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Distribution Is Your Moat ft. Julia Dixon

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Aug

20

Distribution is Your Moat: A series on Distribution and Marketing for Startups

​Presented by Surface AI

​"As the cost of code goes to zero, distribution is your only moat." While marketing, distribution, and go-to-market are established fields with many tried and true methods, each startup's playbook will be as unique as its company. To help companies understand, define, and grow their distribution, Ari Spool of Surface AI has brought together a selection of startup marketing leaders for a breakfast panel to strategize. Refreshments by Donut Pub.

Julia Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ESAI, the platform that helps students build compelling personal narratives, from college admissions through the start of their careers. By combining her background in marketing with a deep understanding of Gen Z, Julia has reached over 50 million on TikTok and helped more than 750,000 students craft standout applications and lifelong personal brands — most recently via Brandi, ESAI's college and career voice agent. Julia was an honoree of the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list and was featured on Shark Tank season 16. Her writing and ideas have been featured in Bloomberg, Wired, AdAge, and Fox Business.

​Surface AI is an autonomous landing-page optimization engine. We connect to your existing site with one line of code — a quick setup through your CMS, no rebuild and no dev sprint. From there Surface automatically generates and tests new headlines, CTAs, layouts, and images in brand voice, using adaptive bandit algorithms that shift traffic toward what's winning and keep optimizing against live traffic over time, then feeds what's converting on-page back upstream into creative. All attendees will receive a free 30-day trial of Surface!

when

Thursday
August 20, 2026
9:30 am

LoCATION

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014

agenda

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In Person
–
Public Event

Distribution Is Your Moat ft. Julia Dixon

August 20, 2026
9:30 am

Postponed: New Date TBA

RSVP

About

Distribution is Your Moat: A series on Distribution and Marketing for Startups

​Presented by Surface AI

​"As the cost of code goes to zero, distribution is your only moat." While marketing, distribution, and go-to-market are established fields with many tried and true methods, each startup's playbook will be as unique as its company. To help companies understand, define, and grow their distribution, Ari Spool of Surface AI has brought together a selection of startup marketing leaders for a breakfast panel to strategize. Refreshments by Donut Pub.

Julia Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ESAI, the platform that helps students build compelling personal narratives, from college admissions through the start of their careers. By combining her background in marketing with a deep understanding of Gen Z, Julia has reached over 50 million on TikTok and helped more than 750,000 students craft standout applications and lifelong personal brands — most recently via Brandi, ESAI's college and career voice agent. Julia was an honoree of the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list and was featured on Shark Tank season 16. Her writing and ideas have been featured in Bloomberg, Wired, AdAge, and Fox Business.

​Surface AI is an autonomous landing-page optimization engine. We connect to your existing site with one line of code — a quick setup through your CMS, no rebuild and no dev sprint. From there Surface automatically generates and tests new headlines, CTAs, layouts, and images in brand voice, using adaptive bandit algorithms that shift traffic toward what's winning and keep optimizing against live traffic over time, then feeds what's converting on-page back upstream into creative. All attendees will receive a free 30-day trial of Surface!

When

August 20, 2026
9:30 am

Where

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014
RSVP

Agenda

Speakers

No items found.

Sponsors

Proof of Full Vaccination Required

Betaworks requires all visitors to show proof of full vaccination to enter. No exceptions. Two ways that you can show proof:
  • Official vaccine card with at least 2 weeks having passed since the date of the last required dose (1 dose for J&J/AstraZeneca, 2 for Pfizer/Moderna)
  • An active digital pass such as the NY State Excelsior Pass or the CLEAR app

August

20

Public Event

In Person

Distribution Is Your Moat ft. Julia Dixon

Register for Event
Register Now

Distribution is Your Moat: A series on Distribution and Marketing for Startups

​Presented by Surface AI

​"As the cost of code goes to zero, distribution is your only moat." While marketing, distribution, and go-to-market are established fields with many tried and true methods, each startup's playbook will be as unique as its company. To help companies understand, define, and grow their distribution, Ari Spool of Surface AI has brought together a selection of startup marketing leaders for a breakfast panel to strategize. Refreshments by Donut Pub.

