Become fundable inSilicon Valley

Q: Do you help with visas and legal setup?

Yes — this is a core part of the program. You get: • Legal workshop led by a Harvard Law School attorney • Immigration session + 1:1 consultation with a Techstars-affiliated lawyer • Guidance on US company structure, fundraising setup, and visa strategy Getting this wrong early is expensive. We fix it upfront.

We make serious early-stage founders fundable and connected in Silicon Valley.

Apply now How it works

Meet top founders and investors from the Bay Area

Learn from people who have actually done it - built, raised, or written checks in Silicon Valley.

Sequoia Capital
Y Combinatoralumni
ElevenLabs
xAI
Google
Apple
Harvard Law School
Stanford

Meet your future investor. 100+ investors in the network.

02The program

Three weeks to SF-ready.

A focused online sprint with a small cohort and 1 week in-person in San Francisco. Workshops, 1:1 mentoring, investor panels, and legal + visa support. You leave with a US-ready deck, a clear US go-to-market plan, and a verdict from real investors - not another six months of polite feedback.

When / Where: 2 weeks onlineSep 14 – Sep 27, 2026
1 week in San FranciscoSep 28 – Oct 3, 2026
Admission: $2,400
Equity: None

03Schedule

Two weeks online. One week in San Francisco.

Weeks 01–02Sep 14 – Sep 27, 2026

Online preparation

Two intensive weeks designed to sharpen your startup, strengthen your pitch, and prepare you to make the most of San Francisco.

Pitching panels with top US angel investors and VCs
Legal aspects of fundraising with a Harvard Law School expert
Product workshops led by Stanford lecturers
Communication Lab: hands-on pitch training with Silicon Valley communication experts and professional actors
Startup metrics and investor readiness
Startup finance and fundraising fundamentals
Networking sessions with fellow cohort founders
Practical preparation for the San Francisco experience, including meetings, events, and relationship-building

Week 03Sep 28 – Oct 3, 2026

San Francisco experience

One immersive week in the heart of the global startup ecosystem.

Pitching panels and investor feedback sessions
Demo days with angels, VCs, and ecosystem leaders
A day at Stanford
Visits to leading Big Tech companies
Meetings at top venture capital offices
Fireside chats with YC founders
Palo Alto investor visit
Curated networking events and founder meetups
Graduation pool party

After the program

Stay for SF Tech Week and TechCrunch Disrupt

The program finishes just as SF Tech Week begins, followed by TechCrunch Disrupt. Founders, investors, and tech leaders from around the world will be in town, giving you the opportunity to continue building relationships, attend the best events, and experience San Francisco at its most exciting.

04Mentors & Speakers

People who have actually done it.

No accelerator staff. No generalist coaches. You learn from the operators, investors, and specialists you would otherwise spend a year networking to meet.

01 · Conversations

Fireside chats

Operators from ElevenLabs, xAI, YC alumni, Persona, Google, Apple. Not theory - people currently building, hiring, and shipping at the level you're aiming for.

02 · Pressure test

Investor panels

Not friendly. Not theoretical. Not “demo day energy.”

Direct, unfiltered feedback from investors
Challenged on how you think, speak, and operate
Forced to meet the real bar, not a local version of it

03 · Accountability

1:1 mentoring

Tailored sessions on positioning, pitch, GTM, and fundraising readiness. Weekly accountability, no drift.

05Mentors

Mentors and investors you will meet.

A few of the operators and investors teaching inside the cohort.

Investor
Armando Osuna
VC fund founder
Investor
Founder of Meadow Ventures. 20+ years in US software — enterprise sales, brand, fundraising, and board management.
Investor
Harrison Rolfes
Chair of Venture Partners, TCA
Investor
Investor and Chair of Venture Partners for TCA — the largest angel investor network, with $280M invested across 544+ companies and $2.2B in additional capital attracted.
GTM
Mike Ball
YC operator, partnerships
GTM
GTM for YC founders; partnerships at GoGo (YC '16).
Investor / Technical
Arash Bidgoli
Member of Technical Staff, xAI
Investor / Technical
Angel investor. xAI.
Investor
Hazal Ece Ozturk
Investment team, Plug and Play
Investor
On Plug and Play's SF investment team.
Investor
Li Ma
Senior Fellow, Rogue Women's Fund
Investor
Senior Fellow at Rogue Women's Fund, investing in women-led B2B SaaS. VC in Residence at LvlUp Ventures and Venture Fellow at Venture Cooperative. Investor Partner at Founder Institute's FI Venture Network. Columbia Business School MBA.
Operations
Mary Kosakowska
Ops, HockeyStack (ex-BCG)
Operations
Ops at HockeyStack, the AI revenue agent platform that raised $50M from Bessemer Venture Partners and YC alums to automate enterprise pipeline. Ex-BCG. UC Berkeley.
Design
Agata Braja
Adjunct Lecturer, Stanford d.school
Design
Stanford GSB MBA and adjunct lecturer at the Stanford d.school, teaching design thinking and Designing Your Life. Product and UX leader focused on data-driven, inclusive design for moonshot ideas.
GTM
Guillaume Roux-Romestaing
a16z scout; GTM operator
GTM
a16z scout (apps & infra). GTM at a YC startup.
Investor
Diogo Assumpção
Engineer, Meta; angel investor
Investor
Angel investor. Meta. AI/ML expert.
Investor
Mujahed Aghbar
Angel investor, ex-Apple
Investor
Angel investor and finance analyst. Ex-Apple.
Investor
Dmytro Goliy
Angel investor, ex-DoorDash
Investor
Angel investor and software engineer. Ex-DoorDash.
Operations
Tomasz Pawlikowski
Assurance Principal, BDO USA (SF)
Operations
CPA leading BDO USA's San Francisco audit practice for venture capital, private equity, and alternative investment funds.
Investor
Tim Santos
Angel investor
Investor
Investor in xAI, SpaceX, Cursor, Crusoe, Replit, Currensea, Maker Faire, swarm.work, CloutKitchen, LaunchLemonade, and more.
Product
Omar Antila
Staff PM, FreeWill; angel investor
Product
Staff Product Manager at FreeWill. Angel investor in biotech, healthtech, and fintech.

