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Off the Record: Firsthand Conversations for Entrepreneurs Navigating AI

October 14 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Off the Record: Firsthand Conversations for Entrepreneurs Navigating AI

October 14 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

The pace of change in AI is overwhelming, even for those living it daily. Staying competitive requires direct, honest access to the practitioners actively building, deploying, and wrestling with these technologies.

Join TiE Silicon Valley for Off the Record, a recurring series for entrepreneurs featuring candid, behind-the-scenes conversations with front-line practitioners—product leaders, engineering heads, founders, and enterprise operators. Rather than polished keynote speeches or corporate marketing, this series offers frank, practical insights on what is actually changing, what works, and how to navigate it.

Event Details

  • Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026

  • Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM PDT

  • Location: TiE Silicon Valley Office, Palo Alto | Hybrid via Live Video Conference

  • Curators: Smita Hashim & Shivani Govil

  • Format Policy: Off the record — Chatham House Rule applies. Nothing will be recorded or attributed to ensure open, candid dialogue.

Session Overview: Adding AI to Your Product — What Worked, What Flopped

Adding AI capabilities to a product is easy; building AI features that actually drive long-term user adoption and business value is notoriously hard.

This session goes beyond the launch announcements to explore the unvarnished realities of AI product development: real stories of AI features that stuck, ones that quietly got rolled back, and how real customers actually responded. Join two industry-leading product and research pioneers spanning creative and productivity tools as they share their firsthand lessons on product strategy, user retention, and feature iteration in the age of AI.

Featured Speakers & Curators

  • Anthony Maggio — Chief Product Officer at Runway (Former CPO at Airtable)

    As CPO at Runway and former CPO at Airtable, Anthony brings a unique vantage point across leading productivity platforms and frontier AI-native creative tools, offering deep insights on building AI products that users genuinely adopt.

  • Stef Corazza — Head of AI Research at Canva

    Leading AI research at Canva, Stef works at the intersection of cutting-edge generative AI models and intuitive user experiences designed for hundreds of millions of creators and professionals worldwide.

  • Shivani Govil (Moderator & Curator) — Sr. Advisor, McKinsey & Co.

    Shivani is currently a Sr. Advisor at McKinsey. Prior to this, she has held CPO and senior leadership roles at Google, CCC, and SAP.

  • Smita Hashim (Curator) — Strategic Advisor & Investor, Former CPO at Zoom

    Smita is a strategic advisor and investor, and former Chief Product Officer at Zoom, where she led products across the platform. Earlier she spent sixteen years at Google and two stints at Microsoft. She co-curates Off the Record and is moderating this session.

Agenda / Schedule

  • 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: Doors Open, Snacks & Networking

  • 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM: Moderated Conversation (Featured Speakers + Moderator)

  • 6:45 PM – 7:15 PM: Open Q&A (In-person & Interactive Remote)

  • 7:15 PM – 7:30 PM: Post-session Networking

Registration Note: In-person seats at the TiE Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto are limited. Remote participants will join by live video and have access to interactive Q&A.

Details

  • Date: October 14
  • Time:
    5:30 pm - 7:30 pm