Ascent Valley
Pitch

Ascent Valley Founders & investors network

Pitch nights and mixers, every guest checked in at the door.

Regular evenings for founders, investors and operators. Bring this week's problem instead of waiting for the next big conference. What the room does not solve, the city community picks up.

Find an event

Next up

24 evenings ahead across the network

All upcoming events
Startup Pitch in New York 28 October 2026
Wed, Oct 28 · 6:00 PMFree – $66

Startup Pitch in New York: 5 Founders on Stage

The Lobby Bar & Garden · 🇺🇸 New York

Five founders, five minutes each, then questions from the room. Tables on topics NYC voted for, and an open hour after the stage.

Starts in 2d 22hRegister
How it works
🇬🇧London🇩🇪Berlin🇫🇷Paris🇳🇱Amsterdam🇨🇿Prague🇨🇭Zurich🇺🇸San Francisco🇺🇸Palo Alto🇺🇸San Jose🇺🇸San Diego🇺🇸Seattle🇺🇸New York🇺🇸Boston🇺🇸Philadelphia🇺🇸Miami🇺🇸Chicago🇺🇸Austin🇺🇸Los Angeles🇺🇸Dallas🇺🇸Houston🇨🇦Toronto🇨🇦Vancouver🇨🇦Montreal🇸🇬Singapore🇯🇵Tokyo🇦🇺Sydney🇦🇺Melbourne🇦🇪Dubai🇮🇱Tel Aviv
🇬🇧London🇩🇪Berlin🇫🇷Paris🇳🇱Amsterdam🇨🇿Prague🇨🇭Zurich🇺🇸San Francisco🇺🇸Palo Alto🇺🇸San Jose🇺🇸San Diego🇺🇸Seattle🇺🇸New York🇺🇸Boston🇺🇸Philadelphia🇺🇸Miami🇺🇸Chicago🇺🇸Austin🇺🇸Los Angeles🇺🇸Dallas🇺🇸Houston🇨🇦Toronto🇨🇦Vancouver🇨🇦Montreal🇸🇬Singapore🇯🇵Tokyo🇦🇺Sydney🇦🇺Melbourne🇦🇪Dubai🇮🇱Tel Aviv

How it works

Find your place in the network.

Come to grow, or with a problem, a ceiling you have hit, or an idea you want an honest take on.

For founders

Someone to talk your project through with.

Building can feel lonely. Meet founders who understand the decisions you face, discuss your project and find people you can turn to again.

How it works for you

  1. Find your eveningChoose a city, date and programme that fit what you want to discuss.
  2. Bring your questionTalk through your work with founders, investors and operators.
  3. Keep the conversation goingFollow up in the community and return with an update.
Find an eventWant to present your startup?

For investors

See what people are building in your city.

Talk to founders in person and get a sense of the team behind a product. Introductions are made by us, and we take no percentage of the deal.

How it works for you

  1. Choose the roomRead the programme and find a relevant evening in your city.
  2. Meet the foundersHear their questions, see their work and ask about the company.
  3. Follow the teamsExplore the startup network, tell us who you want to meet, and we hand over the contact.
Explore local eventsDiscuss investor access

For operators

Find a team you want to work with.

Meet founders, share your experience and explore a collaboration. Hearing how other people started can also help you take a first step towards your own company.

How it works for you

  1. Meet people building companiesFind an evening and bring an interest or skill you want to share.
  2. Explore a collaborationLearn what teams are working on and where your experience could help.
  3. Stay close to the workKeep in touch through the community, or explore pitching when you are ready to share your own project.
Meet the networkExplore the community

The formats

Find your kind of evening.

See who it is for, how it works and what happens afterwards.

Five founders, five minutesStartup Pitch: 5 Founders on StageFive founders, five minutes each, then the room asks. A table on a topic the room voted for, and the hour after the stage, which is the one people remember.Builders, stack & productAI & Tech NetworkingFor the people building with AI and technology: tables by stack and problem, five builders on stage for five minutes each, then an open hour.A separate eveningFounder TableA smaller founder gathering for a focused conversation around the table.
Explore all formats

Where the network meets next

Pitch nights, mixers and investor evenings across the network, week by week. All in person.

