StrictlyVC, the intimate networking conference series that gathers founders, investors, and operators for curated evening conversations, returns to New York on September 10 with a roster of prominent venture figures and entrepreneurs.
The event takes place in Manhattan's West Village and features Keith Rabois, the veteran venture capitalist and Khosla Ventures partner known for his work with Airbnb, Square, and Palantir. Rabois will join Craig Shapiro, Jason Levien, Tristan Walker, Brynn Putnam, and Deven Parekh across panels and conversations spanning AI, sports investing, venture economics, and community building.
The guest list reflects StrictlyVC's model of bringing together operators with deep expertise and track records rather than broad industry panels. Levien co-founded Monumental Sports and Entertainment and invests in sports tech ventures. Walker founded Varoom, a digital health platform, and sits as a notable Black founder and investor in venture circles. Putnam founded Barry's Bootcamp and now leads Putnam Ventures, investing in health and wellness founders. Parekh partners at Menlo Ventures and brings institutional perspective on emerging fund economics.
This event format fills a gap in venture networking. Unlike massive conferences like TechCrunch Disrupt or Web Summit, StrictlyVC maintains boutique scale. Attendance caps at several hundred people maximum, allowing genuine conversation rather than booth-walking or pitch-stage spectating. The West Village location adds Manhattan cachet for the coastal venture crowd.
The agenda suggests three distinct conversation threads. AI coverage reflects venture's current obsession. Every major firm is now racing to pick winners in foundation models, enterprise AI, and vertical applications. Rabois himself has backed AI companies, so his input carries weight. Sports investing represents a boom category where VC has exploded beyond traditional venture returns. Money from Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, and others now flows into athlete platforms, sports tech, and fan engagement startups. Community building addresses a deeper trend: founders increasingly recognize that retention and engagement require deliberate network effects and community infrastructure, not just product features.
The politics inclusion signals something deeper about venture's evolution. The industry can no longer stay apolitical. Regulatory risk, antitrust scrutiny, and founder activism all demand founder-investor alignment on policy questions.
StrictlyVC events typically run four to six hours, mixing formal panel time with unstructured cocktail networking. This format works for deal-making because it creates repeated touchpoints. Founders bump into investors multiple times during the evening, conversations deepen beyond initial pitches, and genuine relationships form. LPs scout emerging fund managers and operator-investors. Fund managers hunt for deal flow and talent.
The September 10 date places the event in early fall, when many vacation-dispersed teams reconvene in New York and venture activity typically accelerates. For founders raising Series A or B rounds, attendance offers direct access to Menlo's Parekh and whoever else appears on that evening's investor panel. For emerging fund managers, the room represents potential LPs and future co-investors.
StrictlyVC has run events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York edition on September 10 signals the series' confidence in demand. Boutique networking still outcompetes mass conferences for serious deal-making and relationship building in venture capital.