Startup Grind Conference 2027

About the event

Startup Grind Conference is the yearly flagship event of the Startup Grind founder community, held in Redwood City in Silicon Valley. The 2027 edition runs for two main days and is aimed at early-stage companies, from bootstrapped projects to Series A. The organizer reports more than 5,000 attendees, over 800 investors, 150-plus exhibiting startups and about 175 sessions.

The program combines mainstage talks with smaller formats: VC office hours, quickfire pitches, an investor dinner, a networking tent and a startup tent where exhibiting teams show their products. The 2027 theme is AI and its effect on how companies are built, hired for, priced and funded. An event app lets attendees book meetings before the event.

Attendees are founders, builders, operators and investors. Startups can apply to exhibit, and tickets are priced by role, with a startup ticket for pre-seed and seed founders.

For app founders this is mainly a fundraising and networking event for startups. The site does not mention app acquirers or M&A buyers, so it is not a dedicated place to sell an app. It suits teams that want to meet seed-stage investors and get feedback from other founders.

Who should attend

Suited to pre-seed and seed founders, including app teams, who want to meet early-stage investors and compare notes with other founders. Operators and investors who follow early-stage startups also attend. It is a fundraising and networking event rather than an app M&A marketplace.

Tips: before the event, prepare a short pitch with your key metrics such as revenue and retention, and book meetings through the event app in advance. If you plan to raise, shortlist investors who have backed consumer or subscription products and approach them first.