Funded Female Founder II: YC Founders & Early Stage VCs

Name: Funded Female Founder II: YC Founders & Early Stage VCs
Start: 2025-07-16T17:30:00-07:00
End: 2025-07-16T20:00:00-07:00
Location: CANOPY Jackson Square

Hosted By

Startup Grind .

Funded Female Founder II: YC Founders & Early Stage VCs

Details

Funded Female Founders is for founders, investors, operators, and ecosystem supporters who are driving the future of innovation and funding.

After drawing over 125+ attendees at our last event in Menlo Park, Funded Female Founders is coming to San Francisco on July 16th, 2025 at Canopy San Francisco – Jackson Square.

Hosted by Startup Grind Silicon Valley Chapter & Superconnected, this event brings together founders, investors, operators, and ecosystem supporters who are actively scaling companies, investing in innovation, and building communities that champion women in leadership.

We will feature two (!!) dynamic panel discussions - a YC female founder panel where the ladies will share their journey, challenges, and key insights for succeeding at YC.

Following this, gain perspective on what early-stage VC investors look for as we dive into a panel with leading female venture capitalists from some of Silicon Valley's most active early-stage funds - Unusual Ventures, Gradient Ventures & Boost VC as we dive into what makes a startup fundable in today’s market.

Expect candid conversations with female founders and VCs, high-impact networking, and thoughtful programming designed to foster real connections. General admission attendees will receive branded swag, while VIP guests will receive exclusive gift bags curated for startup leaders.

Agenda:

5:00 PM – 5:45 PM | Check-In & Welcome Reception - Guest arrivals, wine, and light bites, visit sponsor tables, and enjoy photo ops

5:45 PM – 6:00 PM | Opening Remarks

6:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Panel 1: What it takes to graduate from YC as a female founder + Q&A

6:40 PM – 6:45 PM | Break - Take 7 minutes to reset, mingle, and refill your glass

7:00 PM – 7:30 PM | Panel 2: hat Investors Look for in Women-Led Startups + Q&A

7:30 PM – 8:30 PM | Open Networking - Connect with speakers, investors, sponsors, and fellow founders. Enjoy final bites, drinks, and new conversations.

🔥 Why Attend this event?

• Tactical Fundraising Advice from both founders and investors who’ve successfully raised and deployed capital

• Live Panels & Discussions designed to surface what really matters in today’s funding landscape

• High-Quality Networking with VCs, angels, and other growth-stage founders who are scaling serious companies

• VIP Access to attendee contact lists so you can follow up and build lasting relationships. Early access to networking with Startup Grind and Superconnected.

• Community-Led that go deeper than a standard pitch or panel

Agenda

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Speakers

Niamh O'Donnell - Unusual Ventures (Director of Programs)

Niamh O'Donnell is an entrepreneurial and dynamic venture capital professional with experience across four funds and an MSc from The University of Notre Dame. She currently serves as the Director of Programs at Unusual Ventures, a leading early-stage firm managing over $1B. Niamh curates tailored programming and resources to help founders thrive, focusing on investments in Data Infrastructure,…

Emily Yu - Boost VC (Investor)

Boost VC is an early stage venture capital firm with $250m AUM in San Mateo, CA founded by Adam Draper & Brayton Williams. We lead Pre-Seed rounds for Deep Tech (aerospace, bio, AI, robotics, crypto, VR, Sci-Fi).
Boost VC is the most active Deep Tech investor on the planet. We average one deal per week.We invest into emerging and frontier categories on the edges of the map. Fo…

Moderator

AJ Thomas - Good Trouble Ventures (Founder & CEO)

AJ Thomas is a visionary leader, investor, and futurist driving innovation at the intersection of technology, creativity, and impact. As CEO of The Troublemaker Lab and Founder of Good Trouble Ventures, she empowers founders and invests in the future of entertainment and digital transformation.
Formerly at Google X, AJ specializes in AI-driven workforce transformation and high-impact tea…

Hosted By

James Gee, Global Partnerships Manager

I recently relocated from the UK to Silicon Valley to expand Startup Grind's sales and partnership program, collaborating closely with Derek bringing fresh ideas and forge new connections that will fuel future growth.
I'm also an entrepreneur at heart, launching my own startup in 2015, experiencing the thrilling highs and challenging lows of being a founder firsthand. This unique perspective fuels my excitement for connecting with founders and partners at the 2024 Global Conference. Beyond the world of startups, I am an avid sports fan, whether it's playing or watching a game. If you're in the Bay Area, don't hesitate to reach out - as I’d be thrilled to join you for a game!

Derek Andersen, Chapter Organizer

For the past 15 years Derek has been building communities. He is the co-founder/CEO of Bevy, a SaaS product that helps companies like Salesforce, Atlassian, Google, Snowflake, and Adobe build virtual and in-person communities. Bevy has raised $60M from Accel, Upfront Ventures, and others. He co-founded Startup Grind, a community of 600 Chapters in 125 countries educating, inspiring, and connecting startup people. Since 2012 Startup Grind has hosted 20,000 events. In 2010 he co-founded Commonred which was acquired by Income.com. Derek also previously worked as a product manager at Electronic Arts. He currently lives in Palo Alto CA with his wife and four children.

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Global Partner

Google Cloud (https://cloud.google.com/resources/content/future-of-ai-report?utm_source=events-with-google&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=FY25-Q1-NORTHAM-SMB31054-website-dl-AIThoughtLeader-52420&utm_content=startup-grind&utm_term=-&hl=en)