Next cohort:

June 2025

Location TBD

Pathway to Silicon Valley is a curated immersion program designed for founding teams on the path to global growth.

Up to 20 Founders & 5 Ecosystem Partners

Since 2017, we’ve hosted:

135 Founders

107 Speakers

350+ Investors & Mentors

Lana Cuthbertson
Co-founder & CEO @ Areto Labs

“Building a network in Silicon Valley as a Canadian founder is essential. It was critical to have the opportunity through CWN to meet some of the biggest VC offices in the world. We were able to close an investment as a direct result of our participation in Pathway!"

Connections that matter.

We provide a path into the US market.

OVERVIEW

2 Days of networking, learning, and building industry connections in Silicon Valley.

We are recruiting Seed to Series A companies that are planning for U.S. funding or market entry.

  • Workshops: Designed to enhance your key business skills through practical exercises and expert feedback

  • Founder & Mentor Panels: Engage with seasoned Bay Area executives in our mentor and founder panels, where founders have the opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable insights from industry leaders

  • 1:1 Investor Meetings: Engage in 1:1 sessions with Bay Area investors to receive personalized advice and insights tailored to your business

  • Networking Reception: An opportunity to connect with top executives, investors, and Canadian expats in the Bay Area.

Next Cohort:

June 2025

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

  1. Refine your pitch for the Bay Area audience.

  2. Gain a stronger understanding of investor and customer expectations in the US market.

  3. Establish key relationships and expand your startup’s network of advisors, strategic partners, and fellow founders.

  4. Increase visibility and have a presence in Silicon Valley.

  • Day 1

    9:00 - 10:30 AM: Kick Off: Introductions & Program Intentions
    10:30 - 12:30 PM: Workshop: Behaving Famously
    12:30 - 1:30 PM: Sponsored Lunch
    1:30 - 2:30 PM: Panel: Founders' Journey
    3:00 - 4:30 PM: Workshop: From Founder to CEO
    6:00 - 8:00 PM: Cohort Dinner

    Day 2

    9:00 - 10:00 AM: Panel: Doing Business in the US
    10:30 - 12:00 PM: Panel: Raising US Capital
    1:00 - 4:30 PM: Investor Meetings & Business Mentor Roundtables
    5:00 - 7:30 PM: Sponsored Networking Reception

Past Participating Speakers, Mentors and Investors

  • Heather Kernahan

    Heather Kernahan

    CEO @ Hotwire Global

    LinkedIn

  • Mariane Bekker

    Mariane Bekker

    Managing Partner @ Founders Bay

    LinkedIn

  • Asya Bradley

    Asya Bradley

    Multi-exited Founder, Investor & LP

    LinkedIn

  • Natasha Allen

    Partner @ Foley & Lardner LLP

    LinkedIn

  • Lesley Ross

    Lesley Ross

    General Partner @ Enjoy the Work

    LinkedIn

  • Maria Pienaar

    Maria Pienaar

    Operating Partner @ Unicorn Growth Capital

    LinkedIn

  • Lauren Abelin

    Lauren Abelin

    Co-Founder & CPO @ PlantBaby

    LinkedIn

  • Jay Hum

    Jay Hum

    Product Executive-In-Residence @ Mighty Capital

    LinkedIn

  • Alex Abelin

    Alex Abelin

    Co-Founder & CEO @ PlantBaby

    LinkedIn

  • Vrinda Agarwal

    Vrinda Agarwal

    Investor @ Penny Jar Capital

    LinkedIn

  • Katharine Tomko

    Katharine Tomko

    Partner @ First Ascent Ventures

    LinkedIn

  • Dejana Dua

    Dejana Dua

    Venture Partner @ Anexa Capital

    LinkedIn

  • Landon Steele

    Principal @ Steele Consulting

    LinkedIn

  • Jordan Wahbeh

    Managing Partner @ SV Venture Group

    LinkedIn

  • Richard Ayllon

    Richard Ayllon

    Co-Founder & Sr. Advisor Due Diligence @ K2X Capital

    LinkedIn

  • Stephanie Cherrin

    Stephanie Cherrin

    Description goes here

    Partner @ JP Morgan Technology Ventures

    LinkedIn

  • Baris Aksoy

    Baris Aksoy

    Partner @ 37 Ventures

    LinkedIn

  • Shefali Billon

    Shefali Billon

    Principal and Fractional CMO @ Lumina Consulting

    LinkedIn

Past Participating Companies November 2024

  • MedReddie

    MedReddie

  • QuantoTech

  • LittleLit

  • Ethnomet

  • MiraNu

  • Waggle mail

  • Maman Biomedical

  • Bidblox

  • Conquer Experience

  • Scooly

    New List Item

  • Epic Heights

    Epic Heights

  • RideAlike Inc.

    RideAlike Inc.

  • Schoolio

    Schoolio

  • Fledge

Official Partner

Ecosystem Partners: We reserve a few spaces for accelerators, investors and other ecosystem partners to join us in San Francisco & Palo Alto because we know you need to build your global networks too!

Speak with our team if you are interested in attending.

A Great Line-Up of Speakers & Mentors

2000+ Investors
in our Network

  • FTEX

  • Finiti

  • PolyML

  • HEYLIST LOGO

View More Alumni Startups

Alumni Testimonials

“It’s fast, it’s furious. The team of women here is top-notch calibre, everyone here is a Big Dog.”

Jaime Zaporzan
Founder @ Kindr

“The value coming here was coming here and meeting all the amazing women in the room. The most valuable part was the first point of entry into the Valley, the community, the mentoring and investor sessions”

Mardi Witzel
CEO & Co-Founder @ PolyML

“I got more out of one day than from a 12-week accelerator program”

Kemi Bolatito
Co-Founder @ Scooly

“25 female founders, 4 days, priceless conversations. Between the #realtalk conversations about being a female founder, to the insightful panels and networking opportunities, it was an experience that I wish I could relive. My only wish is that the program was longer than 4 days!”

Kaylee Astle,
Founder @ Blanka

“Pathway to SV is a female entrepreneurship MBA! It provided me with a wealth of information and validation supported by the all-star female power of professionals and founders. It made me change my mind about capital raising.”

Jelena Savic-Brkic
Founder & CEO @ MiraNu

"Attending Pathway to Silicon Valley was a pivotal moment for MedReddie. The strategic advisory on raising capital, navigating U.S. business laws, public relations strategy, and gaining banking and accounting expertise equipped us with the tools to scale in the U.S. Even more powerful was the unwavering support for female founders in the Valley. The relationships we forged with investors, mentors, advisors, and our network of fellow female founders are already shaping our journey, fast-tracking the adoption of our healthcare procurement AI solution and driving meaningful impact globally.”

Kara LeBlanc
Founder & CEO @ MedReddie

“I couldn’t be more pleased with my 2-day experience at ‘Pathway to Silicon Valley.’ The level of support and community I experienced was only exceeded by the knowledge I gained. I’ve shifted my business plan for the better thanks to the feedback I received, and I’m very excited to implement this and more next year as I continue to participate in the community we built and the relationships gained”

Alycia van der Gracht

Founder @ QuantoTech