Panel: What VCs Plan to Fund in 2026

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Live VCs decisions breakdown in 2026

​What numbers actually decide deals in 2026

The few inputs investors truly use to make decisions.

​When traction is “interesting” vs “fundable”

How investors separate early signals from businesses that are ready for capital.

​Why some profitable startups still don’t get funded

And when raising VC is the wrong move.

​What founders must fix before starting a raise

The specific gaps that quietly kill rounds.

​These topics will be explored through real scenarios and live investor analysis, not theory.

Panel Guests:

Andrew Cartwright – Fund Manager of Dragons & Angels Fund

Vasyl Dub – Venture Partner at Network VC, Founder at Raisable VC, Mentor at Stanford

Anna Schehula – Growth & Partnerships Leader at TRMNL4 and Venture Scout at Flyer One Ventures

Anna Zakowska, PhD – Managing Partner at Dragons & Angels Fund

Koyo Tsuchiya – Assistant Manager Strategic Partnerships at MS&AD Ventures Inc

Wendy Nguyen, MBA – Senior Investor Relations and Marketing leader at VABA Venture Capital

Shahnoza Oripova – Managing partner at Invest Fund Groups

Schedule:

5:45 PM — Registration and networking

6:30-7:30 PM — Panel

7:30-8:30 PM — Networking

Hosted inside the Tesla Showroom in San Francisco.

Tesla newest vehicles are available for test drives and Full-Self Driving Supervised.

This evening is focused on how fundraising is shifting in 2026.

We’ll have 6 invited VC guests, sharing what they are currently backing, and how their decision-making is changing.

​Instead of general advice, we will focus on the exact questions investors now ask — and how those answers determine whether a company gets funded, tracked, or passed.

​

What we will break down​

Topics we cover, questions, and guests:

panel.startupvalley.club

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.