Holy smokes, only one week to go before Disrupt 2023 takes over San Francisco! We can’t wait to see you there! If you haven’t already done so, buy your pass before Friday, September 15 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. After that, full-freight pricing goes into effect.
Once more, and a little bit louder for all the non-pass holders in the back, here are five reasons attending Disrupt is a savvy move to help build startup success.
5 incredibly good reasons to go to Disrupt 2023
1. Network, network, network
With more than 10,000 attendees looking for ways to learn, connect and collaborate, Disrupt is the perfect time and place to expand your network. Start with our event app — it lets you find and schedule meetings with people who share your business goals.
Networking at Disrupt also includes plenty of organic ways to meet, greet and create startup magic in a variety of settings. Take a look at some of the opportunities to connect and collaborate.
Meet-and-Greet Receptions: At our invite-only receptions, you won’t just connect with people. You’ll connect with the right people — the ones who align with your business goals and want to see you succeed.
The Deal Flow Café: Our brand-new investor-to-founder networking area — open to folks with Investor/Founder Passes — is the perfect spot to grab a coffee, relax and make more organic connections to increase deal flow and find new opportunities. There’s more than just coffee percolating in this café.
After Hours Events: The networking fun doesn’t stop at the end after the last session each day. There’s a bona fide bonanza of activities happening in San Francisco during the week of Disrupt 2023. Check out the more than 40 After Hours events, send your RSVPs, and keep the party going!
The + Lounge: + subscribers with one- or two-year memberships can recharge, reconnect, network and chat with our writers and other special guests. Not a member yet? Subscribe here.
2. Learn from leading voices
The startup ecosystem is packed with brilliant minds, and you’ll always find the best and brightest leaders across the startup spectrum speaking on the stages at Disrupt. Here’s a small sample; you’ll find all of them listed in our speaker roster.
- Céline Dufétel, president and COO, Checkout.com
- Reed Jobs, investor, Yosemite
- Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud
- Robin Liu, CEO, OnePlus North America
- Michel Protti, chief privacy officer, Meta
- Rajeev Rajan, CTO, Atlassian
- Kyle Vogt, founder and CEO, Cruise
- Melonee Wise, CTO, Agility Robotics
3. Industry stages
We’ve packed seven stages with salon-like programs that focus on the industries that matter most to the tech world today. It’s a rare opportunity to explore cross-sector collaborations under one roof. Check out some of the sessions on each stage below — click the stage link to see the complete agendas.
AI Stage
- Stronger, Faster . . . Safer? Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei on Letting AI Find Its Best Self
- Lights, Camera, Algorithm! Where AI Fits into Movies, Games and Creativity, with Tye Sheridan (Wonder Dynamics) and John Spitzer (Nvidia).
Fintech Stage
- Making Money Move with Embedded Finance, with Peter Hazlehurst (Synctera), Laura Spiekerman (Alloy) and Amanda Swoverland (Unit).
- Startup Banking in a Post-SVB World, with Immad Akhund (Mercury), Marc Cadieux (Silicon Valley Bank), Wendy Cai-Lee (Piermont Bank) and Melissa Smith (JPMorgan).
Hardware Stage
- Empowering the Future, with Gill Pratt (Toyota Motor Corporation) and Marc Raibert (Boston Dynamics AI Institute).
- Getting a Leg Up, with Damion Shelton (Agility Robotics) and Melonee Wise (Agility Robotics).
SaaS Stage
- Certified SaaS, with Christina Cacioppo (Vanta) and Job van der Voort (Remote).
- Scale at all Cost?, with Jill Chase (CapitalG) and Guillermo Rauch (Vercel).
Security Stage
- Ransom-where? The U.S. Cities Fighting Back Against Hackers, with Allan Liska (Recorded Future) and MK Palmore (Google Cloud).
- Exploring the Insecurity of Things, with Amit Serper (Sternum IOT).
Space Stage
- The Future of Sending Human Beings into Space, with Laura Crabtree (Epsilon3), Jared Isaacman (Polaris), Dave Korsmeyer (NASA Ames Research Center) and Aaron Stein (War on the Rocks).
- AI and Warfare, with Rajeev Chand (Wing Venture Capital), Craig Martell (U.S. Department of Defense), Tara Murphy (Govini) and Torsten Reil (Helsing).
Sustainability Stage
- Raising in a New Climate, with Po Bronson (IndieBio and SOSV), Arvind Gupta (Mayfield) and Libby Wayman (Breakthrough Energy Ventures).
- Is Sustainable Fast Fashion Possible?, with Jim Ajioka (Colorifix), Beth Esponnette (Unspun), and Julie Willoughby (Circ).
4. Breakout sessions
Don’t pass up the interactive breakouts — expert-led presentations followed by a Q&A where you can go deep on the topics you love. Check out a few examples below. You’ll find them all — with descriptions — in the event agenda. Pro tip: Find them quickly by filtering for breakout sessions.
- The Path to Your Next Funding Round: Equity Crowdfunding with Rebecca Kacaba, co-founder and CEO, DealMaker. Presented by DealMaker.
- Why Brand is Your Most Valuable Asset Class with Nina Arshagouni
- managing director, Koto, Deanna German, creative director, Koto; Simon Kearney, senior strategy director, Koto. Presented by Koto.
- How to Raise Your First Round as a Fintech Founder with Nik Milanović, founder, This Week in Fintech; general partner, The Fintech Fund and Chris Wallace, founder and general partner, Dunbar Capital.
- AI for Social Good: How Technologists and Nonprofits can Partner to Deliver Lasting Impact with Jen Carter, global head of technology, Google.org.
- Securing the modern engineering ecosystem: Allowing the engineering train to continue to accelerate, without making compromises on security withDaniel Krivelevich, AppSec CTO, Palo Alto Networks
5. Roundtables
One of the most popular attractions at Disrupt, roundtables are expert-led, small-group conversations focused on a specific topic designed to inform, inspire and help you build a better business. Check out a few examples below. You can find all of them — with descriptions — in the event agenda. Pro tip: Find them quickly by filtering for roundtables.
- Raising Capital Even if You Aren’t an AI Startup (or Even if You Are!). Tips, Tricks and Creative Ideas to Raise Capital in a Challenging Venture Market, with Neil Sequeira, founder and partner, Defy.
- Telling the TAM Story: How to Get VCs Excited About Your Market Opportunity, Especially in Less Sexy Spaces, with Rob Biederman, managing and founding partner, Asymmetric Capital Partners.
- How to Leverage Real-time Payments to Expand Product Capability and Accessibility, with Rocio Wu, principal, F-Prime Capital.
There you have it: five irrefutable reasons to go to Disrupt 2023 on September 19–21. This is your last week to avoid paying full price. Buy your pass by September 15 at 11:59 p.m. PDT and save up to $400.
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