Founders Who Scale: Celebrating Bold Startups at SF Tech Week

This past Tuesday, Amplitude’s San Francisco HQ was buzzing. As part of a16z’s #SFTechWeek, we hosted Founders Who Scale, a startup pitch challenge in partnership with Braze and Colorwave.

More than 300 founders, investors, and tech community members joined us on the 3rd floor of our building to cheer on four incredible startups as they pitched their vision for the future.

At stake: $10,000 in cash, $100,000+ in software credits, and access to programs designed to accelerate their journey from 0 to 1, to be split between the top 3 winners.

Why we brought everyone together

This event wasn’t just about pitches—it was about possibility. We wanted to:

• Shine a spotlight on underrepresented founders
• Provide real fuel for growth with both industry connections and the prizes
• Show how tools like Amplitude and Braze can help startups turn early traction into unstoppable momentum

Each founder had just a few minutes to tell their story, inspire the crowd, and make their case to our panel of judges: Clarence Bethea of True Ventures, Michael Senter of Braze, and our very own Yana Welinder.

The energy in the room was contagious—it was one of those moments that reminded us why San Francisco continues to be the center of innovation.

Meet the startups

1st Place: Bella AI

Bella AI is an AI-powered compliance agent for vocational schools. They wowed the judges with a bold vision for using AI to help school management stop having to chase down paperwork instead of focusing on running their schools.

Founder Touré Owen’s grand prize package includes $5,000, two free years of Amplitude, and a guaranteed seat in Cohort 6 of Braze’s Tech for an Equitable Future product grant program. We can’t wait to see what’s next for them.

2nd Place: Buzzable

Event platform Buzzable helps connect people to experiences and build thriving communities. Founder Hesam Jafari won $3,000 for his company and two free years of Amplitude.

3rd Place: Evercred

Founded by Leah Houston, Evercred is an AI startup for storing and maintaining healthcare credentials. Evercred takes home a prize of $2,000 and two free years of Amplitude.

Honorable Mention: Alegi

Alegi is a legal intelligence startup that creates case outcome predictions to help with litigation strategy, founded by Juan Pablo Mayoral. Alegi was one of our 4 finalists.

Looking ahead

Founders Who Scale was truly a celebration of creativity, resilience, and the future of tech. We’re proud to partner with Braze and Colorwave to keep building a more equitable and inclusive startup ecosystem.

To everyone who came out: thank you for bringing your energy, questions, and support for these founders. We’ll be back with more opportunities to connect—because helping bold ideas grow is what Amplitude is all about.