How to Build the Technical Side of a Startup from 0→1

Every startup begins with an idea. But turning that idea into a product people can actually use requires hundreds of technical decisions.

What should you include in the first version? Which tools should you use? How quickly should you ship? And how do you move fast without creating a technical mess you’ll have to rebuild six months later?

Join Jianna Liu for a practical, founder-led workshop on how to build the technical side of a startup from 0→1.

Jianna will break down how technical founders can turn an early customer problem into a working product, make smart decisions with limited time and resources, and build a technical foundation that can evolve as the company grows.

You'll learn:

👉 How to turn a customer problem into an initial technical product
👉 What should actually go into your MVP
👉 How to choose your early tools, architecture, and technical stack
👉 How to ship quickly without creating unnecessary technical debt
👉 When to keep iterating versus rebuild
👉 How technical founders should work with early customers
👉 When and how to hire your first engineers
👉 What Jianna learned building her first company through acquisition and starting again from zero

This isn’t a panel or a high-level conversation about building startups. It’s a practical workshop led by a technical founder who has built enterprise software, gone through YC, navigated an acquisition, and started the 0→1 journey all over again.

Come for the lesson, stay for the conversations after.

About the Speaker

Jianna Liu is the co-founder and CTO of Cardinal, an AI revenue platform used by high-growth companies to design and automate how they sell.

Before Cardinal, Jianna co-founded Leafpress, an AI platform for managing energy and emissions data. The company joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 batch and was later acquired by Johnson Controls.

Jianna studied computer science at MIT and previously worked on software teams at Meta, DoorDash, and NVIDIA.

What should I expect?

6:30–7:00 PM
Arrival, drinks, and casual networking.

7:00–7:45 PM
Founder workshop.

7:45–8:05 PM
Q&A.

8:05–9:00 PM
More chatting, drinks, and meeting people.

🧠 About Founders on Tap

Founders on Tap is a workshop series in SF's coolest spots.

Each session goes deep on one useful topic, such as community, GTM, fundraising, automation, or getting your first customers.

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How do I become a speaker?

👉 Fill out our speaker form.

We’ll reach out if your session feels like a good fit.

Do I have to be 21+?

Yes. You must be 21+ and present a valid ID to enter the venue.