06Program lead

10+ years in the international startup ecosystem.

The program lead, who understands startups.

Aggie Krajewska, Founder & Program Lead at SF Startup Labs

Over the last 10 years, built programs, partnerships, and growth opportunities for 500+ founders across Europe and North America through roles at Google for Startups, Toronto Business Development Centre, and as CEO of ReaktorX — helped 200+ early-stage startups get to first customers and funding. A founder herself — has pitched her own startup to YC Partners and first-tier Silicon Valley angel investors.

I founded SF Startup Labs to bring most ambitious founders to the epicenter of the startup world — San Francisco Bay Area.

Aggie Krajewska

Founder & Program Lead

07Legal + visa support

Legal and visa mistakes are expensive.

Most founders arrive in the USA with the wrong legal structure and no visa plan. Both are fixable before you fly. Both are cheaper to get right than to redo.

01 · Legal

Harvard Law Attorney at Law.
Fundraising & US setup.

Delaware C-Corp vs. Flip - what fits your round and cap table
SAFEs, convertibles, priced rounds - terms and actual tradeoffs
Founder agreements, IP assignment, vesting under US standards
Live AMA on the edge cases that cost European founders the most money

02 · Immigration

Techstars-affiliated lawyer.
Visa strategy that works.

O-1, EB-1, EB-2 — which fits your traction, timeline, and team
What founders get wrong and how applications actually get denied

1:1 consultation included

08Who this is for

This is not for everyone.

Being explicit about the fit protects the cohort and saves you time. If you are not below, the program will not produce outcomes you expect.

For you

Working MVP or validated prototype
Early traction or clear path to it
Committed founding team
A clear ambition to scale globally

Not for you

Idea-stage, still deciding what to build
Can't take direct, unfiltered feedback
Looking only for community or warm validation
Not planning a US raise or US launch

09Last cohort

Founders from our last cohort.

Fifteen startups joined our most recent batch — spanning commerce, biotech, fintech, healthcare, and AI.

Your Next Store
Muno Biotech
Neomi
Measure.ai
LiveFreely
Uhura Bionics
Ezmedtech
Flood
Audn.ai
Arkion Identity Systems
Enterpilot
Farview.ai
Path IQ
Mediloop
HelpClinic

Built with speakers & mentors from

10Application process

Selection process.

Small, curated cohort. Spots are filling on a rolling basis, so we encourage founders to apply early.

Selection process

01
Submit application
Short form. Tell us what you're building, and where you are along the way.
02
20-minute interview
Selected founders only. We use it to confirm fit in both directions.
03
Final cohort selection
If selected, you’ll receive an onboarding details shortly after the interview.

Next cohort starts September 14, 2026.

Apply now

Media partner

11FAQ

Questions, answered.

What are the program outcomes?

A structured 3-week program: hands-on workshops, 1:1 mentoring, investor exposure, legal and visa support, direct access to the Silicon Valley ecosystem, and real-time feedback and accountability. SF Startup Labs prepares international founders to:

Raise capital from US investors
Launch and sell in the US market
Operate inside Silicon Valley standards
Become “legible” inside the networks that matter

You don't get access in Silicon Valley just because you show up. You get access because the right people already know you before you arrive. This program is designed to make that happen.

Do I keep full ownership of my company?

Yes. We don't take any equity.

What does it cost?

$2,400 per startup, cost-recovery only. We're a non-profit — mentors and speakers donate their time, and the fee covers program operations only. That's how we keep tuition at cost and the bar high on who teaches you.

Do you help with visas and legal setup?

Yes — this is a core part of the program. You get:

Legal workshop led by a Harvard Law School attorney
Immigration session + 1:1 consultation with a Techstars-affiliated lawyer
Guidance on US company structure, fundraising setup, and visa strategy

Getting this wrong early is expensive. We fix it upfront.

As a founder, can I involve my team in the program?

Yes. We encourage you to invite team members who would find the session topic useful.

What if I miss a live session?

Sessions are scheduled across European and Pacific time zones and recorded. But participation in the simulations and communication labs is non-negotiable. Skip those and you don't get value out of the cohort.

Have more questions? Contact us directly at hello@sfstartuplabs.com.