Julia Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ESAI, the platform that helps students build compelling personal narratives, from college admissions through the start of their careers. By combining her background in marketing with a deep understanding of Gen Z, Julia has reached over 50 million on TikTok and helped more than 750,000 students craft standout applications and lifelong personal brands — most recently via Brandi, ESAI's college and career voice agent. Julia was an honoree of the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list and was featured on Shark Tank season 16. Her writing and ideas have been featured in Bloomberg, Wired, AdAge, and Fox Business.

​Surface AI is an autonomous landing-page optimization engine. We connect to your existing site with one line of code — a quick setup through your CMS, no rebuild and no dev sprint. From there Surface automatically generates and tests new headlines, CTAs, layouts, and images in brand voice, using adaptive bandit algorithms that shift traffic toward what's winning and keep optimizing against live traffic over time, then feeds what's converting on-page back upstream into creative. All attendees will receive a free 30-day trial of Surface!

when

Thursday
August 20, 2026
9:30 am

LoCATION

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014

agenda

Speakers

No items found.

Sponsors

8/20/2026

Betaworks

Distribution Is Your Moat ft. Julia Dixon

Presented by

Distribution is Your Moat: A series on Distribution and Marketing for Startups

​Presented by Surface AI

​"As the cost of code goes to zero, distribution is your only moat." While marketing, distribution, and go-to-market are established fields with many tried and true methods, each startup's playbook will be as unique as its company. To help companies understand, define, and grow their distribution, Ari Spool of Surface AI has brought together a selection of startup marketing leaders for a breakfast panel to strategize. Refreshments by Donut Pub.

Julia Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ESAI, the platform that helps students build compelling personal narratives, from college admissions through the start of their careers. By combining her background in marketing with a deep understanding of Gen Z, Julia has reached over 50 million on TikTok and helped more than 750,000 students craft standout applications and lifelong personal brands — most recently via Brandi, ESAI's college and career voice agent. Julia was an honoree of the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list and was featured on Shark Tank season 16. Her writing and ideas have been featured in Bloomberg, Wired, AdAge, and Fox Business.

​Surface AI is an autonomous landing-page optimization engine. We connect to your existing site with one line of code — a quick setup through your CMS, no rebuild and no dev sprint. From there Surface automatically generates and tests new headlines, CTAs, layouts, and images in brand voice, using adaptive bandit algorithms that shift traffic toward what's winning and keep optimizing against live traffic over time, then feeds what's converting on-page back upstream into creative. All attendees will receive a free 30-day trial of Surface!

speakers

No items found.

Schedule

No items found.

WHEN

Thursday, August 20, 2026
9:30 am

WHERE

Betaworks
29 Little West 12th Street
New York, NY 10014

Agenda

Tools
For
Thinking

How New Technologies are Changing How We Create, Share, and Build Knowledge

When

August 20, 2026
9:30 am

Where

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014
or livestream
Proof of Full Vaccination Required

RENDER is Over, but Camp is just beginning

We had some great speakers and participants turn out for Render, and we all got to participate in very interesting conversations. You can find recordings of all of our sessions below. If you're working on a Tool for Thinking and want to participate in our upcoming accelerator program, you can learn more here.

Building Bicycles for the Mind

Distribution is Your Moat: A series on Distribution and Marketing for Startups

​Presented by Surface AI

​"As the cost of code goes to zero, distribution is your only moat." While marketing, distribution, and go-to-market are established fields with many tried and true methods, each startup's playbook will be as unique as its company. To help companies understand, define, and grow their distribution, Ari Spool of Surface AI has brought together a selection of startup marketing leaders for a breakfast panel to strategize. Refreshments by Donut Pub.

