5000 Entrepreneurs Looking for the Silicon Valley Dream: StartUp Grind’s 2017 Global Conference

If CES is the digital mecca for new and cutting-edge consumer technologies, the same could be said of Startup Grind’s Global Conference for the startup and venture capital community. The conference, which takes place in Redwood City Feb. 21-22, is the annual flagship event held by Startup Grind, the global tech networking powerhouse known for its events featuring intimate fireside chats with startup luminaries and tech industry icons.

With 5,000 founders and investors, more than 40 keynote and fireside sessions and dozens of exhibiting startups, the 2017 Global Conference will be one of the largest events hosted to date by Startup Grind.

Ben Horowitz, co-founder Andreessen Horowitz | Credit: Wiki Commons

Some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitalists will appear on the Startup Grind stage this year, including Bing Gordon, general partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Ben Horowitz, co-founder Andreessen Horowitz. In addition, founders of the some of the startup world’s most prominent companies will be talking about their lessons learned as successful entrepreneurs. Speakers scheduled for appearances include Noam Bardin, founder and CEO of the popular navigation app Waze, who will share with conference attendees how the startup crafted a strategic user growth and acquisition strategy across the globe, and Sean Rad, founder and CEO of Tinder, who will present a keynote session on “the business of dating.” Entrepreneurs of non-tech startups will hear from Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who will speak about how to start a company with passion and heart. Journalists in attendance will include Megan Rose Dickey, TechCrunch reporter focused on diversity, inclusion and social justice, and Steve Clemons, Washington editor-at-large for The Atlantic and National Journal.

Derek Andersen, founder of Startup Grind | Credit: startupgrind.com

Startup Grind began in a small room in Palo Alto, CA, in March, 2011, when Derek Andersen, the company’s founder and CEO, organized an event with a few fellow “startup grinders” to explore best practices and learnings from each participant’s entrepreneurial endeavors. Unlike conferences that charge high fees and keep attendees at a distance from high-profile executives, Startup Grind began with the idea of making conference sessions more intimate and speakers more accessible. In only five years, the organization has grown into a worldwide network with 200 chapters spanning 85 countries, and a membership of more than 400,000 entrepreneurs. Startup Grind annual Global Conference is considered by many as a must-attend conference for people in the startup community. From networking with fellow entrepreneurs to seeking advice from VCs and even promoting companies to attending media, startups will find a wide range of benefits.

Startups with fewer than 20 employees and less than $3 million in funding can apply to be featured in the 2017 Global Conference’s Startup Showcase. For conference attendance, register for tickets here.