Explore 20 must-attend San Francisco startup events in 2025, from Disrupt to Demo Days, and learn how founders can use HeyGen AI video to pitch, network, and scale follow-ups.
San Francisco stands as the global capital for startup innovation, hosting some of the most impactful events where founders meet investors, close deals, and scale their companies. This listicle covers 20 confirmed 2025 events—from pitch competitions with million-dollar prizes to networking gatherings where lasting partnerships form.
For startup founders, creating compelling video content before, during, and after these events can mean the difference between being forgotten and landing that next round of funding. With HeyGen's AI video generation platform, founders can produce announcement videos, pitch videos, demo reels, follow-up messages, and social content at scale—without expensive production teams or camera crews. HeyGen's 200+ templates, AI avatars, and voice cloning technology help startups stand out in crowded inboxes and conference halls.
Major conferences and trade shows
1. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
Date: October 27-29, 2025
Location: Moscone West, San Francisco
Target audience: Early-stage to growth-stage startups, VCs, press, enterprise buyers
TechCrunch Disrupt brings 10,000+ attendees to San Francisco for the tech industry's flagship event. The three-day conference features 250+ sessions across six stages, with speakers from companies like Sequoia Capital, Box, and emerging unicorns. The Startup Battlefield 200 competition selects 200 pre-Series A companies to exhibit, with 20 finalists competing for $100,000 equity-free prize money on the main stage. Alumni include Dropbox, Trello, Mint, and Discord.
Ticket pricing: Early bird passes save up to $600. Founder bundles (4-9 people) offer 15% discounts.
Why attend: Direct access to decision-makers actively seeking investment opportunities. The expo floor provides face-to-face meetings with 250+ VCs, while media coverage reaches millions of readers across TechCrunch's network.
How HeyGen helps: Before Disrupt, create 60-second pitch videos using HeyGen's AI video platform that explain your value proposition clearly. Share these videos with investors you meet for immediate follow-up. After your booth conversations, send personalized video messages using HeyGen's AI avatar technology—this scales to hundreds of connections without recording fatigue. For international investors, use HeyGen's video translator to localize your pitch into 175+ languages and dialects with natural lip-sync, making your startup accessible to global capital.
2. Startup Grind Global Conference 2025
Date: April 29-30, 2025
Location: Redwood City, CA
Target audience: Pre-seed to Series B founders, growth-focused entrepreneurs, angel investors
Startup Grind Global attracts 5,000+ entrepreneurs for a two-day format emphasizing action over theory. The conference showcases 100 promising startups selected globally, facilitates 400+ scheduled investor meetings, and features 40+ speakers from successful SaaS and tech companies. Top 100 exhibitors from past years have collectively raised over $1.5B in funding since 2020.
Ticket pricing: Starting at $249, with early bird and group discounts.
Why attend: Interactive Q&A sessions, founder AMAs, and 1-on-1 meetings with VCs provide tactical insights rather than theoretical frameworks. The exhibition floor gives startups visibility to thousands of qualified attendees.
How HeyGen helps: Exhibition booths require engaging content that runs continuously. Use HeyGen to create product demo videos with AI avatars that explain your solution—no camera crew required. Generate multiple versions for different buyer personas using HeyGen's text-to-video functionality. After the 400+ investor meetings, scale your outreach by creating personalized follow-up videos for each investor using HeyGen's custom avatar feature—maintaining authenticity while saving dozens of hours.
3. SaaStr Annual 2025
Date: May 13-15, 2025
Location: San Mateo County Events Center (SF Bay Area)
Target audience: B2B SaaS founders, CROs, CMOs, CFOs, customer success leaders
SaaStr Annual is the world's largest non-vendor SaaS conference, bringing 10,000+ attendees and 250+ speakers from elite B2B companies. The three-day festival covers tactical sessions on scaling from $0 to $100M+ ARR, includes a full AI Summit with 200+ demos, and provides 1,000+ networking meetings matched by AI-powered systems. Specialized summits run for revenue, marketing, finance, and customer success leaders.
