Sunna VC Happy Hour (post-GSB Climate Conference)
- Date
- 2026-02-19
- Location
- Menlo Park, CA, USA
- Host
- Personal
About this event
If you're heading to the GSB Climate Conference and want the conversations to keep going after the final session, this is the room you’ll want to be in. Sunna VC Happy Hour is a relaxed, in-person gathering in Menlo Park for people who care about climate and want better conversations than a rushed hallway chat or another overpacked panel. About the Event This happy hour is designed as a post-conference meetup: a chance to decompress, reconnect, and talk through the ideas, questions, and opportunities that surfaced during the day. Rather than a formal program, expect a social format that makes it easy to move between conversations, meet new people, and spend more time with the ones you only got to talk to briefly at the conference. The focus is simple: bring together climate-minded founders, investors, operators, researchers, students, and ecosystem builders in one room while the conference energy is still fresh. The setting is intentionally more casual than a conference environment, which means people can drop the polished talking points and get into the real substance of what they’re building, funding, or trying to understand. Because it takes place right after a major climate gathering, the discussion is likely to be unusually current. People will be carrying fresh context from the day’s sessions, side conversations, and debates, which often leads to sharper questions and more grounded networking than a standalone meetup. What to Expect Expect an informal flow rather than a staged agenda. People will arrive, grab a drink, settle in, and begin the kinds of conversations that are easiest to have in a smaller, more social setting: what felt most important at the conference, where momentum is building, what still feels underexplored, and who should know each other. You can likely use the evening in a few different ways, depending on what you want out of it: Reconnect with people you met earlier in the day and continue promising conversations without conference time pressure. Meet new people across climate, investing, and adjacent sectors in a more approachable environment. Sense-check ideas you’re working on, whether that’s a company, an investment thesis, a research direction, or a career move. Listen for patterns in what others are seeing across markets, technologies, policy, operations, and fundraising. This is also the kind of event where smaller interactions matter. A five-minute introduction can turn into a future customer conversation, a hiring lead, a diligence call, a pilot opportunity, or simply a clearer understanding of where the climate ecosystem is heading. There may not be a microphone or formal session blocks, but that’s part of the value: more room for direct, useful exchanges. Come ready for a mix of quick introductions and deeper conversations. Some attendees will want to compare notes from the conference; others will use the evening to broaden their network beyond the people they were already planning to meet. Both approaches fit the format. Why Attend The best part of many conferences happens after the official schedule ends. That’s when people have enough context to skip the basics and get into what actually matters: where there’s conviction, where there’s confusion, what’s investable, what’s operationally hard, and what kinds of partnerships are worth pursuing. A post-conference happy hour creates a useful middle ground between structured programming and random networking. You get the benefit of a self-selected crowd that already shares a climate focus, without the friction of trying to book meetings one by one. If you value density of insight, serendipitous introductions, and candid conversation, this format works. Attending can also help you widen your perspective. Climate work spans many domains, and the people in the room may be approaching the space from very different angles: capital, company-building, science, policy, operations, or community. That variety often surfaces ideas and connections you would not get from staying only within your immediate lane. Whether you’re looking to meet people, test your thinking, build longer-term relationships, or simply end the day in a room full of smart climate people, this event gives you a practical place to do it. Practical Details When: Wednesday, February 18 at 5:30 PM PST Where: In person in Menlo Park, USA This is an in-person gathering, so plan for a social, conversational setting rather than a seated program. The happy hour timing makes it easy to attend after the GSB Climate Conference without having to mentally switch into a completely different kind of event. If you’re already in the area, it’s a natural next stop for the evening. A few simple ways to get more out of it: Arrive ready to introduce yourself clearly in one or two sentences. Bring context from the conference that you’re still thinking about. Be open to both familiar faces and unexpected conversations. If there’s someone you wanted more time with earlier in the day, this is a good place to reconnect. If your ideal event is high-signal, climate-focused, and socially easy to navigate, this happy hour is built for exactly that.
Who should attend
This is for people who want to turn conference momentum into real conversations and useful connections. - You attended the **GSB Climate Conference** and want a better setting to continue the most interesting discussions from the day. - You work in **climate investing, startups, research, policy, or operations** and value meeting others who are actively shaping the space. - You’re a **founder or operator** looking to build relationships with investors, peers, and potential collaborators in a more relaxed environment. - You’re an **investor or ecosystem builder** who wants to stay close to what smart people in climate are seeing, questioning, and building right now. - You’re new to the climate community and want an approachable way to meet people without the formality of scheduled meetings or the intensity of a packed conference floor. - You prefer gatherings where conversation is the main event: thoughtful, current, and grounded in what people are actually working on.