DRAFT ANNOUNCEMENT:
American Venture Fest 2025
PRESS RELEASE:
Inaugural American Venture Fest Spreads Across the United States
September 4, 2025 – Leaders from across America’s innovation ecosystems have joined forces to co-create the inaugural American Venture Fest, a first-of-its-kind, nationwide series of simultaneous gatherings happening the evening of October 2, 2025. This unprecedented collaboration of 50 state cohosts will bring American Venture Fest events to life in every corner of the country, amplifying local communities of startups, investors, and other innovation while linking them into a powerful national network. Within just weeks, the event went viral, with a variety of organizations across the country eager to ‘claim’ their state by leading a gathering.
American Venture Fest is the evolution of a movement that began in Austin, Texas in 2022, where 1,300 attendees gathered across multiple downtown venues co-hosted by Texas venture capital firms. In 2023, it expanded statewide to 10 cities with nearly 2,000 participants, and by 2024, the event grew to 18 venues hosting 3,000 people. Its success laid the foundation for today’s national vision: a coast-to-coast celebration of innovation powered by a variety of organizations who are a part of the American ecosystem of entrepreneur support.
Hosting an American Venture Fest is free, with organizers simply covering any food and drinks for their guests. Events range from intimate happy hour meetups to panels drawing 100+ participants, all designed to spark connections, share knowledge, and strengthen local ecosystems. Organizers have also used the event sign-up pages as a lightweight survey tool to gather feedback on potential program launches, learn about participants’ business challenges, and source other valuable insights to strengthen the community locally and nationally.
In a single evening— a truly unique experience of the states uniting as the United States, the American Venture Fest becomes a living showcase of national collaboration. The festival features different types of leading organizations convening their communities including: venture capital firms, universities, accelerators, incubators, venture studios, startup development organizations, chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, coworking hubs, and more.
Sponsorships are still open and are also welcome from banks, law firms, accounting firms, recruiters, and other industry partners fueling innovation both locally and nationally. Thank you to our founding national sponsors: ___(Updated Soon)______