Ticket pricing: Individual tickets $1,649; group rates (5+ people) at $999 per person, saving up to 30%.
Why attend: Learn from founders who've actually scaled B2B companies. With 80+ VCs offering matchmaking and concentrated learning across 200+ sessions, SaaStr delivers actionable playbooks rather than high-level concepts.
How HeyGen helps: SaaS companies thrive on clear product communication. Use HeyGen to create feature walkthrough videos and customer testimonials that simplify complex functionality. After the conference, transform session insights into thought leadership content—record team discussions, then use HeyGen's AI avatars to turn those into professional LinkedIn videos. For SaaS startups entering new markets, HeyGen's Video Translator enables instant localization of product demos into 175+ languages and dialects, reducing international expansion timelines from months to days.
4. Dreamforce 2025
Date: October 14-16, 2025
Location: Moscone Center, San Francisco
Target audience: Enterprise CRM users, SaaS founders building on Salesforce platform, AI integration specialists
Dreamforce attracts 40,000+ onsite attendees and 200,000+ virtual participants, making it one of tech's largest gatherings. The 2025 theme focuses on "Agentforce transformation"—exploring AI agents and real-time data creating digital workforces. With 1,500+ sessions, keynotes from AI pioneers like Andrew Ng, hands-on training, certification opportunities, and an expansive expo floor, Dreamforce provides comprehensive exposure to enterprise CRM strategies.
Ticket pricing: Current pricing $1,899 (saves $400); group rates drop to $999 per person for teams of five or more.
Why attend: Enterprise sales cycles require trusted relationships. Dreamforce's massive scale means thousands of enterprise buyers, Salesforce partners, and integration specialists attend seeking solutions to immediate business problems.
How HeyGen helps: Dreamforce's 40,000 attendees require strategic follow-up. Create personalized video messages for enterprise contacts using HeyGen's custom avatar feature—you can appear in videos even when back at the office. For startups building on Salesforce's platform, use HeyGen to create integration demos, customer training videos, and marketing materials explaining how your solution enhances Salesforce workflows. The video translator is invaluable for reaching Dreamforce's 50+ country attendee base with localized messaging.
5. RSA Conference 2025
Date: April 28 - May 1, 2025
Location: Moscone Center, San Francisco
Target audience: Cybersecurity startups, enterprise security buyers, CISOs, security researchers
RSA Conference is the premier cybersecurity event globally, bringing 44,000 attendees, 650+ exhibitors, and 700+ speakers across 450 sessions in 29 tracks. The 2025 conference celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Innovation Sandbox Contest, where cybersecurity startups compete for $5M investment. With dedicated early-stage expo areas, hands-on labs, the CISO Boot Camp, and networking with enterprise security buyers, RSA provides unparalleled access to decision-makers.
Ticket pricing: Four-day passes available; early registration recommended.
Why attend: CISOs attend with budgets and mandates to solve security challenges. The Innovation Sandbox competition launches cybersecurity companies to prominence—past winners include companies like Cylance and Symantec's acquired technologies.
How HeyGen helps: Cybersecurity products often require technical explanation. Use HeyGen to create clear explainer videos demonstrating your security solution's value without jargon. Create investor pitch videos for the Innovation Sandbox competition, customer testimonials showcasing threat prevention, and training content for enterprise buyers. Post-conference, send video follow-ups to CISOs you met—personalizing outreach at scale differentiates you from competitors sending generic emails.
6. The AI Conference 2025
Date: September 17-18, 2025
Location: Pier 48, Mission Rock, San Francisco
Target audience: AI researchers, ML engineers, applied-AI startup founders
The AI Conference provides vendor-neutral, code-level focused content for practitioners. Created by MLconf founders and Ben Lorica, the conference features four technical tracks covering AI Frontiers, AI Developers, AI Strategy, and Applied AI. With 100+ speakers, a Startup Showdown judged by Menlo Ventures and Theory Ventures, and 1:1 matchmaking with 80+ VCs, this event serves engineers pushing AI boundaries in healthcare, finance, retail, and beyond.
