Invest in yourself: Learn, Network, Build Your Next Company

Connecting 10,000 AI founders, investors, and executives in Silicon Valley

Author

Mala Ramakrishnan
April 08, 2025

Investing in Yourself during Turbulent Times

With Trump’s tariffs shaking up global trade and the stock market dropping faster than your hopes of retiring before 80, it’s time to focus on the one asset that won’t crash: yourself. Your 401(k) might look like it’s auditioning for a disaster movie, but investing in your skills, knowledge, and well-being is recession-proof.

When markets spiral and imported goods cost more than your dreams, growing your own veggies or learning new skills and investing in your network might be the best ROI out there. Remember, laughter is inflation-proof—so let’s navigate these chaotic times with humor, resilience, and a little creativity.

LET’S GET YOUR SIDE HUSTLE TO BECOME YOUR MAIN STORY

Founders Creative Accelerator
Join us to find out more on how our accelerator can support you in making the transition into full-time entrepreneur.
Wednesday April 19, 12-12:45pm PST | lu.ma/a3ifejc9
Apply today: www.founderscreative.org/accelerator/

Wednesday April 19, 12-12:45pm PST | lu.ma/a3ifejc9
Apply today: www.founderscreative.org/accelerator/

AI PRODUCT SUMMIT
Friday, May 16 | 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM | lu.ma/aiproductsummit2
Block your calendar and get your early bird ticket today!

UC Berkeley Graduate Students run a study on the impact of COFFEE on behavior!

We are running a fun study to analyze the impact of Coffee on your mood and performance. Would you humor us and participate? Results will be published to anyone who participates and free coffee on us!

This is a 2 day experiment. 

  • A) On day 1 you will drink coffee within 20 minutes of waking up. 6 hours after waking up you will complete this survey.

Upcoming Events Highlights

Venture Capital Events

Curious about what’s ahead for venture capital in 2025? Join the partners from Progressive Ventures to explore trends, growth opportunities, and strategic insights for the year ahead. Get a front-row seat to what’s next in the evolving market.

Session with a VC: Investing in Startups [Online] · Wed April 2 1-2pm PST

Join Founders Creative for a live session on investing in AI startups hosted by Progressive Ventures. We will discuss the state of the industry and investing.

lu.ma/8ieth2wk

Making a break into AI Venture Capital: Live Networking in San Francisco · April 10 10:30-12pm PST

Join Founders Creative for a live session on investing in AI startups. We will discuss the state of the industry and investing, how to evaluate startups, and invest in the next unicorns.

lu.ma/62ir6vr7

Making a break into Venture Capital: Live Networking · Mountain View | April 11 10:30-12pm

Join the partners at Progressive Ventures for a live discussion on the state of Venture Capital and investing in AI startups.

lu.ma/od921maj

Deep Dive Council sessions

Are you ready to find your tribe and increase your domain expertise, find a peer council, and advocacy that helps you land your next role?

AI Experience Salon: Design Thinking
lu.ma/designthinking1
Thursday, April 24 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Mountain View

AI Go-to-Market Salon | April 18 3:30-5pm | Mountain View

In the new era of AI, the go-to-market function is being redefined on multiple levels. The traditional models for lead generation are being revolutionized by AI. Join other GTM leaders to explore how this impacts your career.

https://lu.ma/gtmsalon4

AI Engineering Salon: Agent Workshop | April 25 3:30-5pm PST | Mountain View

Join us for an exclusive AI Engineering Salon for a hands-on Agent Workshop. ​Don't miss this opportunity to engage with fellow AI engineers, researchers, and thought leaders as we explore DeepSeek's new paradigm in foundational models.

AI Healthcare Forum · April 30 2-5pm PST | Mountain View

Join us for an enlightening forum on the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare! This event brings together thought leaders, innovators, and practitioners to explore how AI is reshaping patient care, diagnostics, treatment pathways, and beyond

lu.ma/healthcare1

Founder Focus Events

The AI Kaleidoscope: For Founders by Founders | Google The Huddle | April 17 2-5pm PST

​​The Founders Creative Kaleidoscope Series brings together the brightest minds in artificial intelligence across various disciplines to explore the power of collaboration.

lu.ma/aikaleidoscope

Blog of the week

Designing for AI: A Designer's Guide to Building Trust, Adaptability, and Ethics | Ranjeet Tayi

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries, product designers face the challenge of crafting user experiences (UX) that align with AI’s capabilities, evolution, and ethical implications.

founderscreative.substack.com/p/designing-for-ai-a-designers-guide

Key Points from the blog on Designing for AI by Ranjeet Tayi

  • Trust: Build user trust by being transparent about AI capabilities, setting clear expectations, and avoiding excessive anthropomorphism.

  • Adaptability: Design modular and scalable systems that allow for quick iteration, AI evolution, and hyper-personalization.

  • Ethics: Reduce biases in AI responses, ensure data privacy, and clearly define ownership of AI-generated outputs.

  • Collaboration: Enable users to refine AI outputs, foster dialogue through conversational interfaces, and encourage co-creation to improve the system.

  • Agentic UX: Focus on intuitive AI experiences with autonomous AI agents, emphasizing transparency, contextual feedback, user empowerment, proactive assistance, and adaptive tone.

Video of the Week

Panel Discussion from our AI Cybersecurity Forum

Health and Wellness

Community Yoga & Meditation Courses

These are led by Mala Ramakrishnan, an Art of Living practitioner and yoga & meditation teacher of 19 years.

Join us at an upcoming events: lu.ma/founderscreative and sign up for our newsletter: www.founderscreative.org/#newsletter

Join us at an upcoming events: lu.ma/founderscreative and sign up for our newsletter: www.founderscreative.org/#newsletter