What we’re about
As the founder of Silicon Valley Startup Entrepreneurs, we share your vision of creating a space to meet, dream, learn, strategize and co-create. Yes, we are fully on board that dreaming is still part of the creation process!
Silicon Valley Startup Entrepreneurs began with a vision to provide startup founders access--access to educational and other information that every first time founder should know or be exposed to. This includes access to high caliber angels, VCs and “been there done that” successful, serial entrepreneurs. The Silicon Valley ecosystem is unique, and, that’s why we created a new meetup group “Access Silicon Valley” that extends beyond the geographical borders of Silicon Valley! In fact it’s much more than just a Meetup group…it’s the opportunity to become part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem or “mindshare” as we like to think of it.
Access Silicon Valley is the “virtual bridge” to Silicon Valley, where startup entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs in real time, get access to and interact with, angels, VCs and great entrepreneurs that they otherwise wouldn’t get the opportunity to see, hear or possibly connect with. In addition we have put together valuable workshops to prepare startup entrepreneurs for the roller coaster ride of the startup world!! We encourage you to join us.
Please take a moment to join the Access Silicon Valley Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/AccessSiliconValley
We also invite you to join us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AccessSv
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Startup Fundamentals 3: Understanding the "Terms" in Term SheetsSnell & Wilmer Palo Alto Office, Palo Alto, CA
Unlock Your Startup’s Potential: Join Our Essential Workshop!
Are you an entrepreneur ready to transform your vision into a successful, fundable startup? Access Silicon Valley invites you to join us for an invaluable 3-hour workshop designed to equip you with the legal and business tools and insights necessary to build a fundable and scalable startup and thrive in the startup ecosystem!This is the last of three workshops in the Access Silicon Valley Startup Fundamental Series for startup founders, startup executives, entrepreneurs, innovators, and developers. While advantageous to have attended all 3 workshops, this is stand-alone content. You can still attend this program if you missed the first.
Thank you to our event sponsor, Snell & Wilmer.
In this third workshop of the Startup Fundamentals series, Roger Rappoport, a former entrepreneur, founder of Access Silicon Valley, a partner at Snell & Wilmer and co-leader of its Emerging Growth and Venture Capital practice group, will conduct an interactive, informative session with in depth content on the terms and term sheets for a seed, angel, convertible debt, Safe (pre-money and post-money) and Series A round.
This session will cover:
- When and from whom to take money
- When is an amount raised too much or too little, and the perils of both
- The anatomy of a term sheet
- Understanding the structure of, and the provisions that will most likely be included in, a convertible debt, Safe, angel and venture financing term sheet
- How to arrive at a realistic pre-money valuation
- The impact of term sheets on existing shareholders
- The provisions that will impact control of major and day-to-day decisions at your startup
- The most recent trends relating to: liquidation preferences, participation rights, anti-dilution provisions, pay-to-play provisions, redemption rights, registration rights, rights of first refusal, drag along rights, co-sale rights, among others
Materials:
A comprehensive 50-page digital workbook with an actionable step-by-step guide will be distributed to all registered event attendees on the day of the event.Agenda:
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Dinner and networking
6:00 PM - 6:15 PM - Speaker and sponsor introductions
6:15 PM - 7:30 PM - Startup workshop Part A
7:30 PM - 7:45 PM - Intermission
7:45 PM - 8:45 PM - Startup workshop Part B
8:45 PM - 9:00 PM - Q & ASeating is extremely limited, so reserve your seat now.
About the Speaker:
Snell & Wilmer Partner Roger Rappoport, Co-Leader of the Emerging Growth and Venture Capital Practice Group, is a seasoned advisor to startups and emerging growth companies and the investors who finance them, guiding clients from inception through exit. With over two decades of experience in the startup ecosystem, Roger focuses on venture capital and angel investor financings, including convertible notes, SAFEs, and other debt financings. His knowledge extends to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution, development, manufacturing, and licensing transactions, as well as executive compensation and the establishment of equity incentive plans.He has extensive experience in advising startup and well-established emerging growth companies, primarily in the software, information technology, Internet, fixed and mobile communications technology, cleantech and life sciences sectors. Roger is the co-author of “Investor Agreements in a Financing Transaction” a chapter in Financing California Businesses,” California Continuing Education of the Bar, Co-author of "Considerations for Angel and VC Funded Startups and Emerging Growth Companies Considering a Loan Under the Paycheck Protection Program," and Co-author of “Changes in Convertible Instruments for Early Stage Financings.”