Ticket pricing: Team tickets $1,200; full access $2,600; networking events include booth crawls with open bar.
Why attend: Unlike marketing-heavy AI events, this conference prioritizes technical depth. Engineers and founders can discuss architectures, models, and implementation challenges with peers solving similar problems.
How HeyGen helps: AI startups can leverage HeyGen's own AI video technology to demonstrate capabilities. Create technical demo videos showing your AI models in action, generate pitch videos for the Startup Showdown, and produce social content that explains complex AI concepts simply. For investor pitches, create avatar-based presentations that walk through technical architecture and market opportunity.
7. Apple WWDC 2025
Date: June 9-13, 2025
Location: Online/Virtual (free worldwide) + limited in-person at Apple Park, Cupertino
Target audience: iOS/macOS developers, app startup founders
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference unveils iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS updates. The conference is free and primarily virtual, with 100+ technical sessions, online group labs with Apple engineers, and 1-on-1 appointments for Apple Developer Program members. The Swift Student Challenge recognizes 50 Distinguished Winners with invitations to a three-day experience at Apple Park.
Ticket pricing: Free for all attendees worldwide.
Why attend: Essential for any startup building on Apple platforms or integrating Apple Intelligence. New APIs and frameworks announced at WWDC often enable entirely new product categories.
How HeyGen helps: Developers building iOS apps can use HeyGen to create app preview videos for the App Store, explainer videos showing new features enabled by WWDC announcements, and social content announcing your app's updates. Create training materials for your team about new Apple frameworks, and generate marketing videos showcasing how your app leverages new Apple technologies. For developer tools startups, produce demo videos showing integration with new Apple APIs.
8. SF Tech Week 2025
Date: October 6-12, 2025
Location: Multiple venues across San Francisco (decentralized)
Target audience: All startup ecosystem participants—founders, investors, engineers, operators
SF Tech Week is the largest decentralized tech conference globally, featuring 500+ independent events hosted by companies, startups, and VCs across San Francisco. The 2024 edition attracted 75,000+ attendees across SF, LA, and NYC, with the 2025 SF week expected to bring 20,000+ participants. Events include hackathons, panel discussions, demo days, pitch competitions, investor dinners, and workshops.
Ticket pricing: Each event priced independently by hosts; many events free or low-cost.
Why attend: The decentralized format means startups can attend events precisely aligned with their industry, stage, and goals. With hundreds of events, founders choose between technical workshops, investor mixers, and customer acquisition events.
How HeyGen helps: With 500+ events happening simultaneously, standing out requires strategic content. Use HeyGen to create pre-event promotional videos for your company's hosted events, generate recap videos from each session to share insights with your team, and produce daily social media content capturing key moments. Create personalized invitation videos for your Tech Week events using custom avatars, and after the week, send video follow-ups to dozens of connections—scaling personal outreach without spending hours on camera.
9. GitHub Universe 2025
Date: October 28-29, 2025
Location: Fort Mason Center, San Francisco (in-person + free virtual)
Target audience: Software developers, DevOps engineers, open source contributors
GitHub Universe explores AI-powered development with GitHub Copilot, AI agents and automation, DevOps best practices, open source collaboration, developer security, and cloud-native workflows. The two-day event features product announcements, interactive demos, hands-on workshops, certification programs in Security and GitHub Copilot, and networking with the global developer community.
Ticket pricing: In-person tickets $1,499 (including certifications); 25% group discounts for 3+ passes; virtual attendance FREE.
Why attend: GitHub Universe provides early access to tools that will shape software development for the next year. Product announcements often create opportunities for developer tools startups to integrate new features.
How HeyGen helps: Developer tools require clear demonstrations. Use HeyGen to create tutorial videos showing your integration with GitHub, generate explainer videos about open source projects, and produce developer onboarding content. Create product comparison videos, build feature announcement videos, and generate social media content for developer audiences. After Universe, create recap videos sharing GitHub's announcements and how they impact your product roadmap.
