In the Loop: Your Weekly Guide to What’s Happening
What’s Hot This Week in Culture, Community & Connection
Hey there,
Welcome back to In the Loop — your go-to guide for what’s poppin’ this week. We dig through the noise so you don’t have to, bringing you a fresh roundup of events and experiences that hit all the right vibes.
On the radar this week:
Must-see live performances
A night out on the town with the homies at an afrobashment party
Building with Notion, Dreamforce Panels and Networking Events
Tap in. Try something new. And let us help you stay in the know.
October 14, 2025 ICIC Oakland Small Business Networking Mixer (Oakland, CA)
October 18, 2025 Pete Escovedo live at USS Hornet (Alameda, CA)
October 18, 2025 Afrobashment Party (Oakland, CA)
October, 18, 2025 Hella Plants Market PLANTOBER FEST ! (Oakland, CA)
Startup and Networking Events
October 13, 2025 Overnight Success Notion (San Francisco, CA)
Ivan Zhao and Simon Last spent a year in Kyoto coding 18 hours a day and eating instant noodles. They were starting from scratch, borrowed $150,000 from Ivan’s mom, and moved to Japan because they couldn’t afford San Francisco anymore.
Three years into building Notion, they had to face the truth: nobody wanted their app-building tool. The whole thing was built on Google’s Web Components, which turned out to be a disaster. It crashed constantly.
Today Notion has 100 million users and is worth $10 billion. But back then they were just two guys who didn’t speak Japanese, living in a tiny house with a paper screen between their bedrooms.
Ivan and Simon will share:
Why they thought everyone wanted to build their own apps (they didn’t)
The day they decided to let go of their friends and start over
What it was actually like coding in Kyoto for a year straight
How they went from 1,000 users to 100 million
Why they turned down investors even when they were broke
October 13, 2025 Dreamforce Pre-Party: An Exclusive Invitation for C-Level Executives (San Francisco, CA)
Start Dreamforce with an unforgettable evening among peers.
Join us for an exclusive, invite-only pre-conference gathering designed specifically for C-Level executives. Before the whirlwind of Dreamforce begins, join us for a few drinks & peer to peer networking with fellow revenue, marketing, technology and business leaders.
This is not a sales event — it’s a gathering of peers.
October 14-16, 2025 Fullcast’s Meeting Lounge & Work Space (San Francisco, CA)
Skip the Dreamforce crowds and meet the Fullcast team for the first time since our Atrium and Ebsta acquisitions. With the prior acquisition of Commissionly, we’re hitting Dreamforce this year bigger than ever, as a unified team.
Join us at our private workspace just 1.5 blocks from Moscone for personalized demos of our unified Revenue Command Center - from Plan to Pay.
We’ll be open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, October 14, 15, and 16 from 8 AM to 4 PM Pacific for productive meetings, demos, and networking over coffee, pastries, and refreshments.
October 14, 2025 Ada by the Bay Main Event hosted by Mixpanel (San Francisco, CA)
An exclusive four days for some of the most ambitious Ada founders to connect with top-tier investors.
Join Matt and other Ada founders in San Francisco from Sunday, October 12th, to Wednesday, October 15th.
Join us for our annual “Ada by the Bay” event — a high-energy four days together with Ada founders from some of our most exciting portfolio companies alongside some of the most influential local VCs and founders in the Bay Area.
Held just after Tech Week San Francisco (October 6-12), with EF’s Demo Day on October 15th, it’s one of the best times to be in the Bay Area.
October 14, 2025 #Dreamforce Leading from the Top: Women Shaping the Future (San Francisco, CA)
Join us at #Dreamforce for Women Shaping the Future, a dynamic conversation with women leaders at the top of their fields.
This panel brings together C-level executives who are driving innovation, shaping strategy, and influencing the next wave of change across enterprise technology, SaaS, and infrastructure.
We’ll explore how they navigate challenges, make bold decisions, and lead teams through fast-moving industries — offering honest insights, inspiring stories, and actionable takeaways for anyone ready to push boundaries and lead with impact.
Come connect, learn, and be part of a conversation about what it truly means to shape the future.
Speakers:
Bernadette Pasco - Chief Architect and Co-Founder, Owls Head
Qianwen Chen – Lead Developer, Owls Head | CEO, EchoHer
Katie Curtis - Chief Information Officer, Great Plains Communications
Dominique Levin, CEO Emeritus and Board Member, Winning by Design
Heather McNeive, Vice President- Commercial Sales, Metronet Business
Ulyana Zilbermints Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), AI/R | CEO, Avenue Code
October 14, 2025 ABM Uncorked: A wine pairing experience for B2B marketers at Dreamforce (San Francisco, CA)
The Experience
Uncork something different after a big day at Dreamforce. We’re taking over Wine Down, one of San Francisco’s coziest underground wine bars, known for its unique pours and relaxed vibe just steps from Moscone.
Each wine will be paired with the perfect appetizer — just like the best campaigns are paired with the right accounts.
Mutiny is hosting this experience to bring together the b2b marketing community who know what it’s like to run pipeline, drive campaigns, and make ABM magic happen.
Join confirmed attendees from Glean, Gong, Salesforce, Assembled, Goldcast, and more!
Agenda
5:00 – 6:00 PM | Arrivals, first pours, and meet and greets
6:00 PM | Welcome from the Mutiny team
6:15 – 8:00 PM | Guided wine pairings, bites, and open networking
We know Dreamforce is a busy week, so stop by any time!
