Tactics and Tools for getting funded in todays environment with Julie Sandler

Details

Join us for a Startup Grind Fireside Chat with the amazing Julie Sandler from Pioneer Square Labs, as she dishes out expert advice on "Tactics and Tips for Getting Funded in Today’s Environment." If you’ve ever wondered why venture capital feels like dating in the 2020s—confusing, unpredictable, and full of buzzwords—then this event is for you! Julie will help you decode the complex world of securing capital with practical tips, insider strategies, and maybe even a few venture capital horror stories to keep it real.

Here’s what we’ll cover (besides the basics of ‘how to impress investors without resorting to buzzwords like AI or pivoting’):

Understanding Today’s Funding Landscape: A crash course on the current state of venture capital—who’s got the money, who’s writing checks, and how to charm them without sending too many emails.
Crafting a Compelling Pitch: Learn how to build a pitch deck that investors will actually remember—no more generic hockey stick graphs and empty buzzwords!
Navigating Due Diligence: Think of it as the investor version of a background check, only with more spreadsheets. Julie will show you how to prep like a pro.
Leveraging Strategic Partnerships: When you can’t do it all yourself, find a partner. Or ten. Julie will cover how to find partners that add value, not just another LinkedIn connection.
Funding Alternatives: From grants to angel investors, discover alternative paths to funding your startup that don’t involve mortgaging your soul.

Event Details
September 19th at 5:30 PM

The Collective

400 Dexter Ave N ste 100, Seattle, WA 98109

Who Should Attend? Founders, entrepreneurs, anyone with a side hustle, and those just looking for some expert advice (or validation that they’re on the right track).
Food & Beverage: No one does their best thinking on an empty stomach! Enjoy light bites and beverages to keep your entrepreneurial spirit fueled. Come for the wisdom, stay for the snacks.
So, grab your notepad and get ready for an evening of insights, laughs, and maybe a little networking that doesn’t feel awkward.

Reserve your spot now and prepare to leave with new ideas, connections, and possibly a renewed faith in your funding future!

Agenda

5:30 PM: Networking, Food and Drink

Meet great people

6:30 PM: Fireside Chat

Learn useful information

7:30 PM: Finish Up

Exchange notes and share Linkedin Profiles

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Speaker

Julie Sandler - Pioneer Square Labs (Managing Director)

Julie Sandler is a managing director at PSL and co-founding general partner of PSL's venture capital firm, PSL Ventures, which she spends most of her time running. The PSL Ventures team is focused on pre-seed and seed investments in technology companies founded by local entrepreneurs. The firm invests in companies all over the Pacific Northwest region that are entirely separate from PSL’s stud…

Moderator

Robert Green - Startup Grind (Chapter Director)

Robert lives for startups. He serves as Head of Activate Product and Engineering at AWS (AWS Startup Program) and oversees the development of cloud products and programs that help other startups build on AWS. Prior to AWS, Robert was Director of Product Management at Tableau, helping to build what is known as the industry's best data analytics solution. Robert is the founder of 3 startups and …

Hosted By

Robert Green, Chapter Director

Shawn McGaff, Co Director

I've worked with over 750 businesses on projects from branding to advertising to SEO. I now primarily focus on creating & operationalizing cohesive strategies for early and growth-stage ventures as well as guiding established businesses looking to reinvent themselves.
I am a builder at heart with a strategic marketing skillset. I have a technical developer background from writing recommendation algorithms for Twitter and building countless websites but I also have a creative side as a photographer and filmmaker. This sets me up perfectly to work with startups who need cross-functional teams. I am as comfortable with a product team as I am with a sales team.

Eduardo Altamirano, Assistant to the Director

Julie Zhu, Mentor

Mike Grabham, Advisor

Mike is an optimistic problem solver. My word is Learn. I do it constantly.
By nature, I am a curious leader who has experienced success, failure and everything in between. (6X founder). I spend the largest majority of my time helping founders make better decisions from countries around the globe, and get their companies to the next level. That is how I make a living.
I was one of the first Startup Grind directors outside of Silicon Valley and was voted Director of the Year in 2016. I have interviewed over 200 leaders in the Seattle area at Startup Grind. I love helping others optimize companies/teams and enjoy the collaboration process to figure out how to create more value for a customer. I have raised millions of dollars from angel investors, sold two companies, closed a company, and failed once. Shoot me an email if you would like to touch base. I even created a guide to help founders make better decisions.

Visit me at www.michaelgrabham.com or follow me on twitter @grabmike

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Global Partner

Snowflake (https://www.snowflake.com)
Snowflake delivers the Data Cloud - a global network where thousands of organizations mobilize data with near-unlimited scale, concurrency, and performance. Inside the Data Cloud, organizations unite their siloed data, easily discover and securely share governed data, and execute diverse analytic workloads. Wherever data or users live, Snowflake delivers a single and seamless experience across multiple public clouds. Snowflake's platform is the engine that powers and provides access to the Data

Builder (https://www.builder.ai/)
Builder.ai is an AI-powered composable software platform for every idea and company on the planet. The AI-powered assembly line fuses together Lego-like reusable features, using Building Blocks™ automation to reduce human effort, leveraging a verified network of experts to vastly extend development capabilities, and producing apps at almost zero failure rate that are multitudes cheaper and faster than traditional software development.

Strategics

Escalon (http://www.escalon.services/)
Save time. Increase your expertise. Grow your business. Escalon provides your company an experienced, one-stop shop for all your essential business services, including fractional CFO’s, Accounting, Bookkeeping, Taxes, Insurance, HR, Payroll, Benefits, and Recruiting. We give you back time and peace of mind by taking care of your back office so you can focus on growing your business. Looking for a better way to handle your essential business services? Consider it DONE.

Tango (https://www.tango.io/)
At Tango, we elevate Builders' product development journeys with our premier White Glove services. Our team of top-tier product engineers, specialized talent, and expert consultants, primarily sourced from Mexico and LATAM, are dedicated to helping create exceptional products.

Partner

The Collective (https://www.invitedclubs.com/clubs/the-collective-seattle)
The Collective is a diverse community of doers, of people with passion, people who love beauty of thought, design, and life. Here, Members and guests embark on culinary adventures, experience next-level networking, host elevated meetings and events, and engage in lively socials.

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