10. Step San Francisco 2025
Date: August 20-21, 2025
Location: Multiple venues—SVB offices (pitch competition), Barbarossa Lounge (opening party), The Midway (main conference)
Target audience: MENA and emerging market founders, Silicon Valley investors, tech enthusiasts
Step SF connects emerging market entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley's ecosystem. The 2024 debut brought 750 attendees, 72 showcasing startups, 100+ VCs and investors, and 40 speakers. The 2025 edition features a pitch competition at SVB offices, conference programming with speakers like Replit's Amjad Masad, and investor matchmaking.
Ticket pricing: Registration opens early 2025; expect tiered pricing for different access levels.
Why attend: Bridges emerging market innovation with Silicon Valley capital. The pitch competition provides exposure to investors specifically interested in global markets.
How HeyGen helps: For international founders, language barriers can hinder fundraising. Use HeyGen's video translator to create pitch videos in both English and your native language, ensuring investors understand your market context. Generate product demos that explain regional market dynamics, and create investor outreach videos that can be sent before the event to schedule meetings. After the pitch competition, send personalized video follow-ups to judges and investors.
Pitch competitions and demo days
11. Y Combinator Demo Days 2025
Date: September 9, 2025 (Summer batch) | December 3, 2025 (Fall batch)
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Target Audience: Invitation-only for ~1,500 investors and media
Y Combinator Demo Days represent the culmination of the world's most prestigious accelerator program. YC provides $500,000 seed funding for 7% equity, and the three-month program leads to this pivotal pitching opportunity where every major VC firm attends. Notable YC alumni include Airbnb, Stripe, DoorDash, Coinbase, Instacart, Reddit, and Twitch. The combined valuation of YC companies exceeds $600B.
Ticket pricing: Invitation-only for investors and media; not open to general public.
Why attend (for investors): Highest concentration of vetted, growth-ready startups presenting to investors on a single day. YC's selection process means companies have product-market fit and founder-market fit validated.
How HeyGen helps: While YC coaches pitch delivery, HeyGen helps YC founders create supporting materials. Build a compelling video pitch deck for investors who request more information post-Demo Day, create product demos showing traction, and generate founder introduction videos for your website. After Demo Day, send personalized video follow-ups to interested VCs—referencing specific conversations and detailing next steps. YC alumni can leverage HeyGen for Startups program offering 75-90% discounts.
12. Startup World Cup 2025 Grand Finale
Date: Regional (Silicon Valley): May 1, 2025 | Grand Finale: October 17, 2025
Location: Computer History Museum (Regional), San Francisco (Grand Finale)
Target audience: Early to growth-stage startups globally
Startup World Cup offers a $1,000,000 investment prize for the Grand Finale winner—one of the largest pitch competition prizes globally. Startups compete in 100+ regional events worldwide, with winners advancing to the three-day Grand Finale featuring preliminary pitches, main stage finals, and networking with top-tier VCs. Shark Tank's Lori Greiner confirmed as speaker. Competition open to startups at any stage.
Ticket pricing: Regional winners receive free Grand Finale tickets; spectator tickets available for purchase.
Why attend: The million-dollar stakes attract serious investors. Regional winners get exposure to Silicon Valley's investor network even if they don't win the grand prize.
How HeyGen helps: The million-dollar stakes require exceptional preparation. Use HeyGen to practice and refine your pitch—record multiple versions using AI avatars to test different messaging approaches before the live pitch. Create a compelling 90-second pitch video for promotional materials, generate social media content building momentum around your competition participation, and produce follow-up videos for investors you meet during the three-day event.
13. TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200
Date: October 27-29, 2025 (part of Disrupt)
Location: Moscone West, San Francisco
Target audience: Pre-Series A startups with MVPs and traction
Startup Battlefield 200 is TechCrunch's iconic pitch competition embedded within Disrupt. Two hundred pre-Series A startups exhibit for three days, delivering two-minute fast pitches. The top 20 finalists advance to live pitch rounds on the Disrupt Main Stage, competing for $100,000 equity-free prize, free exhibit tables ($1,995 value), weekly training sessions, and investor introductions. Alumni include Dropbox, Trello, Mint, Discord, Getaround, and Cloudflare.