October 14, 2025 localhost SFO: AI gateway meetup w/ ngrok (San Francisco, CA)
In this session, we’re doing the first private preview of ngrok’s upcoming AI gateway!
Why attend?
Our AI gateway is still in its pre-v0 stage, and there’s so much more to build. But, we’ll still run quick demos followed by a chat about what we’re building with LLMs and how AI gateways could provide some clarity in this non-deterministic future we share.
We’d love to have you give early product feedback and raise your hand to become a design partner.
Spots are limited as this is a highly curated event. We won’t be able to accommodate walk-in registrations so please register ahead!
October 14, 2025 Z Venture Capital Office Opening Event October 14, 2025 (San Francisco, CA)
🌟 You’re Invited! 🌟
We’re thrilled to celebrate the opening of ZVC’s new SF office with an evening of community, conversation, and connection!
🍸 Join us for a casual yet inspiring gathering with startup founders, investors, and our portfolio companies — an opportunity to exchange ideas, spark collaborations, and expand your network.
Here’s what’s in store:
🍢On-site Yakitori grilling — enjoy mouthwatering skewers cooked right in front of you, including delicious vegetarian options
🥂 Handcrafted drinks and seasonal bites to keep the conversation flowing
🤝Connect and mingle with fellow founders, investors, and ZVC portfolio companies in a relaxed, vibrant atmosphere.
October 14, 2025 San Francisco n8n Meetup (San Francisco, CA)
Join us for an n8n Community Meetup in San Francisco!
We’re excited to invite you to our n8n meetup in San Francisco, hosted by our Community Manager, Dylan Watkins.
Connect with automation enthusiasts, developers, and builders as we explore powerful use cases, share knowledge, and collaborate on building with n8n. Whether you’re just getting started or already deep in your workflow game, this meetup is your chance to get inspired, troubleshoot, and network with other n8n users.
Come see how it works live and get inspired by what’s possible with n8n!
✨ What to Expect:
Introduction to n8n
Live demos
Networking with builders and automation pros
Q&A
Food and Drinks
Swag, stickers, and good vibes
Bring your questions, your curiosity, and your ideas. We’ll see you there!
October 14, 2025 Welcome to Dreamforce: GTM Leadership Mixer (San Francisco, CA)
The only thing better than skipping a Dreamforce panel? This mixer.
We’re taking over—yes, you read that right—on October 14th from 6–8 PM.
Expect vibrant cocktails, bold bites, and an atmosphere that feels more like your favorite literary lounge than your average tech gathering.
This isn’t a networking slog—it’s a 100-person private event curated for Sales, Marketing, and RevOps leaders who want more than another badge swipe.
Here’s what’s in store:
Full private venue with craft cocktails + elevated small plates
A fireside chat with real GTM wins (and lessons)
Just the kind of high-signal conversations that get lost in the chaos of Dreamforce
If you’re kicking off your Dreamforce week, this is where to start. RSVP today to save your spot. Capacity is limited. 🎉
October 15, 2025 Unaric Padelforce 2025 (San Francisco, CA)
Join the Unaric for the 2nd Annual Padelforce tournament at Dreamforce 2025 🎉
Come and take part in a fun tournament in one of the fastest growing sports around the world! 🌎
This is a great networking opportunity for all across the Salesforce ecosystem.
We will have a coach on hand to teach you the rules, run a short tournament and award prizes to the winning pair.
The format:
3 Courts with up to 8 teams will compete in a round-robin style tournament, with the top team from each court competing in the final
NOTE: Padel is a 2 player game, so you’ll need a partner to take part. You can read more about the rules of Padel here.
We’ll supply all the equipment, just turn up ready to have some fun.
October 15, 2025 Sales Lessons & Learnings (San Francisco, CA)
Join Women in Sales and ZoomInfo for this unique opportunity to be featured in upcoming content our teams will be sharing together!
This is an opportunity to build your personal brand, share sales expertise, and be featured to almost 40,000 people on social!
Interviews will be street interview style (very casual and conversational) and we will have a list of sales questions you can choose from to answer!
Drinks/light bites will be available onsite
October 15, 2025 Work from the Dock (Palo Alto, CA)
Work from the Dock series- a weekly opportunity to cowork, connect, and collaborate with fellow founders and operators in the heart of Palo Alto.
Start the day with breakfast, great people, and a founder open mic where you can share what you’re building, what you need, or what you’re exploring.
Whether you’re already part of the Dock or just curious to see what we’re all about, this is the perfect moment to drop in, meet the community, and experience the energy of Venture Dock.
October 15, 2025 DWeb Weaving & Tooling, October 2025 (San Francisco, CA)
Join us for discussions, presentations, and workshops about decentralized web technology and philosophy!
This series of casual meetups will constitute a community of practice, providing a space and time to learn from one another about resilience, autonomy, and mutualism in the digital age. Our agendas will include time for freeform discussions, demos, workshops, and anything else participants would like to share.
Themes
One common theme throughout this event series will be grassroots archiving, regarding methodology for building individual, institutional, or community archives. In a question: how can the mission of digital preservation, championed by institutions like Internet Archive, be promoted and stewarded in a resiliently distributed fashion?
Another common theme will be cosmolocalism, or the synthesis of local-first software and community building, with global peer-based coordination.
Everybody in Silicon Valley has this
✌🏾dramatic✌🏾 story of how they got started and it usually is something to this effect....
I know that had to be a grind for the notion guys but coding all day in Kyoto while living on ramen sounds is a great story.