Our recent two-week trip to San Francisco for the Startup Grind conference was nothing short of eventful. From chance encounters with investors to promising partnerships on the horizon, enriched with strong initiatives supporting Ukraine, here's a rundown of our journey:
The journey commenced with an unexpected twist we as XSight organized a basketball pick-up game, attracting an investor as the sole participant. What started as a friendly match soon evolved into a scheduled meeting for a full pitch session, underscoring the power of spontaneous connections in the startup world.
Later that evening, at an AI and Art event, another fortuitous meeting with a Saudi entrepreneur eager to sell XSight adventures unveiled yet another avenue for expansion. We also connected with Luke and Alex from a private equity fund, laying the groundwork for potential investment opportunities - now in an active email thread.
Next day the Startup Grind Global began, armed with the Brello app and an arsenal of casual conversations, we engaged with 25+ investors, sparking follow-up conversations with 7 prospective investors. Particularly with a Japan-based telecom and venture fund expressing keen interest in XSight's offerings. Having success cases in different geos, it totally makes sense for us to focus on the Japanese market.
Additional connections forged at after-parties added a few more networks of opportunities for further days.
As the journey progressed, we got the victory at the Unicorn Startups pitch event in Palo Alto. Despite narrowly missing the top spot, XSight emerged as the actual winner of the Ukrainian Startups Pitch Day, earning exciting feedback and invitations to the semifinals. Strategic connections with investors and industry professionals, including Sham, laid the groundwork for future collaborations and growth opportunities. Sham, working at VC, later invited us for dinner in SF and lunch in Palo Alto making close connections and discussing further joint steps.
One of the priorities of this trip was to meet one of our customers - Laney College. We had the opportunity to test our adventure platform firsthand.
Witnessing students download the app and engage with our content was an inspiring and insightful moment for our team. This successful test session reaffirmed the potential impact of XSight in educational settings.
End of the week after the conference was filled with strategic dialogues with investors, including Tom, which culminated in a commitment to invest into XSight. Having meaningful dialog about sales processes inside the startup, to help boost this he connected us with Nick and Eugenio.
Concurrently, insightful conversations with Oleksii Reznikov, former Minister of Defence of Ukraine, shed light on the global implications of our endeavors and, the role of Ukrainian startups and technologies in today's world.
Sunday we met one of our investors, James Hodson, he networked us with a few more angels. And we prepared for the Berkley-Ukraine Innovation Hubs event, which took part on May 3rd. Same days Sergii had a fruitful meeting with Aliaksander, who reached out to us after one of our pitch sessions. He expressed his commitment to investing in XSight.
Additionally, we had a productive conversation with the Dean of the University of California, who also heads the Public Policy department. He proposed an intriguing idea for an adventure that educates users on public policies, such as voting and jury duty, with rewards like transportation discounts. We agreed to schedule a follow-up call to explore this concept further.
At the Berkley-Ukraine Innovation Hubs event, we, as one of a few Ukrainian startups, showcased our platform to a diverse audience. Among the individuals we interacted with, one standout was a venture capitalist with a keen interest in AR technology. Another angel investor expressed interest in our pitch, while another investor connected for further discussions.
Main theme of the event centered around fostering innovation and collaboration between Berkeley and Ukraine. This initiative aims to facilitate the exchange of technologies and ideas, ultimately contributing to the growth and development of Ukraine's economy both with technology export.
In summary, our trip to San Francisco proved to be both exhilarating and exhausting, with promising leads and valuable connections paving the way for future growth. With thee investors committing $100k, and others expressing keen interest (one for 200k, one for 700k and Japan investor wants to run a paid adventure for them first, and then invest), - the future looks bright for XSight. Additionally, warm leads for paid customers, such as sporting events for the 49ers and a Public Policy adventure, underscore the diverse applications of our platform. With strategic collaborations on the horizon and innovative solutions to scale our operations, we stand poised on the brink of new opportunities and achievements.
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