The Timeline
Two Decades of Innovation, Community & Legacy
From 8 people at a bar to 1,000+ companies and $80B+ in value created. This is the story of how a grassroots meetup shaped San Francisco's tech ecosystem.
The First Meetup
8 geeks talking tech over cold pints at the Mars Bar on Brannan Street. Ed Batista from Attention Trust gave the first-ever demo, discussing online attention and digital privacy.
Grassroots Momentum
Word spread quickly. Monthly meetups grew from 8 people to packed rooms of 100+ founders, investors, and technologists eager to see what's next.
The Format Solidifies
The iconic countdown clock makes its debut. 5 minutes for demo. 5 minutes for Q&A. No exceptions. Democracy through time constraints.
23andMe & Eventbrite Demo
Two future unicorns take the SF New Tech stage. 23andMe revolutionizes personal genomics, while Eventbrite transforms ticketing.
Splunk Presents
Splunk demos their data analytics platform at SF New Tech. Later acquired by Cisco for $28B.
The Floating Office Era Begins
SF New Tech's "office" anchors in the San Francisco Bay—a houseboat headquarters for meetings, brainstorming, and the occasional demo. Emblematic of the scrappy, unconventional approach.
Learn moreTwilio Demos
Twilio presents their cloud communications platform. Would later IPO at $10B+ valuation.
Founder's Feast Inaugural Event
First exclusive CEO dinner at Stonebrook Court Private Estate in Los Altos Hills. Limited to 100 attendees, sponsored by Woodside Capital, featuring poker tournament.
Waze & Lending Club
Waze (acquired by Google for $1.3B) and Lending Club (IPO at $8.5B) present at SF New Tech.
The Big Summer Social
150+ CEOs, founders, and revolutionaries gather at Stonebrook Court. Cocktails on the promenade, conversation on the great lawn, live demos in the Grand Ballroom.
The Unicorn Year
Stripe, Unity Technologies, and Reddit all demo at SF New Tech. Combined future value: $60B+.
First New Tech Crawl
200+ participants visit coworking spaces, accelerators, and startups across SF: RocketSpace, Parisoma, NextSpace, WeWork, Prezi, and more.
6 About to Break @ Macworld
SF New Tech partners with Macworld/iWorld for the first-ever competition spotlighting innovative Apple ecosystem apps. Winners: Petcube & Avegant (Glyph).
Digital Currency Summit
SF New Tech & Merriman Capital present exclusive half-day event on digital currencies. Featured: Chris Larsen (Ripple), years before crypto went mainstream.
New Tech Crawl 2014
250+ participants tour LinkedIn HQ, GitHub, Medium, Instacart, 500 Startups, and mission-driven orgs like Code2040 and Circle the School.
Invited to The White House
SF New Tech recognized at Friday Tech Meetup at The White House. U.S. CTO Megan Smith honors the community organizing that keeps America on the cutting edge of innovation.
FoodBytes! Launch
SF New Tech creates the format and produces the first FoodBytes! event in collaboration with Rabobank, bringing grassroots demo energy to food tech and agriculture.
Largest New Tech Crawl
300+ participants—the largest crawl yet. Featured stops: Weebly, Dolby, Thumbtack, SmartNews, LaunchSquad, and more.
FoodBytes! Brooklyn
Third FoodBytes event expands to East Coast. True Made Foods wins People's Choice. SF New Tech takes food innovation nationwide.
FoodBytes! SF & Founder's Feast Return
Second annual FoodBytes! SF event. Imperfect Produce wins People's Choice. Founder's Feast dinner series returns to Stonebrook Court.
FoodBytes! Boulder
Fourth and final SF New Tech-produced FoodBytes event. Featured ReGrained (later acquired by Post Consumer Brands) and Mad Agriculture.
RocketSpace Era Begins
SF New Tech partners with RocketSpace to emphasize corporate innovation. Events focus on AI, retail disruption, cybersecurity, and blockchain education.
Fortune 500 Meets Startups
RocketSpace partnership brings together executives from Nestlé, Walmart, and Cisco with cutting-edge startups, bridging enterprise innovation and startup agility.
The Final Year of Regular Events
SF New Tech continues monthly demo nights, workshops, and community gatherings across San Francisco venues including DocuSign, Mighty, and others.
COVID-19 Ends the Era
The pandemic brings an abrupt end to in-person gatherings. After 15 years of packed rooms, demo nights, and taco trucks, SF New Tech's remarkable run concludes. Nearly 200 events, over 1,000 companies.
It's In The Air Launches
The community spirit evolves. SF New Tech founder launches "It's In The Air"—hikes and outdoor gatherings to keep serendipitous connections alive in the COVID era.
Learn moreThe Archive Project Begins
Work begins to preserve and celebrate 15 years of SF New Tech history. Digitizing records, tracking "Where Are They Now" stories, and honoring the legacy.
SF New Tech Archive Goes Live
This website launches as the permanent home for SF New Tech history. Searchable archive of 1,035 companies, photo galleries, and community stories.
The Higher Tide
The lessons of 15 years of community-led growth evolve into The Higher Tide—bringing authentic community-building strategies to companies ready for sustainable, grassroots go-to-market.
Learn moreThe Eras
Web 2.0
Social networks, user-generated content, and the wisdom of crowds transformed the internet. Companies demoed mashups, widgets, and platforms that put users at the center.
Mobile Era
Smartphones became ubiquitous. SF New Tech became ground zero for mobile-first startups: location-based services, photo apps, and mobile commerce.
Platform & API
Developer tools, infrastructure platforms, and API-first businesses. SF New Tech helped technical founders find their first champions among engineers and product teams.
By The Numbers
The impact of 15 years of grassroots community building
Where They Started
These household names demoed at SF New Tech
Stripe
2012Splunk
2008Unity Technologies
2012Twilio
2009Lending Club
2010Waze
2010Eventbrite
200823andMe
2008...and hundreds more companies that launched, learned, and grew through the community
The Legacy Continues
The spirit of grassroots community building lives on through The Higher Tide— bringing 15 years of lessons to companies ready to build authentic connections and go-to-market strategies that actually work.
Explore The Higher Tide