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 14
SF
VB Transform 2026
VB Transform 2026 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
NYC
Legal Tech Meetup with Vibe Space and Jumpstart
Legal Tech Meetup with Vibe Space and Jumpstart for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
![[NoMad] Researchers Only](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1576671081837-49000212a370?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMjQyMjF8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxMjR8fHJlc2VhcmNofGVufDB8fHx8MTc3OTU5MzA4OHwy&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080)
JUL 14
NYC
[NoMad] Researchers Only
[NoMad] Researchers Only for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
NYC
Apollo Meetup NYC: Real GTM Insights, Connections & Live AI Builds
Apollo Meetup NYC: Real GTM Insights, Connections & Live AI Builds for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
NYC
IGC Pharma Private Investor Briefing - NYC
IGC Pharma Private Investor Briefing - NYC for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
NYC
Build with AI Meetup
Build with AI Meetup for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
A Case for Boring AI Companies
A Case for Boring AI Companies for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
AI & Tech Networking in Palo Alto
AI & Tech Networking in Palo Alto for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Applied Frontier #1: Loop Engineering | Frontier Labs
Applied Frontier #1: Loop Engineering | Frontier Labs for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
EchoHer Vibe Coding #3 Multi-Agent AI Workshop (In Person & Virtual)
EchoHer Vibe Coding #3 Multi-Agent AI Workshop (In Person & Virtual) for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Jordan Innovation Day
Jordan Innovation Day for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Techo Whimzy: AI Experiments with Safinaz Elhadary
Techo Whimzy: AI Experiments with Safinaz Elhadary for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Agent Data Demo Night: Live Web Data, Memory, Identity & Actions
Agent Data Demo Night: Live Web Data, Memory, Identity & Actions for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
AI Infra Sellers Meetup #4
AI Infra Sellers Meetup #4 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Rethinking Token Economics: A Conversation with Deedy Das (Menlo Ventures) & Shashank Goyal (OpenRouter)
Rethinking Token Economics: A Conversation with Deedy Das (Menlo Ventures) & Shashank Goyal (OpenRouter) for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
SF Finance Leaders Dinner w/ Rillet
SF Finance Leaders Dinner w/ Rillet for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
The Next Big AI Wave - Business Tsunami
The Next Big AI Wave - Business Tsunami for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
AI Tech Founders, Investors & Pitch Night by AstraTech I SAN FRANCISCO
AI Tech Founders, Investors & Pitch Night by AstraTech I SAN FRANCISCO for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
AI Tech & Startup Night — San Francisco
AI Tech & Startup Night — San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Building the AI-Native Enterprise Frontend
Building the AI-Native Enterprise Frontend for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
ISC2 Silicon Valley - July 2026 Chapter Meeting
ISC2 Silicon Valley - July 2026 Chapter Meeting for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
NORDIC FOUNDERS NIGHT 📍SF
NORDIC FOUNDERS NIGHT 📍SF for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
Show & Tell: AI for GTM with Baseten, Cognition, Samsara, Notion, Assembled, and Browserbase
Show & Tell: AI for GTM with Baseten, Cognition, Samsara, Notion, Assembled, and Browserbase for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
third wave of philanthropy - dinner
third wave of philanthropy - dinner 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.