Julia Dixon is the Founder and CEO of ESAI, the platform that helps students build compelling personal narratives, from college admissions through the start of their careers. By combining her background in marketing with a deep understanding of Gen Z, Julia has reached over 50 million on TikTok and helped more than 750,000 students craft standout applications and lifelong personal brands — most recently via Brandi, ESAI's college and career voice agent. Julia was an honoree of the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list and was featured on Shark Tank season 16. Her writing and ideas have been featured in Bloomberg, Wired, AdAge, and Fox Business.

​Surface AI is an autonomous landing-page optimization engine. We connect to your existing site with one line of code — a quick setup through your CMS, no rebuild and no dev sprint. From there Surface automatically generates and tests new headlines, CTAs, layouts, and images in brand voice, using adaptive bandit algorithms that shift traffic toward what's winning and keep optimizing against live traffic over time, then feeds what's converting on-page back upstream into creative. All attendees will receive a free 30-day trial of Surface!

Speakers

Howard

Rheingold

Author
Tools for Thought
@hrheingold
No items found.

Schedule

11:30 AM
Doors Open
12:00 PM
Welcome
with MC
12:10 PM – 12:20 PM
How Do We Define Tools for Thinking and Why Do They Matter?
Join Jerry Michalski and John Borthwick as they talk about their interest in tools for thinking, and what excites them the most about the future of the category.
12:20 PM – 12:50 PM
Inflection Points for Tools for Thinking
What are the key inflection points that will supercharge Tools for Thinking in the near future? How will new technologies, user metaphors, and funding models change how people build these tools? John Borthwick will be discussing how the landscape is changing with the co-founders of Readwise, Daniel Doyon & Tristan Homsi.
12:50 PM – 1:00 PM
Q+A
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Demo: Protocol Design for Tools for Thinking
Gordon Brander will be presenting a brief demo on Subconscious and the Noosphere, products he and his team are working on to allow Tools for Thinking to become interoperable and better connected.
1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Lunch and Networking
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
The History and Future of Software as Tools for Thinking
Some of the earliest examples of software explored by pioneers like Doug Engelbart, JCR Licklider, Alan Turing, and others were at their core technologies that help magnify, inspect, and spread our ideas. Jerry Michalski will be sitting down (virtually) with Howard Rheingold, author of Tools for Thought, to explore the history and future of "mind-amplifying technology".
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Q+A
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Tools for Thinking Product Demos
We’ll hear from builders and thinkers deep in the space and get to take a look at what they’re working on. We’ll be checking out Plexus, Re:Collect, Jerry’s Brain, Subconscious and more. 
4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
Leveraging AI and ML in Building New Tools for Thinking
Alice Albrecht and Linus Lee will be sitting down with Chris Pedregal to discuss their work in leveraging AI and Machine Learning for creating new kinds of tools for thinking.
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Q+A
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Idea Dimensionality and Representing Semantic Meaning
How do ideas - and the human brains that make and hold them - interact?  Get prepared for meta! Esther Dyson and Jerry Michalski, will discuss the idea of how people work together to shape, compare, intertwine and ultimately produce multi-faceted ideas and multi-dimensional idea spaces.  As David Waltz (Thinking Machines) once said, “Words are not in themselves carriers of meaning, but merely pointers to shared understanding.” Watch and lob questions as the two of them try to build and share the idea of how better ideas can be developed through collaboration.
5:30 PM – 5:45 PM
Q+A
5:45 PM – 7:00 PM
Closing and Happy Hour

Proof of Full Vaccination Required

Betaworks requires all visitors to show proof of full vaccination to enter. No exceptions. Two ways that you can show proof:
  • Official vaccine card with at least 2 weeks having passed since the date of the last required dose (1 dose for J&J/AstraZeneca, 2 for Pfizer/Moderna)
  • An active digital pass such as the NY State Excelsior Pass or the CLEAR app
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