I’m excited to be heading to Las Vegas in less than two weeks for our annual re:Invent conference. One of the highlights for me is being able to host an extensive lineup of startup-focused events which take place at re:Invent on Thursday, November 13.

Here’s a quick peak at the startup experience this year:

Third Annual Startup Launches
I’m excited to host this event where five AWS-powered startups will make a significant, never-before-shared launch announcement on stage. Included in the announcements are special discounts on the newly-launched products—discounts only available to session attendees. And to top it all off, we’ll have a happy hour immediately following the final launch announcement!

Founders Fireside Chat
In this session I’ll sit down with leaders who have taken their startups from an idea on a cocktail napkin to known names in a matter of a few years by harnessing the possibilities of technology and AWS. Their insights and learnings apply not only to fledgling startups and future entrepreneurs, but to enterprises seeking out ways to become more agile, responsive, and dynamic in the rapid technology race. Dan Wagner, CEO of Civis Analytics, Adam Jacob, Chief Dev Officer of Chef, and Alan Schaaf, founder of Imgur will join me in this fireside chat.

CTO-to-CTO Fireside Chat
I’ll get into the mindsets of the technical leaders behind some of the most progressive and innovative startups in the world. This is your opportunity to learn what happens behind the scenes, how pivotal technology and AWS infrastructure decisions are made, and the thinking that leads to products and services that disrupt and reshape how businesses and people use technologies day to day. I’ll chat with Chris Wanstrath, CEO of Github, Andrew Miklas, CTO of Pagerduty, and Seth Proctor, CTO of NuoDB.

VC Panel Discussion
In this session you can hear what our high-powered panel of top venture capitalists have to say about trends, pleasant and unpleasant surprises, the next big things on the horizon, and emerging startup hotspots for cloud apps and infrastructure. Greylock Partners, Draper Associates, Scale Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and General Catalyst Partners will join the panel.

Startup Pub Crawl
Don’t forget about Wednesday night! In preparation for the Thursday startup track, be sure to join the AWS Startup Team for a stop along the re:Invent Pub Crawl. It will be an opportunity to network with the hottest startups, enterprises, and AWS team members. Join the team at Buddy V’s on Wednesday, November 12 from 5:30-7:30 at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian.

For venue information, and detailed session schedules, please check out the re:Invent website.

See you in Vegas!