Hi HN'ers, I'm visiting SF for 3 days from May 15th to May 17th. What meetups/cafes/events can I go to to network with VC's, founders, tech people, other awesome companies, etc?
Forget all of that. The most interesting people in tech are largely not in San Francisco (and the ones who you find are loud, while the ones who are interesting you won't find).<p>Instead: SF is a stellar place to unwind. Do that.<p>Catch a Giants game. Drink fantastic coffee (Sightglass, Blue Bottle, Epicenter, Four Barrel, Ritual, etc.) Get a Chocolate Shot at Tcho, Ice Cream at Humphry Slocombe, a burrito in the Mission, and Shabu Shabu. Drink a cocktail at Alembic or Comstock. Spend an afternoon peoplewatching in Dolores Park. Shop at the ferry plaza. Walk across the Golden Gate. Take a few days of the best weather that you're going to see for the next 4 months and enjoy it outside.<p>If you're interested in learning, drop in on some things at Stanford and Berkeley - find interesting talks from people who are doing legit change-the-world research that you can sit in on.
Please go visit some redwoods or beaches or wineries or dim sum or taquerias, too. Our fair city is more than just a tech hub.<p>I think the Maker Faire is that weekend, about 20 minutes south of SF in San Mateo, if that kind of hacking is your thing.
You'll be missing the startup conference on Wednesday, but the tips page shows what happens the next day, when you are in town:<p>May 15: Hackers and Founders Meetup at the Hacker Dojo.<p>May 15: the Founder Showcase is a great event, and even if you can’t attend the afternoon presentations, it’s worth spending $15 for the evening after-party at NASA that looks to be really cool. Registration here, after-party here.<p>Grab a coffee at Red Rock Cafe in downtown Mountain View, if you are a pennyless entrepreneur working on the next big thing, or at Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto if you think you are ready to pitch VCs. Just sit back and watch…<p>[source] <a href="http://thestartupconference.com/tips-for-first-time-attendees/" rel="nofollow">http://thestartupconference.com/tips-for-first-time-attendee...</a>
Someone else mentioned Maker Faire, and I second that. Even if you don't think that kind of thing is "your thing", there's so much there that's genuinely interesting to any inquisitive person that you're bound to find it fun. The only drawback IMO was that it's massive and crazy crowded, so if you're not a fan of large crowds it can get overwhelming.<p>Also, change your ticket and fly back on Monday so you can experience Bay to Breakers. It's one of the best/most ridiculous events our city has to offer.
Visit Noisebridge:<p><a href="https://www.noisebridge.net/" rel="nofollow">https://www.noisebridge.net/</a><p>I stopped in on my last visit to SF and it was amazing... So much activity and fun hackerish things going on. You'll love it I'm sure!
Come to Music Hack Day, <a href="https://musichackdaysf.splashthat.com/" rel="nofollow">https://musichackdaysf.splashthat.com/</a><p>It's on the 17th and 18th. You'll miss some of it, but you'll get to meet cool people building stuff
PG has a guide if you're more broadly interested in seeing Silicon Valley: <a href="http://paulgraham.com/seesv.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/seesv.html</a>
Suggest targeting 2-3 individuals, local experts who might be able to help with your business or career goals. Offer to pay for 1 hour of their time for advice & counsel. Most people will be flattered, appreciate the sign of a respect and will waive any fee. Bonus, you'll get some great insights and potentially make a new friend.
I suggest doing some online research and find people / companies that interest you and then cold email them and try to set up meeting a couple of people before you get there and then expand your network from there. Its the best way to go about it. Make friends and then friends of friends. 3 days is a short time so make sure you unwind as well. SF has a lot to offer. (Although if I was in your place i'd have prolly not 'Chilled' out either) xD.
You can message me if you need any other help. I can try and point you in the right direction.
If the goal is to relax and "absorb" tech culture, I'd go with everyone else's suggestions. Tech-focused cafes include Creamery, SightGlass, Philz, and The Grove in SOMA. If you have a car, driving around Sand Hill (not in SF) and visiting Rosewood will definitely give you the opportunity to tech eves-drop.<p>If you'd like to meet some real entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, investors in the trenches, download our app (www.weavenow.us). There are thousands of people you can meet in SF if they're also interested in meeting you.
Be safe: My wife and I have been to SF twice. The first time a bar fight spilled out into the street while we were walking to church <i>at 9am on Sunday morning</i>. One of the guys pulled a knife, but someone talked him down before there was any blood spilled.<p>The second time my wife was about 20' away from a shooting near the convention center.<p>I am sure its a great city, but I haven't had the best experience there.
Check out meetup for interesting things happening. You can find people immersed in their laptops at any coffee shop in the city, especially SOMA.<p>But yes, since the weather will be nice you should get outside. Rent a bike, go to the GG Bridge, Twin Peaks, etc. It's a beautiful town.<p>How do I know? I live here and work in FiDi in tech. I've yet to meet a VC at a coffee shop.
I'll be presenting about time series data at SFRails on May 15th. The meetup offers free pizza/beer and generally has 100-200 people attend.<p>You can find more info about this month's event here:
<a href="http://www.meetup.com/SFRails/events/167606272/" rel="nofollow">http://www.meetup.com/SFRails/events/167606272/</a>
Great!! I will be doing the same between 10th of June and 4th of July. Looking forward to meet with likeminded folks. One of my friends who had done an internship at facebook suggested me to drive towards San Diego, probably there are good views on the way. However what to do depends extremely on your intrinsic purposes.
Visit Cha Cha Cha on Mission. Fantastic food and drink. My favs, all from the Tapas menu (small plates): fried plantains, chicken Piard, and the best fried calamari in the world. The Sangria is excellent. It's a couple of blocks from BART on Mission and 18th.
Maker Faire, definitely.<p>Noisebridge: Yes.<p>Maybe the morning session at <a href="http://events.stanford.edu/events/442/44295/" rel="nofollow">http://events.stanford.edu/events/442/44295/</a> before Maker Faire
I rented a bike from one of the bike shops and proceeded to get lost cycling around San Francisco. It was really fun! I only barely made it back in time for the conference I was presenting at though...
Check out this SF city guide <a href="https://hackpad.com/San-Francisco-City-Guide-aAFL7mTH9M2" rel="nofollow">https://hackpad.com/San-Francisco-City-Guide-aAFL7mTH9M2</a>
Rent a bike, ride the Golden Gate to Sausalito for some icecream or coffee and then to Battery Spencer before going back to city, or hang around at Fort Point and at the park nearby.