Former Y Combinator, a16z experts hold invite-only summit for founders

On August 9, the people who previously ran startup incubator Y Combinator’s events and PR, along with a former Andreessen Horowitz social media manager, are holding a small, invitation-only event, TechCrunch has learned.

The To Do List Summit will cap off at 80 early-stage founders and will teach them how to work with the press and run their own social media, the organizers promise. The fee for the event is $600.

YC laid off most of the folks putting on this event between a small layoff about a year ago and a larger one in 2023. These layoffs were surprising at the time because Y Combinator’s events have always been highly popular and were a major force in making San Francisco the hub for the burgeoning AI startup community. (Of course, the center of that universe is YC-affiliated OpenAI, also headquartered in San Francisco and run by former YC president Sam Altman).

The people putting on this event are doing it because they are appalled at how often early-stage startups are led to believe they must pay tens of thousands of dollars to hire PR and social media agencies, one person involved told TechCrunch. 

Still, in the wake of startups that routinely go viral, like Cluely, founders feel pressured to do the same.

It’s also true that a single social media post can make an early-stage startup go viral these days. The founders of app vibe coding startup Rork were almost broke when a viral tweet led them to raise $2.8 million and nab a spot in a16z’s Speedrun program. Defense tech startup Theseus landed a contract with the U.S. Special Forces, $4.3 million in funding, and a spot in YC from a viral X post.

If the folks behind the new event could help YC founders, they believe they can help founders who aren’t part of the famed program — and on the cheap without giving up equity.