsh Verma — Angel Investor
LinkedInDaniel Theobald — Angel Investor
LinkedIn
Pitching Startups
https://projecticeberg.us AI Hiring Intelligence
https://aubric.ai The Publishability Layer for AI-assisted Advertising
https://kavanah.ai/ AI-Native Project Management
https://haffirifreight.com/ Smart Freight Matching for Faster & Reliable Shipping
http://jobsflow.ai Verified Talent Marketplace for Humans and Agents
https://blocksynk.io Watch and Take Record of Every Action Inside a Company's AI System
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bydra-ai/ Fractional business development engine for lawyers turning relationships into revenue
https://tempodyn.com Designing future where operational Service business platform is ready from idea to revenue generation in minutes
http://flashforce.ai Hire digital employees. Give them real work. Keep authority. Inspect proof
https://mapapp.com Adaptive Performance Management
https://www.thecontextlabs.com AI That Knows Your Firm
https://doo.ooo AI Coworkers That Help Businesses Serve, Sell, and Operate at Scale
https://hrex.io Culture-first matching: Rex brings people who fit how your team works — not another résumé pile
https://echoknows.com The portable, user-owned memory layer for the AI-native workforce
...more to come!
How Can You Participate?
We are a community focused on building (and disrupting!) the future of work — sharing and promoting innovation in work tech, agentic AI, and robotics so that humans and AI can happily cohabitate in the labor market and build a wonderful economy together.
This time around, we are putting together a social mixer.
This isn’t your standard pitch night.
This gathering is for founders, operators, investors, and builders who want to shape how humans and AI collaborate in the workplace of tomorrow.
It's a tiny festival of bold, cross-disciplinary innovation, surrounded by music and top-tier modern urban cars.
It’s your chance to connect authentically, get feedback for your project, talk to investors in powerful, intimate one-on-one conversations, and see where the future of work is headed.
🍀 My project is not in Worktech. Shall I still submit my pitch?
The Future of Work is a broad category, with a variety of tech projects influencing the job market, either directly or indirectly. When in doubt, just give it a try, and we will get back to you!
The Demos
We will open several demo tables. If you'd like to pitch, choose the "Pitching Startup" ticket type during registration and bring your laptop! It is that simple.
About Us
Ontology of Value® by Natalia Bielczyk, PhD is a high-end career incubator and talent intelligence platform for managing careers and teams in the AI-first economy. We build lighthouses and telescopes for the leaders of the future.
Watch Natalia’s recent TEDx to learn more.
Previous events in the series:
The Future of Work Pitch Night #5 (Tesla Showroom, 999 van Ness Avenue): https://luma.com/k0r1yhe5
The Future of Work Pitch Night #4: Social Mixer & Open Demos (LongHouse SF, 83 Minna St): https://luma.com/pgvpc0sl
The Future of Work Pitch Night #3: Social Mixer & Open Demos (Minna Gallery, 111 Minna St): https://luma.com/mgnddbk4
The Future or Work Pitch Night #2 (Minna Gallery, 111 Minna St): https://lu.ma/qzgpv6kw
The Future of Work Pitch Night #1 (JLL, 1 Front st): https://lu.ma/lrt26pot
Community Partners
Funding Breakthrough Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pre-accelerator with a mission of creating a supportive community (24,000+ subscribers) to build a better tomorrow. We support founder success not just startup success by ensuring founders have access to education, networks, and resources to unlock their potential. Founded by Natalie Pan, an engineer, community builder and executive coach. Apply for the next cohort here https://fundingbreakthroughlab.org.