Curated AI events in NYC and SF.
For Students, Developers, and Funded Founders
I run two calibrated tracks: Students / Developers and Funded Founders. We host high-quality hackathons, founder dinners, and premium PMF conversations in NYC and SF.
Design Principles
Built like a real team: curation, context, and execution discipline.
Room Quality First
Attendee quality beats vanity metrics. The right room creates compounding outcomes.
Context by Track
Students/developers and funded founders get separate, purpose-built experiences.
Operator-Led Formats
Events are run with production-level planning, not community chaos.
Real Follow-Through
Dinners, intros, and post-event workflows are built to move relationships forward.
Ecosystem
Trusted by leading organizations
Mission
From discovery to PMF: events that match founder stage and technical depth.
We blend flagship hackathons with intimate founder rooms. Early builders get momentum, while funded teams get high-context peer networks and PMF-level strategy conversations.
See founder dinner formatsAbout James Steinberg
AI researcher, serial entrepreneur, and host of high-signal builder rooms.
Background, operator context, and founder outcomes are documented below. These references explain why these events are run with a tighter standard than generic meetups.
Two Tracks
One network, two intentionally different experiences.
Students / Developers
Execution-heavy programs for technical builders shipping projects and meeting mentors.
- Hackathons with clear build milestones
- Hands-on workshops and technical talks
- Demo-focused events with real feedback loops
Funded Founders
Private founder rooms optimized for tactical growth and high-trust relationship building.
- Curated dinners across NYC and SF
- Operator and investor-adjacent conversation
- Selective PMF conversations and peer exchange
Event Formats
Programmed with card-level precision and strong attendance intent.
JUL 15
SF
Agents & Bagels: Weekly breakfast meet up for agent builders
Agents & Bagels: Weekly breakfast meet up for agent builders for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
AI & OJ: The HR & TA Leaders Breakfast - July, SF
AI & OJ: The HR & TA Leaders Breakfast - July, SF for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Build Your First AI Agent Workshop
Build Your First AI Agent Workshop for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Women in AI Breakfast + Panel
Women in AI Breakfast + Panel for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Women Working Together - AI CoWork Day Edition
Women Working Together - AI CoWork Day Edition for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
Tech and AI Founder Happy Hour Night
Tech and AI Founder Happy Hour Night for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Claude Code & Coffee @ Corgi Cafe
Claude Code & Coffee @ Corgi Cafe for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
AI GTM Meetup
AI GTM Meetup for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
AI Technology Summit
AI Technology Summit for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
Building Web-Powered AI Apps Without Code: Base44 & Tavily
Building Web-Powered AI Apps Without Code: Base44 & Tavily for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
Hot Startup Summer: AI, Security, & Growth Workshop
Hot Startup Summer: AI, Security, & Growth Workshop for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
The Innovator's Mindset: Inside Silicon Valley's Best-Kept Secrets
The Innovator's Mindset: Inside Silicon Valley's Best-Kept Secrets for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Build From Dock: Protecting Your Company from AI Slop
Build From Dock: Protecting Your Company from AI Slop for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
AI Adoption Open Mic & Happy Hour
AI Adoption Open Mic & Happy Hour for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
AI Socratic — Lost in The J-Space
AI Socratic — Lost in The J-Space for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
Girlie Pops Who VibeCode
Girlie Pops Who VibeCode for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
NYC
🇺🇸 Michelin‑Invest Dinner🥂🕯 Family Offices Investors Summit 📍NYC📍July 15 - July 16 🇺🇸
🇺🇸 Michelin‑Invest Dinner🥂🕯 Family Offices Investors Summit 📍NYC📍July 15 - July 16 🇺🇸 for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Reading Group (+🧋): Senior SWE-Bench
Reading Group (+🧋): Senior SWE-Bench for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
AI Lakehouse Meetup - Bay Area
AI Lakehouse Meetup - Bay Area for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
AWS Agentic AI Showcase Extended - Agentic AI in Production with with MongoDB Mastra
AWS Agentic AI Showcase Extended - Agentic AI in Production with with MongoDB Mastra for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Battle Bots Hack Night & Watch Party (w/ OpenAI Codex)
Battle Bots Hack Night & Watch Party (w/ OpenAI Codex) for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
What we learned from OAI and Molecule.one's "Near-Autonomous AI" Discovery of OAI-M1-03
What we learned from OAI and Molecule.one's "Near-Autonomous AI" Discovery of OAI-M1-03 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
제19차 KPAI 포럼 - AI 시대의 보안: 창과 방패의 진화
제19차 KPAI 포럼 - AI 시대의 보안: 창과 방패의 진화 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 15
SF
Bay Area Frontier Research Club #14 | Adapting and Unlearning (dinner + paper discussion)
Bay Area Frontier Research Club #14 | Adapting and Unlearning (dinner + paper discussion) for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
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Real rooms. Real builders. Real follow-through.
Founder Dinner Series
Funded Founder Rooms
We host intimate dinners across NYC and SF with founders from ecosystems like Y Combinator, Speedrun, and Techstars.
PMF Track
Product-Market-Fit Dinner
More selective than standard founder dinners, this room is generally reserved for teams that have raised $4M+ and are beginning to show PMF.
Contact
Want your next event room to feel this sharp?
If you are building in AI and care about room quality, we should talk.