SDSW Grand Finale!
Friday, November 6, 2026, 3:00 PM PST – 6:30 PM PST
Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center · 5250 55th St, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
Hosted by Startup San Diego
You helped make this week. Now let’s celebrate it. Five days. 70+ events. One unforgettable San Diego Startup Week. Now it’s time to send it off in style, and we want you there. RSVP for free and come celebrate with us! Join 300+ founders, investors, sponsors and friends for the grand finale. Cheer on San Diego’s rising startups as they compete live on stage. Then stay for the After Party: free pizza, a live DJ, cash bar, and the community that made this week happen. Admission is complimentary, thanks to SDSU. Friday, November 6 · 3:00–6:30 PM SDSU Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center · 5250 55th St, San Diego, CA 92182 Free parking at SDSU Parking Structure 7. Reserve your spot here. On the Main Stage 🎓 3:00–4:00 PM · Lightweight Intercollegiate Pitch Competition The finale kicks off with San Diego’s boldest student founders. Eight startups from SDSU, UC San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene and CSU San Marcos bring big ideas, fresh energy and everything they’ve got. It’s the perfect opening act for the heavyweights. 🥊 4:00–5:00 PM · Founders Fight Club Heavyweight Pitch Competition The first rule of Founders Fight Club: you DO talk about Founders Fight Club. Founders and funders… it’s fight time! Eight battle-tested contenders step into the ring with startups in cybersecurity, aerospace, oncology, industrial water and more. One round each. One shot to win over the judges. Only one walks away with the title. 🎉 5:00–6:30 PM · The Startup Week After Party Winners announced, music up, pizza's here. Swap stories from the week, meet the founders you just watched pitch and make the connections that carry into next year. This is the moment San Diego’s startup community has been building toward. 🎧 Pick the soundtrack You help choose the music! DJ Christian Manzo, Founder of REVELii, is spinning live, and you can suggest songs and vote for the tracks that open and close the night. Cast your vote → A big thank you to Christian and REVELii for bringing the music to our finale. Don’t miss the finale. Whether you’re building a company, looking for your next investment or just love being where the energy is, this is the place to be. Cheer on the finalists, celebrate the winners and close out Startup Week with the people who make San Diego’s startup community thrive. Powered by San Diego State University Live DJ Powered by REVELii
Speakers
Ryan Kuder
Founder at Founders & Co.
host
I'm the founder of Founders & Co., a network of hyperlocal private social and professional communities for entrepreneurs. I spent the past 10 years as a Managing Director at Techstars investing in nearly 140 startups and mentoring hundreds more. I started my first business when I was in fourth grade. Our teacher gave out points for good behavior. We'd track these points on little pieces of paper and when you got enough points, you'd get extra recess or lunch at Burger King or something. The problem with the paper point sheets was that they weren't awesome. So I made wipe off point sheets…
Andy Ballester
Co-Founder & CPO at EyePop.ai, and Co-Founder of GoFundMe
I’m a technology entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CPO of EyePop.ai, and Co-Founder of GoFundMe. Today, I’m focused on making AI vision intelligence accessible to every business by helping companies turn images, video, and cameras into actionable insights without needing a team of ML and computer vision experts. At EyePop, we’re making it easier to solve real-world business problems with visual AI, from automation and inspection to monitoring, analytics, and entirely new AI-powered experiences. Learn more at www.eyepop.ai.
Hala Madanat
Vice President of Research and Innovation at San Diego State University
Dr. Hala Madanat is the Vice President for Research and Innovation at San Diego State University and Albert W. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Public Health. Dr. Madanat stewards the university’s expansive research enterprise, leads the development of SDSU’s Mission Valley Innovation District, and oversees SDSU’s research advancement, research support services and technology transfer efforts, the SDSU Research Foundation, as well as the university’s start-up incubator, the Zahn Innovation Platform Launchpad. Under Dr. Madanat’s leadership, SDSU’s research reached $230 million in fiscal…
Dean Rosenberg
Board Member & Fund Co-Manager at NuFund Venture Group
Investor, advisor, and mentor to early stage founders, management teams, and companies. Seasoned CEO and CTO with an eye for execution and a bias for action.
Angel Sanchez
Co-Founder & CEO at ArkusNexus
Experienced Founder with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. Strong entrepreneurship professional skilled in building highly productive and motivated teams that deliver great software thru an awesome customer journey.
Benton Moore
Director at the Brink SBDC Innovation Hub
Rationally exuberant about sustainability and innovation ... and the changemaking entrepreneurs and intrepid investors making it happen. 'Embrace the Chaos'
Stan Synko
Founder & CEO at Aleph One
I fell in love with software engineering as a teenager, and that love is still with me today. I believe technology is changing the world for better, and that's why I founded Aleph One in 2015. That believe sits behind Aleph One's name: aleph zero is the math term for infinity and aleph one is the next order of infinity - the one we will reach as humanity with technology. Now AI, tomorrow something else, but we will get there! Aleph One was bootstrapped in the old-fashioned way — no outside capital, just clients who paid because the engineering was great. It grew to a 40+ engineer…
Steven Jones
Interim CEO at Founders First CDC
Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the professional training & coaching industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Executive Development, Performance Improvement, Career Development, Coaching, and Entrepreneurship.
Zeynep Ilgaz
General Partner at Cross Ocean Ventures
I’m passionate about working with entrepreneurs and founders like you to navigate the challenges of building, scaling, and funding successful businesses. With years of experience across startups, brand building, and growth strategies, I’ve honed practical insights to help you move faster, avoid common pitfalls, and focus on what matters most. As Co-Founder of Confirm B, I helped build a multi-brand consumer diagnostics company with retail distribution in over 20,000 stores, including CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. Through strategic fundraising and operational execution, we scaled…
James Zanewicz
CEO at Connect
I lead Connect, the original global accelerator (before the word even existed), now entering its 5th decade. My work is focused on transforming Connect from a regional convening organization into a global architect of innovation across AI, high-tech, DefenseTech, and life sciences. Across my career - spanning academic medicine, venture creation, technology transfer, ecosystem strategy, investment, and AI/ML-driven innovation — I’ve learned that the most powerful breakthroughs happen at the intersections of sectors, not inside silos. That belief drives everything we’re building at Connect.…
Catherine Edmunds
Founding Attorney at My CA GC Law Corporation
Catherine loves helping startups, middle-market private companies and investors with their outside general counsel and strategic business transaction needs. She has deep experience in M&A and other debt and equity financing transactions which helps deals to run smoothly and clients to achieve the results they desire. Learn more at https://mycagc.com