MENTORS
Meet the
MENTORS
Startup Weekend San Diego is powered by an incredible lineup of mentors — experienced founders, developers, designers, marketers, and investors who volunteer their time to help you build something real.
Throughout the weekend, these mentors will:
- Challenge your assumptions
- Help you validate your idea
- Guide you through technical and business decisions
- Share hard-earned insights (and maybe a few tough love moments)
Whether you’re stuck on your business model, debugging a prototype, or just figuring out how to tell your story — our mentors are here to help you get unstuck and keep building.
Julius Alejandro
Pitch Coach
Julius Alejandro
Pitch Coach
Carlton O'Neal
Marketing Coach
Carlton O'Neal
Marketing Coach
Mick Emmett
Pitch Coach
Alex Waters
Marketing Coach
Alex Waters
Marketing Coach
Avnita Gulati
Marketing Coach
Stefanie Cease
Pitch Coach
Deepti Agarwal
Customer Discovery
Chris Mentzel
Customer Discovery
Expertise You Can Count On
Our mentors come from backgrounds like:
- Startups and venture-backed companies
- UX and product design
- Software engineering and AI
- Marketing, branding, and go-to-market
- Legal, finance, and operations
You’ll see familiar faces from local San Diego startups, tech companies, accelerators, and beyond.
Want to be a MENTOR?
Are you a founder, investor, or subject-matter expert who wants to give back to the community?
We’re currently accepting mentor applications.
Startup Weekend San Diego wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our global partners and local sponsors. Your contributions help fuel innovation, support emerging founders, and bring our community together to build what’s next.
Thank you for believing in big ideas and bold action.
GLOBAL PARTNERS



EVENT SPONSORS


