STAK Ventures: Speaker Series - VIP Lunch & Learn: Ed Dua, Tilden Capital; Bryce Gilleland, Cal Innocation Fund II; and Ryan Green, Antler
- Date
- 2026-06-24
- Location
- Oakland, CA, USA
- Host
- Personal
About this event
If you care about how great companies get funded, backed, and built, this lunch conversation belongs on your calendar. STAK Ventures is bringing together three investors with distinct vantage points for a focused, in-person Speaker Series session designed to give founders, operators, and ecosystem builders a sharper read on today’s venture landscape. This is not a broad networking mixer with a vague panel attached. It’s a VIP Lunch & Learn built for thoughtful discussion, practical insight, and real connection in the room, featuring Ed Dua of Tilden Capital, Bryce Gilleland of Cal Innocation Fund II, and Ryan Green of Antler. About the Event STAK Ventures: Speaker Series - VIP Lunch & Learn is an in-person gathering in Oakland that combines curated conversation with the immediacy of a live audience. The format is designed to be intimate enough for substance and social enough to make meeting the right people feel natural. At its core, this event is about access: access to investor perspectives, access to timely market insight, and access to a community of people who are actively building, evaluating, and supporting new ventures. Rather than trying to cover everything, the session centers on the questions that matter most to people working close to startups and early-stage innovation. With voices from Tilden Capital, Cal Innocation Fund II, and Antler, attendees can expect a discussion that reflects different investing lenses and different ways of thinking about opportunity. That mix is especially valuable if you want more than a single viewpoint on what gets attention, what earns conviction, and what founders should be thinking about right now. Because it takes place over lunch, the event also creates a more conversational atmosphere than a formal evening program. It is structured enough to deliver insight, but relaxed enough to support genuine exchange before, during, and after the main conversation. What to Expect Expect a midday program that balances content and connection. The Speaker Series format suggests a featured conversation anchored by the invited guests, with space for attendees to listen closely, compare perspectives, and come away with a clearer understanding of how experienced investors evaluate startups, markets, and founders. You can likely expect the session to move through a few core beats: Welcome and arrival with time to settle in and meet other attendees Featured speaker conversation with Ed Dua, Bryce Gilleland, and Ryan Green Lunch-and-learn setting that supports a more candid, practical tone Community networking before or after the discussion The strongest value in events like this often comes from hearing how different investors frame the same problem. One may emphasize market timing, another founder qualities, another ecosystem dynamics or venture formation. For attendees, that contrast can be far more useful than a single polished thesis. You should also expect a room filled with people who are there for a reason. Given the event’s positioning as a VIP Lunch & Learn, the energy is likely to skew toward engaged conversation rather than passive attendance. That makes it a strong setting for asking better questions, pressure-testing your thinking, and meeting peers who are serious about startups and venture. Why Attend If you are building, investing, advising, or exploring your next move in the startup world, this event offers a concentrated way to upgrade your perspective in a short amount of time. Hearing directly from active investment voices can help you better understand how capital is being evaluated, where attention is going, and what signals matter in the current environment. For founders, the value is straightforward: sharper insight into investor thinking can improve how you communicate your company, position your opportunity, and prepare for future fundraising conversations. Even if you are not actively raising, understanding how investors assess risk, momentum, and differentiation is useful strategic knowledge. For operators, emerging investors, and community builders, the event offers something equally important: context. Venture is not just about capital; it is about pattern recognition, networks, timing, and judgment. A live discussion with people from different firms can help you connect those dots more clearly. There is also the benefit of being in the room. The networking component matters here because the right conversations often happen around the edges of the formal program. You may leave with new relationships, new questions to pursue, or a more grounded sense of where you fit within the broader startup ecosystem. Practical Details This event takes place in person in Oakland, USA on Wednesday, June 24 at 12:00 PM PDT. As a lunchtime program, it is well suited for attendees who want meaningful professional programming in the middle of the day without committing to a full conference schedule. Because the event is in person, plan for the advantages that come with showing up live: stronger conversation, more memorable introductions, and the ability to read the room during the discussion. If you are local to Oakland or nearby, this is a convenient opportunity to plug into the community face-to-face. A few useful planning notes: Format: in-person speaker series with a lunch-and-learn feel Setting: community-oriented, professional, and conversation-driven Best for: attendees who want both insight and networking in one session Timing: midday on a Wednesday, making it easy to build into your workday If you want a startup event that is specific, relevant, and grounded in real investor perspectives, this is a strong one to prioritize. Come ready to listen carefully, introduce yourself confidently, and make the most of a room built around thoughtful venture conversation.
Who should attend
This is for people who want sharper insight into venture and better conversations than a typical networking event. - **You’re a founder or aspiring founder** who wants to better understand how investors think, what they listen for, and how different firms may evaluate an opportunity. - **You work at a startup or in innovation** and want more context on the funding environment, early-stage company building, and how capital shapes growth decisions. - **You’re an angel, scout, emerging VC, or finance-curious operator** looking to hear multiple investor perspectives in one room and expand your network with intention. - **You’re part of the Oakland or broader Bay Area startup community** and want to meet people who are actively building, backing, and supporting new ventures. - **You value intimate, in-person events** where the conversation is substantive, the room is engaged, and networking feels more focused than random. - **You’re exploring your next step in the startup ecosystem** and want exposure to how experienced investors frame risk, opportunity, and founder potential. If you like practical insight, thoughtful discussion, and being around ambitious people who are serious about startups, you’ll feel at home here.