Ticket pricing: No cost to participate if selected; includes three-day exhibit table and conference access.
Why attend: Over 1,500 Battlefield alumni companies have raised $32B+ and achieved 250 exits. The program provides training, stage time, and direct investor access.
How HeyGen helps: Battlefield's fast-paced format requires supporting materials. Create a two-minute pitch video using HeyGen that attendees can scan via QR code at your booth, generate product demo videos looping on screens at your exhibit table, and produce social media content promoting your participation. After your stage pitch, send personalized video follow-ups to judges and investors who visited your booth using HeyGen's avatar technology to scale outreach to hundreds of connections.
14. 500 Global Demo Day Batch 36
Date: October 7, 2025, 3:00 PM
Location: San Francisco (North Beach, venue provided after registration)
Target audience: Accredited investors and press (invitation-only)
500 Global's Demo Day showcases graduates of their 12-week accelerator program. 500 Global has funded 3,000+ companies across 80+ countries, with portfolio exits exceeding $9B. Notable alumni include Canva, Credit Karma, Talkdesk, and Udemy. Registration is subject to approval, creating an exclusive, high-quality investor audience.
Ticket pricing: Free for approved investors and press; registration required.
Why attend: 500 Global's batch companies have received 12 weeks of intensive mentorship. The Demo Day format allows investors to see polished pitches from pre-vetted startups.
How HeyGen helps: Demo Day pitches are brief—maximize impact by creating comprehensive follow-up materials. Use HeyGen to build detailed product demo videos investors can watch later, generate customer testimonial videos showcasing traction, and create founder story videos that build emotional connection. For international investors attending, produce translated versions of your pitch materials using video translator. Send personalized video thank-yous to investors who showed interest.
15. Alchemist Accelerator Class 40 Demo Day
Date: September 30, 2025, 10:30 AM Pacific
Location: San Francisco Bay Area (streamed online)
Target audience: Enterprise B2B investors, CIOs, CTOs
Alchemist Accelerator focuses exclusively on B2B/enterprise startups. The six-month program provides $25,000 investment and $450,000 in partner perks, leading to Demo Day with curated investors. Portfolio companies include LaunchDarkly, Rigetti Computing, and Privacera. Over 150+ alumni received institutional seed investments of $500K+ with $1.2B+ total capital raised.
Ticket pricing: Invitation-only for investors; virtual livestream available.
Why attend: Alchemist startups target enterprise revenue, making Demo Day attractive to investors focused on B2B SaaS, infrastructure, and developer tools. Notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Greylock, NEA, and Khosla Ventures.
How HeyGen helps: Enterprise B2B sales require a clear explanation of complex value propositions. Use HeyGen to create enterprise-focused product demos, case study videos featuring customer success stories, and ROI calculator videos showing quantifiable business impact. Generate explainer videos for different enterprise buyer personas (IT, procurement, end-users), and produce onboarding videos demonstrating implementation ease.
16. Techstars San Francisco Demo Day Spring 2025
Date: Spring 2025 (typically late March/early April)
Location: San Francisco
Target audience: Seed-stage investors, enterprise partners
Techstars San Francisco's three-month accelerator focuses on AI vertical solutions, sales enablement, adtech, healthcare, and legaltech. The program provides $120,000 investment and access to 10,000+ mentors in the Techstars network. With 3,900+ portfolio companies and combined market cap exceeding $116B, Techstars has proven exits including SendGrid, ClassPass, PillPack, and DigitalOcean.
Ticket pricing: Virtual and in-person options available; registration through Luma.
Why attend: Vertical-focused accelerators mean startups have deep industry expertise. Demo Day features live presentations, Q&A with Entrepreneurs in Residence, and sector-specific networking.
