MatCap Annual 2027
A national startup conference focused on those bold enough to build the future, and the people who back them.
Silicon Valley, meet the Valley of the Sun.
You calibrate against whoever’s nearby. Spend a year around people playing small and your plan shrinks to match — not for lack of ambition, but because nothing in the room argues with you. For one day, the room argues back.
A bar you didn’t set
Founders who raised from Susa, Hustle Fund and Verdict Capital, here all day. Proximity does most of the work.
Fundraising, demystified
From far away it looks like luck. Up close it’s a process with steps, and you’ll watch people walk through them.
Permission to be unreasonable
Every session is someone who did the version that sounded too big at the time. Ask them what it cost.
Sponsored by
Interested in sponsoring? Email mat@matsherman.com
Speakers
Founder of HABU, a Phoenix developer using AI to tackle the U.S. housing shortage. ASU Master of Real Estate Development; previously led sales at Mutiny (YC S18).
Partner in Goodwin’s Business Law group, advising startups and VCs. Clients include Anysphere (Cursor), LangChain and ClickHouse, and Affirm, Twilio and Okta before their IPOs. He also works with several MatCap portfolio companies.
Building Supermemory, a memory API for AI apps, which he started as an ASU student. Backed by Susa Ventures, Browder Capital and SF1.vc, with angels including Jeff Dean and Logan Kilpatrick.
Co-founded pre-seed fund Hustle Fund in 2017. Previously a partner at 500 Startups and co-founder of LaunchBit (acquired 2014). Hustle Fund wrote the first check into Notary Everyday.
Managing director at Thiel Capital and a former PayPal executive. Founded Phoenix’s Copper Sky Capital, whose first fund backed Etched. Sits on the Arizona Commerce Authority board.
Building the Anvil at Ruck, a wearable AI assistant for construction crews. Went from law school to startup engineering; high-school summers on job sites led him to start Ruck.
Founder of MatCap, a pre-seed fund in Arizona. The portfolio runs from Notary Everyday and Ryniant to Gentle Weapons (edge AI for defense), ProPlaintiff (AI-native law) and Celesto (computers for AI agents).
Founder of Sport Sitters, an app that matches families with college athletes as babysitters, serving families near ASU, GCU and the University of Arizona.
Co-founder of Monsoon Venture Fund, an early-stage Arizona VC that invested in Notary Everyday. Previously Snap’s first head of revenue, with leadership roles at Facebook and Yahoo.
Co-founder and CEO of Ryniant, a no-code platform for synthesis planning in drug discovery. Raised a $300K pre-seed led by Verdict Capital, the new fund from Niko Bonatsos and Michael Fertik, early backers of Discord and Cursor.
Co-founder and CEO of Notary Everyday, automating real estate notarizations for notaries and title companies. Its $600K pre-seed included Hustle Fund, Monsoon, Copper Sky and Josh Constine’s Unexpected Investments.
Co-founder and CEO of Culdesac, builder of Culdesac Tempe, the first U.S. car-free neighborhood built from scratch. Went through YC (S18); backed by Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Initialized and Lennar’s LENx. Earlier on Opendoor’s founding team.
Phoenix angel investor in 70+ startups, mostly pre-seed deep tech, including Valar Atomics and Rainmaker. Co-founder and CEO of Castle, bitcoin treasury for small businesses; previously led engineering at eBay and Intel.
Co-founder and COO of Clean, an AI go-to-market system for B2B SaaS teams, backed by Jackson Square Ventures. Previously at Founders, Inc. and NVIDIA.
Agenda — subject to change
Culdesac Tempe
The first walkable neighborhood of its kind in the U.S.: homes, restaurants and shops on streets built for people instead of cars. For one day, the Annual takes over part of it.
- Car-freeThe first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S.
- On the light railValley Metro stops right at the neighborhood, so you can skip the parking lot.
- Built by a speakerCuldesac co-founder and CEO Ryan Johnson is on the agenda.
Register
Go early, get a better deal. Founders and investors both pay less the sooner they’re in. 200 seats, and every registration is reviewed and approved.
A ticket is an early bet.
Startups work one way: the price goes up as the risk comes down. The first seats sell before the lineup is finished, the last when the day is obviously worth it. We price the Annual the same way, and the people who move first pay the least.
For investors, operators and anyone in the ecosystem.
Register →Very selective. We favor technical, ambitious founders who started in the last two years and are going after a large company.
Apply →How pricing works
Counts updated by handEvery ticket gets more expensive as seats go. Your price is the tier open when you apply, and it holds while we review you. After the last tier below, it keeps climbing by the same step. Portfolio founders are always free.
Prices follow the ladders above and rise automatically as each tier sells out.