Next weekOct 26 – Nov 1

5 evenings

  1. 28
    Oct
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    New York
    Wed · 6:00 PMFree – $66
    The Lobby Bar & Garden
    Register
  2. 28
    Oct
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Chicago
    Wed · 7:00 PMFree – $31
    Joy District
    Register
    Charles A., Sheik B. +17 going
  3. 28
    Oct
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    San Jose
    Wed · 7:00 PMFree – $66
    Guildhouse
    Register
    Swathi S., Andrey S. +27 going
  4. 29
    Oct
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Amsterdam
    Thu · 6:00 PMFree – $29
    Hotel Fifty Five
    Register
    Florens M., Daniil P. +10 going
  5. 29
    Oct
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Zurich
    Thu · 6:00 PMFree – $29
    Kir Royal
    Register
    Britta M., Drago P. +24 going

Nov 2 – 8

3 evenings

  1. 3
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Boston
    Tue · 7:00 PMFree – $66
    Bar Moxy
    Register
  2. 4
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Palo Alto
    Wed · 5:00 PMFree – $31
    JOE & THE JUICE
    Register
    Xun Z., Nita A. +10 going
  3. 4
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    San Francisco
    Wed · 7:00 PMFree – $29
    Rick & Roxy's
    Register

Nov 9 – 15

5 evenings

  1. 10
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Miami
    Tue · 7:00 PMFree – $71
    Candela Bar Brickell
    Register
    Anastasia S., Faye S. +23 going
  2. 10
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Toronto
    Tue · 7:00 PMFree – $29
    Blood Brothers Brewing
    Register
    Shabs B., Frida D. +12 going
  3. 11
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    New York
    Wed · 6:00 PMFree – $66
    American Whiskey - Midtown
    Register
    Damien D., Elena A. +15 going
  4. 13
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Sydney
    Fri · 6:00 PMFree – $66
    Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks
    Register
    Karan G., Warren G. +20 going
  5. 13
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Melbourne
    Fri · 6:00 PMFree – $66
    The Duke of Wellington
    Register
    Preeya L., Aaditya D. +30 going

Nov 16 – 22

1 evening

  1. 17
    Nov
    Startup Pitch: 5 Founders on Stage
    Zurich
    Tue · 6:00 PMFree – $29
    MINI Café Bar
    Register

The next 14 of 24 upcoming evenings.

All upcoming events
75
Events to date
24
Upcoming events
13
Countries
6,000+
Across our channels

Our philosophy

The room belongs to the founder.

That is the decision everything else follows from. The signal is addressed to the investor, the operator is the one who answers, and none of it asks you to buy your way in.

For founders

A founder should not be alone.

You come with what you are building and get questions from people doing the same work — a room that answers, not an audience that claps. The idea stays yours; what travels is the process.

For investors

What is scarce is not money. It is a clean signal.

You meet people before you meet a deck. Introductions are made by us and never cold, and your presence is never used as bait for someone else.

For operators

The knowledge belongs to the people who joined.

You are the one who has already done it, and often the only person who can answer a founder's question the same evening. What you share stays with the network, not with us.

How we got here

Companies we met in person

Startups that came to an evening, showed what they are building, and answered questions in the room.

180+ companies, every one met in person at an evening — the whole directory is open to read. Investors approved on application also receive them in the weekly digest, matched to their thesis. Neither is a rating.

Semester Student Planner logo

Semester Student Planner

Pre-seed

We help universities stop their students from dropping out by building the tools that scales coaching and allows them to thrive.

Met in person at Startup Pitch Events San Francisco: 5 Founders on Stage · San Francisco · Oct 21, 2026

$396k
Nathan M., Co-Founder & CEONathan M.Co-Founder & CEO
Ed TechUnited Kingdom
67,000
Flow State Activated logo

Flow State Activated

Series A

✨Delivering fitness experiences to organizations

$5k+90%
Angela O., CEO/FounderAngela O.CEO/Founder
HealthTech
Goose logo

Goose

Pre-seed

The whole sales tech stack in one platform, built on Salesforce and HubSpot.

