Intros AI

Startup Grind Boosts Attendee ROI with 1000+ Interactions.

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Startup Grind is the world’s largest community of startups, founders, and creators — spanning over 600 cities and 125+ countries. Its mission is to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs through local chapters and global events.

At their flagship event in March 2025 — Startup Mania — Startup Grind brought together hundreds of founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders. This year, they partnered with Intros AI to power a new kind of networking experience: one that was more intentional, more accessible, and more valuable to attendees across the entire event journey.

Intros AI at a glance

Personalized introductions drove 35% attendee engagement and 161 meaningful 1:1 connections, helping founders and investors connect more intentionally throughout the event.

1,027
Attendee interactions through Intros AI
9.8/10
Net Promoter Score From Participants
300+
Attendees connected, representing 35% of attendees

The Challenge

Startup Grind set out to solve a common — and growing — problem in event networking: with so many smart people in the room, how do you make sure the right conversations actually happen?

They identified a few specific challenges:

  • Volume over value: With a large number of attendees, chance encounters rarely led to truly relevant or lasting connections.
  • One-size-fits-all networking: Traditional networking formats didn’t account for people’s specific roles, needs, or goals.
  • Lack of structure for founder-investor matching: Founders wanted to connect with investors, but didn’t always know who was in the room — or how to reach them.
  • Pre- and post-event drop-off: Most events center connections around a single moment in time, leaving opportunity on the table before and after.

Startup Grind wanted a solution that would support attendees throughout the full experience — before, during, and after the event.

Solution :  Intros AI

To address these challenges, Startup Grind partnered with Intros AI, a platform purpose-built to drive meaningful 1:1 connections at scale.

The integration was designed to complement the energy of Startup Mania while removing friction from networking.

‍The implementation included:

‍✅ Opt-In Matching During Registration: Attendees could easily opt into the Intros experience as part of their normal signup flow.

✅ Personalized 1:1 Introductions: Intros AI used registration data and user inputs to create curated connections based on roles, goals, and shared interests.

✅ Phased Rollout of Connections: Introductions were scheduled to roll out over several days — some before the event, many during, and others afterward — ensuring conversations happened when they were most valuable.

✅ Real-Time Connection Requests: Attendees could submit specific intro requests, including during pitch sessions, to connect with speakers and other high-interest participants in the moment.

This layered approach allowed attendees to form meaningful connections whether they were preparing for the event, engaging live, or following up afterward.

Implementation

Intros AI worked closely with Startup Grind to integrate personalized 1:1 introductions into the full Startup Mania experience — supporting attendees before, during, and after the event. The implementation included:

  1. Pre-Event Matching and Preparation: Attendees were invited to opt in during registration and enrich their profiles ahead of time. Intros AI used this data to deliver curated introductions in the days leading up to the event, helping participants arrive with conversations already in motion.
  2. Real-Time Engagement Onsite: During the event, attendees submitted intro requests in real time — especially during live pitch sessions — allowing them to connect instantly with relevant speakers, founders, and investors. Intros were spaced throughout the day to align with natural energy peaks.
  3. Post-Event Follow-Through: After Startup Mania wrapped, additional introductions were delivered to help attendees continue the momentum. Follow-up connections ensured conversations extended beyond the venue, turning a single event into the beginning of lasting relationships.‍
  4. White-Labeled Experience and Support: The Intros AI platform was fully branded to reflect Startup Grind’s identity, creating a seamless attendee experience. The Intros team also provided onboarding and support to ensure successful execution throughout the event.

‍

The Results.

The impact was clear — Intros AI significantly increased engagement and facilitated more relevant, high-quality connections.

📈 35% of attendees opted in (77 participants) — exceeding the average engagement rate for similar events (typically 20–25%)

🔗 161 introductions were made, providing concrete opportunities for founders, investors, and operators to meet

💬 39 individuals submitted more than one intro request, showing high perceived value and intent to connect

📊 Engagement flowed naturally: 61 interactions the day before the event139 during the event (split roughly 40% AM / 60% PM) 61 more on the day after. A smaller but steady trickle of additional requests continued into the weekend

🧠 20% of users enriched their profiles, leading to higher-quality matches and conversations

🎤 Intro requests surged during live pitches, demonstrating real-time demand to connect with presenters

This usage pattern reinforced the idea that meaningful networking isn’t confined to one day — it thrives when integrated across the full arc of an event.

The Impact.

By integrating Intros AI, Startup Grind was able to offer more than just another event — they delivered a relationship-building experience.

  1. More meaningful founder <> investor connections, driven by intentional matching rather than chance
  2. Increased attendee satisfaction especially among those who received multiple intros or used the platform before and after the event.‍
  3. Data-backed insights into attendee behavior, preferences, and peak engagement windows.
  4. Greater equity of access — giving less connected or first-time attendees a chance to meet the right people

    What emerged was a more connected and collaborative environment — one that matched the ambition and diversity of the Startup Grind community.
“There’s a lot about the algorithm what about the actual matches? 🤔”

Making a Match
Introducing Megan & Jonathan 👋🏼

Megan Giacobetti
CEO of V1 @ Michigan
Megan is the Chief Executive Officer of V1 @Michigan, the community for ambitious student builders at the University of Michigan. Megan joined On Deck in the hopes of finding a technical co-founder to help her build a business that spreads mental health awareness.
Jonathan Pierre
Growth @Envision Accelerator
Jonathan Pierre works in Growth @Envision Accelerator, a community-driven accelerator for young, underrepresented founders. Jonathan joined the On Deck Intros club to find someone with experience in fundraising and product management.
The Match

Megan and Jonathan met in 2021 through the On Deck Intros Club. After just the second week of opt-ing in, the perfect match was between the two was found.

Intros made the match for three main reasons:
1
They had complementary skills through Intros “Give & Take” question mentioned earlier
2
They both wanted to spend all of their time (40+ hours) to build something truly impactful as quickly as possible
3
They were both extremely passionate about mental health and wanted to solve problems they felt were affecting the next generation disproportionately.

“I would have never imagined I would find my lifelong co-founder through an Intros club. However, it did a perfect job at finding what we cared about the most and making a seamless introduction between us. And for that, we’re eternally grateful”

- Megan Giacobetti & Jonathan Pierre

Moving Forward

In 2022, Jonathan and Megan have made large strides in creating the company that will address the next generation’s mental health challenges called Headspace. They have raised many rounds of funding and are quickly growing to become a next-gen leader in the space.

Megan and Jonathan still meet using the On Deck Intros club to this day to find more talented co-founders to join them on their mission.

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“I received at least a dozen thank you notes saying something like: Hey G, thank you for the intro you made me with [other attendee]. That connection is going to be a game-changer for my company!”
Guillermo Vizcaino-ortiz
Global Community Director @ Startup Grind

Overall Impact

When members within the OnDeck community were matched, they were given all of the information from these questions, and our matching algorithm was able to make ideal matches based on all the percentages of weigh you see above. It is really difficult to find other young, aspiring founders - much less screen them for availability and accountability you want in a co-founder. This Intros club proved to be incredibly powerful for the OnDeck community, and will be started up again when the new batch of aspiring founders comes through the OnDeck pipeline.