HOSTED BY THE NEXTGEN

DateAug 9 · Sun

LocationSan Francisco

Ages14–19

See what happened→

For high schoolers, by high schoolers.

AS SEEN IN THE TKS NETWORK

Alumni

People assume you need a few more years before anyone takes you seriously. Tell that to the sixteen year old building the next Lovable, or the teenager who made early stage cancer test strips with a 3D printer and nobody backing them.

We're putting 150 of those people in one room. Built by high schoolers, for high schoolers. Formal setting, sharp outfits, no name tags, no forced icebreakers, just a room where it's easy to start talking and you leave with people in your corner.

What to bring

Your laptop and charger
Whatever you're currently building, in whatever state it's in
A way to share your contact info
Something to take notes on
Dress code is formal attire

Who's TKS?

The Knowledge Society works with ambitious students on real-world projects that go past traditional extracurriculars: advanced research alongside places like Stanford Medical School and MIT CSAIL, early exposure to AI, biotech, and climate, and a clearer sense of where you're headed after high school.

150 builders in the room

14–19 age range

Application-only everything else you'll find out once you're in

BEHIND THE NEXTGEN

Your Hosts

Zachary Kwan speaking into a handheld mic — Zachary Kwan new media @tastefully.co | comp eng

Keisha Rajanish reading in a sunlit room — Keisha Rajanish gtm @sequoia backed venture | biotech

Event Breakdown

Attendees networking across a full room before the programme starts

3:30Doors open
4:00–5:00Open networking
5:00–5:30Fireside chat
5:30–7:30Open build + showcase
7:30–8:00Awards + prizes

The Build

A 2-hour live build, with prizes for Crowd Favorite and Most Impactful.

PRIZE

Winning team takes home AirPods 4 and $800 in Amazon gift cards.

WHAT TO BRING

Your laptop and charger
Whatever you're currently building, in whatever state it's in
A way to share your contact info
Something to take notes on

FIRESIDE PANEL

The Speakers

Roxana Grunenwald

Partner at Dorm Room Fund, leading biotech, climate, and hardware. Co-founder of Biopunk, the first biotech hacker house consortium, which has incubated 120+ startups since January. Chemical Engineering student at Yale.

Ethan Clouser

Started a marketing company at 21, grew it to six figures, and exited. Now CMO at Bland, the voice AI company that’s raised over $100M and handles 175 million calls a year. Recently finished a major project with Soulja Boy.

Alexandru Turcanu

Founding engineer at Campsite (acquired by Notion), creator of emojis.com (#1 on the App Store, millions of users), now building in YC W25.

Skye Lam

Investor at Entrepreneurs First. Co-founded MabLab, raising $1.2M to develop test strips for detecting laced drugs, Forbes 30 Under 30. Harvard BA in Economics, magna cum laude.

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