96K ARR100% MoM
Alex M., Co-FounderAlex M.Co-Founder
AIUnited States
6aaa7a717220246a1acc927b wizium hero art v3 marketplaces plain

Wizium

Pre-seed

The agentic operating system for multichannel commerce

Andrew B., CEOAndrew B.CEO
AISan Jose
ALIS Wear logo

ALIS Wear

Pre-seed

With a novel, flexible, liquid inflation system, without explosive and unreliable pressurised cylinders, we're making water safety wearables tiny, fashionable, and as accessible as sunscreen.

Nikolajs A., FounderNikolajs A.Founder
HealthTechAustralia
$10,000

PeakUp

Pre-seed

All-in-one campus app, built by three Berkeley alums, a social scheduling platform that helps college students coordinate schedules and spend more time together.

Met in person at Startup Pitch Events San Francisco: 5 Founders on Stage · San Francisco · Oct 21, 2026

Revenue generating650+ new users / 30 days
Philip C.Founding Growth Lead
Consumer AppsSan Francisco
~$570k
Open the startup directoryPitch your startup

You are invited into the room.

Come to an evening in your city and meet the founders in person. Hear the questions they are asking, see the work behind the product, and decide for yourself who you want to keep talking to. When you want an introduction, we make it — and we take no percentage of the deal.

In person

You meet founders at an evening, not in an inbox.

By thesis

The weekly digest is filtered to your stage, sector and geography.

No deal fee

Introductions come from us and never cold. We take no percentage of the deal.

Find an evening near youGet investor access

How we work with investors

One week, from the room to your inbox.

The cycle below runs every week today. The platform under it is what we are building next, and investors can join its beta list now.

Live · every week

  1. 1

    The evening

    Founders present what they are building and answer questions from the people at the tables.

  2. 2

    The application

    What they showed in the room, and the numbers they submit with their application.

  3. 3

    Monday digest

    Only the companies that fit your stage, sector and geography. No quota to fill.

  4. 4

    The introduction

    Made by us, when a company fits and both sides want it. Never a cold deck.

↻ And the next week starts with the next evening.

Deal Flow Platform

In development

Every signal about a company, in one place — cleaned.

What we are building: a platform where the signals about each company flow in and are cleaned up, so you can pick the project that deserves your attention. Today it is not available — the digest above is how the work reaches you now.

  1. 01

    Signals flow in

    What a company showed at each evening, the numbers from its application, and the update its founder will write every week — in one place, per company.

  2. 02

    Then they are cleaned

    Repeats merged into one line, every number dated, and what the founder says kept apart from what was seen in the room.

  3. 03

    You pick what deserves your attention

    A company's progress followed over weeks instead of re-read from a deck — so the choice is made on a record, not a pitch.

Beta testing

Test Deal Flow before anyone else.

Join the beta list and we will write when there is something to test. No date promised, and no cost to be on the list.

Network

Global network, local presence

🇪🇺
EU
Active
Active hub. Recurring events.
🇬🇧
UK
Active
Active hub. Recurring events.
🇺🇸
US
Active
Active hub. Recurring events.
🇦🇪
UAE
Active
Active hub. Recurring events.
🇸🇬
Asia
Active
Active hub. Recurring events.
🇦🇺
Australia
Active
Active hub. Recurring events.

Notes from the rooms, city by city.

City guides, playbooks and records of the evenings, written by the people who run them. Every number carries its date.

Three rings around one gold dot

From the founder

The Room Belongs to the Founder

Why Ascent Valley is built the way it is, and an exact list of what's live today and what isn't yet.

Bogdan · 3 min readRead

Before you book

Series · 4 parts

Straight answers to the questions people ask before they give up an evening.

  1. 01Are Startup Networking Events Worth It? A Founder's Filter4 min
  2. 02Pitch Night, Demo Day, Accelerator, Founder Dinner: Which Room Fits Your Ask4 min
  3. 03What a Ticket Buys at an Ascent Valley Evening, and What It Doesn't3 min
  4. 04Five Seats on Stage: How Pitching at an Ascent Valley Evening Works3 min

By city

Los Angeles2 notesAmsterdam2 notesNew York2 notesToronto1 noteSan Jose1 noteSan Francisco1 note
View all

Less noise starts at the next event.

Show up once. Stay if it's worth your time.

See upcoming events
Have a question? Get in touch

Less noise, weekly.

Founders, raises, intros worth your inbox. Monday morning.