Online Event
Don't Do This: The Mistakes Sinking Pre-Seed AI Startups
Most Founders do 1 of 5 things that could cost them a fundraising round
Date
Oct 22, 2026
Time
04:30 pm - 07:00 pm
Address
Online Event
We talk to a lot of AI founders. Almost all of them are doing one of five things we can predict will cost them the round.
🔷Lucas sees it in the architecture: founders are building agents that do tasks instead of agents that close outcomes. The agent that drafts the email is not the agent that closes the deal.
🔷Jeni sees it in fundraising: founders overly focused on their tech stack instead of leading with the buyer, the problem, and why anyone should write a check.
🔷They're the same mistake. The founder knows the technology better than the market, so the technology leads. The buyer leaves. The pipeline doesn't move.
On October 22, Lucas walks through the five architectural failures from his book, The AI Agent Playbook.
Jeni walks through the three fundraising mistakes she sees most often from the founder seat. Then both of them take your questions.
Jeni walks through the three fundraising mistakes she sees most often from the founder seat. Then both of them take your questions.
If you're building anything with agents and wondering why nothing is converting, this one's for you.
Who's Speaking
Dr. Lucas Root — Director of FI San Francisco, author of The AI Agent Playbook and The Forge & The Flow. Former architect of Pokémon's automated retail division. Mentoring Founder Institute cohorts since 2019.
Jeni Chang — Managing Director of FI San Francisco. Has watched more founders pitch than most people have been in rooms with. Was tricked into startups, now helps founders and invests.
What You'll Walk Away With
- The five architectural failures that keep AI agents from closing revenue
- The three fundraising mistakes that lose investor meetings in the first 60 seconds
- A room full of other founders asking the questions you've been afraid to ask yours
The 90 Minutes
4:30 PM Jeni opens. 4:35 PM Lucas: the five AI agent mistakes. 20 minutes. 4:55 PM Jeni: the three pitching mistakes. 5 minutes. 5:00 PM Audience Q&A, moderated by Jeni. 55 minutes. 5:55 PM Jeni closes. Event 2 preview. 6:00 PM We're out.
This Is Event 1 of 2
Thursday October 29: The GTM Teardown. Three founders volunteer their GTM. Lucas & Jeni tears each one down live for 20 minutes & works through the pitch itself. If this week gives you the mistakes, next week shows what fixing them looks like.
Who This Is For
- Mid-career technical operators building AI agents
- Ex-Staff Engineers, VPs of Product, senior domain leads out of corporate 3 to 12 months
- Founders who've shipped something and can't figure out why it isn't converting
- Portland, Vegas, Oakland, and SF founders. This one's virtual.
Hosted by:
Founder Institute San Francisco/Oakland
AI rewrote the rules of startup building and the playbook has changed. Tech & skills are no longer the bottleneck: speed & direction are.
Founder Institute merges structured learning and execution + AI agents that build alongside you.
Founder Institute San Francisco/Oakland
AI rewrote the rules of startup building and the playbook has changed. Tech & skills are no longer the bottleneck: speed & direction are.
Founder Institute merges structured learning and execution + AI agents that build alongside you.
- The Method: Business bootcamp structure + weekly pitch feedback + founder working groups.
- The Network: 1:1 mentor sessions, Funding Lab, legal aid, and global event access.
- The Result: 9,000+ founders across 100 countries backed by $2BN+ raised.
We give early-stage founders the tools, network, and momentum to go from zero to funding.
Learn More: https://fi.co/aifounder
Interested in our program? Meet the Team: Jeni & Lucas - come say "hi" 🌞
➡️ Our upcoming Fall cohort starts soon! Apply by Oct 30th https://fi.co/san-francisco
Learn More: https://fi.co/aifounder
Interested in our program? Meet the Team: Jeni & Lucas - come say "hi" 🌞
➡️ Our upcoming Fall cohort starts soon! Apply by Oct 30th https://fi.co/san-francisco
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