How HeyGen helps: Vertical-focused startups need industry-specific messaging. Use HeyGen to create tailored demo videos for each vertical you serve (healthcare, legal, sales), generate case study videos with industry-specific metrics, and produce compliance-focused content for regulated industries. Create explainer videos showing your AI technology in action, and build onboarding videos that reduce friction for enterprise adoption.
Networking and community events
17. Founder's Village Tech Weekend
Frequency: Every 6-8 weeks (approximately 6-8 times per year)
Location: San Francisco commercial venues
Target audience: Technical founders (pre-seed to seed-stage)
Founder's Village Tech Weekend brings 100+ technical founders and 50-75 VCs together for structured three-day experiences including 1:1 investor office hours, private investor dinners, live pitch competitions, and panel discussions. Founded during the pandemic, Tech Weekend became a go-to event in SF for pre-seed to seed-stage founders. The community exceeds 13,000+ members.
Ticket pricing: Pitchers are included in exclusive distribution to VC funds; event tickets vary.
Why attend: Investor office hours provide direct access to VCs. The curated, smaller format (versus 10,000-person conferences) enables deeper relationship building.
How HeyGen helps: Investor office hours benefit from strong supporting materials. Before Tech Weekend, create a 90-second founder story video explaining your background and vision, generate product demo videos showing your MVP, and build pitch deck videos investors can review before your 1:1 meetings. After the weekend, send personalized thank-you videos to every investor you meet—referencing specific discussions and next steps using HeyGen's voice cloning feature to maintain authentic voice while scaling outreach.
18. Startup Valley Biweekly Networking
Frequency: Every 2 weeks
Location: San Francisco (rotating venues)
Target audience: Founders, VCs, angel investors, marketers, AI experts from USA, Europe, Asia, UK
Startup Valley hosts biweekly tech networking events. Events run 7:00-9:40 PM with general networking, followed by 8:40-9:20 PM pitch presentations where founders deliver five-minute pitches and receive VC feedback. The global community spans multiple continents. Founders can submit pitch decks to [email protected].
Ticket pricing: Partner venues require 1-2 drink minimum purchase; event tickets available through registration link.
Why attend: Biweekly cadence means consistent networking without waiting for quarterly or annual events. VC feedback on pitches provides actionable insights for fundraising.
How HeyGen helps: Biweekly events mean regular content needs. Use HeyGen to create pitch videos for submission to organizers, generate social media posts promoting your attendance, and produce follow-up videos for connections you make. After receiving VC feedback on your pitch, incorporate improvements and record updated pitch videos using AI avatars—allowing rapid iteration without reshooting.
19. ProductTank SF Monthly Meetups
Frequency: Monthly
Location: Rotating venues (recent: Vapi HQ, 760 Market St. 11F, San Francisco)
Target audience: Product managers, product-led growth founders
ProductTank SF is one of San Francisco's largest product meetups, organized by volunteers from the local product community. Monthly meetups feature speaker presentations on product topics, AI-powered product discussions, and networking. Events are always free and supported by sponsors including Vapi and Arize.
Ticket pricing: Free; registration through Meetup.
Why attend: Product management skills directly impact startup success. Learning from experienced PMs at successful companies accelerates product development and go-to-market strategies.
How HeyGen helps: Product managers constantly explain features and roadmaps. Use HeyGen to create product feature videos, generate user onboarding content, and produce stakeholder update videos. After ProductTank sessions, create video summaries of key insights to share with your product team, build case study videos showcasing successful product launches, and generate customer testimonial videos.
20. Friday Founder's Gatherings
Frequency: Every 2-3 weeks on Fridays
Location: Post Street & Kearny Street area, San Francisco
Target audience: CEOs/C-level executives only (founder-only events)
Friday Founder's Gatherings are exclusive events for pre-seed founders from Y Combinator, 500 Startups, and global accelerators. Events start at 4:00 PM PDT and require pre-registration on Luma. The curated, small-group format creates high-quality connections for finding partners, clients, investors, and peers. No recruiters allowed—CEOs/C-level only.