Roger is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics and issues related to the development and implementation of a company's formation and funding strategy.
Before attending law school, he was the founder of a technology company with $10 million in revenue.
Roger is very connected with investors in Silicon Valley and beyond and is an active angel investor. As an attorney, he has been involved in hundreds of transactions such as merger and acquisition transactions, private equity and venture capital financing transactions, and complex restructuring transactions.
Roger is also the founder of Access Silicon Valley, a platform for entrepreneurs, on a global basis, to gain access to Silicon Valley's best and brightest Venture Capitalists, "been there done that" entrepreneurs, and experts. Take a closer look at the Access Silicon Valley Video Fireside Chat Series hosted by Roger, with representatives of some of the Valley's most high profile VCs, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Foundation Capital, Floodgate, Venrock, Canaan Partners and more.
Questions? Email Alex Levine at alevine@swlaw.com.
Not open - Backing the Future: AI Startups, Venture Capital, and What’s NextSnell & Wilmer Palo Alto Office, Palo Alto, CA
Backing the Future: AI Startups, Venture Capital, and What’s Next
A Fireside Chat with Natalia Burina of Storm VenturesJuly 24, 2025 6:00 – 9:00PM
Snell & Wilmer Event Space: 5 Palo Alto Square, Palo Alto, CA 94306SEATING IS LIMITED—REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE HERE
Access Silicon Valley invites you to join us for an intimate evening as Roger Rappoport, partner at Snell & Wilmer and co-leader of its emerging growth & venture capital group, hosts an exclusive fireside chat with Natalia Burina, AI aficionado and partner at Storm Ventures, where they'll unpack what it really takes to build, fund, and scale AI startups in today’s fast-moving market. This is a must-attend evening for founders, operators, and investors interested in the future of artificial intelligence, startup growth strategies, and venture capital.
Topics that will be covered:
- Where the smartest AI investors are placing bets—and why
- What makes AI startups fundable (and what sends investors running)
- How to land enterprise customers and turn them into champions
- The rise of vertical AI, infrastructure plays, and the new "picks & shovels"
- Natalia’s hard-earned lessons from scaling product at tech giants—and what founders often get wrong
You’ll gain behind-the-scenes insights from Natalia’s experience at Meta AI, Salesforce, and Microsoft, and learn how top-tier VCs are evaluating AI companies today. Gain invaluable insights into how to maximize the opportunities with large enterprises and onboard them as paying customers.
Why You Should Attend:
This isn’t a surface-level panel or generic networking night. It’s a deep-dive conversation withvreal insights from someone who’s been on both sides of the table—building cutting-edge AI products and backing the next generation of category-defining companies.Come for the ideas, stay for the conversation—and leave with clarity, connections, and a sharper vision of where AI is going next.
AGENDA:
Networking: 6:00 – 7:00PM
Fireside chat & Q&A: 7:00 – 8:30PM
Networking: 8:30 – 9:00PMSEATING IS LIMITED—REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE HERE
Meet the Speakers:
Natalia Burina is a Venture Partner at Storm Ventures focusing on AI investments. She brings a wealth of operating experience, having led and scaled AI products at Meta AI, Salesforce and Microsoft. At Meta, Natalia worked across the entire company and at executive levels to shape AI strategy and deliver business results. Prior to Meta, Natalia worked on the early version of Salesforce Einstein and helped ship the very first version of Microsoft Bing.
Roger Rappoport, Partner and Co-Leader of Snell & Wilmer's Emerging Growth and Venture Capital Practice Group, is a seasoned advisor to startups and emerging growth companies and the investors who finance them, guiding clients from inception through exit. He has extensive experience in advising startup and well-established emerging growth
companies, from formation through exit, primarily in the Software (including AI), Technology, CleanTech, MedTech, HealthTech and Life Sciences sectors.Not open