Ticket pricing: Registration required through Luma; no-show policy enforced.
Why attend: Founder-only gatherings provide peer support from others experiencing similar challenges. Small-group format (versus large conferences) enables vulnerability and honest discussions about startup struggles.
How HeyGen helps: Founder-only gatherings value authenticity. Create honest founder journey videos sharing challenges and lessons learned, generate company update videos you can share with fellow founders, and produce product demos for founders who might become customers or partners. After gatherings, send personalized video follow-ups to founders you connected with using HeyGen's custom avatar feature to maintain personal touch while saving time.
Preparing for San Francisco's 2025 startup calendar
San Francisco's 2025 event calendar provides unmatched opportunities for startup founders to raise capital, acquire customers, and build their teams. Success requires strategic preparation—and video content plays a crucial role at every stage.
Before events: Build your foundation
Create core assets that can be customized for specific events:
- 90-second pitch video explaining your value proposition clearly
- Product demo video showing your solution in action
- Founder story video building emotional connection with your background and mission
- Customer testimonial videos providing social proof
- Team introduction video showcasing your ability to execute
HeyGen's AI Studio enables creating these assets in hours rather than weeks. Use the platform's 200+ templates as starting points, customize with your brand elements using the Brand Kit feature, and generate multiple versions for different audiences.
During events: Create real-time content
Events move fast. Capture insights while they're fresh:
- Record quick recap videos from sessions using your phone, then enhance with HeyGen's editing tools
- Create daily social media content highlighting key moments
- Generate personalized invitation videos for follow-up meetings
- Produce booth content that runs on loop at exhibition tables
HeyGen's mobile capabilities mean you can turn raw footage into polished content without returning to the office. The text-to-video functionality transforms session notes into shareable videos within minutes.
After events: Scale your follow-up
Most startups fail at followup. They meet 50+ promising contacts at events, then send generic emails that get ignored. Video follow-up changes the game:
- Send personalized video messages to every meaningful connection
- Reference specific conversations in each video
- Provide additional resources (deck, demo, case studies) via video
- Maintain consistent outreach without recording fatigue
HeyGen's custom avatars and voice cloning allow scaling personal outreach to hundreds of connections. Record one base video, then customize the opening and specific details for each recipient using AI voice cloning technology. Recipients see personalized videos that feel authentic—because they are—but you've saved dozens of hours.
For global expansion: Break language barriers
San Francisco events attract international investors, partners, and customers. Breaking language barriers accelerates growth:
- Translate pitch videos into investors' native languages
- Localize product demos for international markets
- Create multilingual marketing materials
- Produce customer success videos in regional languages
HeyGen's video translator transforms any video into 175+ languages and dialects with natural lip-sync and authentic emotion. This technology which previously required expensive dubbing studios, now takes minutes. Startups can test international markets before committing to full localization budgets.
Special pricing for startups
HeyGen offers the HeyGen for Startups program providing 75-90% discounts for eligible pre-Series B companies. To qualify:
- Graduated from a recognized accelerator (Y Combinator, Techstars, 500 Global, Alchemist, etc.) OR
- Backed by venture capital from established firms
Plans start at $24/month for the Creator plan with unlimited video creation. Enterprise access (normally $30,000 annually) is available for $7,500 per year through the startup program.
Making 2025 count
San Francisco's startup ecosystem runs on relationships, momentum, and visibility. These 20 events provide the venues, but success depends on execution. Founders who leverage AI video technology to create compelling content before events, engage authentically during events, and follow up strategically after events will outperform competitors still relying on generic emails and outdated outreach methods.
The startups that scale fastest in 2025 will be those that combine great products with great communication. HeyGen removes the technical barriers to video creation, letting founders focus on what matters: building relationships, closing deals, and changing the world.
Nick Warner is Head of Creator Growth at HeyGen, where he helps creators and brands scale their content with AI video tools. He writes about AI, video technology, and how creators can use these tools to tell better stories and reach wider audiences.
