networking, but make it Paris.

What really happens when VCs throw a party in France.

Jul 10, 2025

I just got back from the X Summit in France – a curated, invite-only experience designed to spark connection and creativity between founders and investors. In other words: my kind of networking. We spent nearly five days slipping between the streets of Paris and a château in the countryside. Not a bad setting for “work,” if you ask me.

The last time I was in Paris was 2015. I was studying abroad and my budget revolved around baguettes, cheap bottles of wine, and metro tickets. Coming back nearly a decade later — as a founder, CEO, and slightly better packer — felt like a full-circle moment. Growth is rarely obvious while you’re in it. But every once in a while, you get a trip, a conversation, or a view that reminds you how far you’ve come. This was one of those.

This was the summit’s second year, hosted by Bob Xu and three of the VC funds he’s affiliated with – and I was genuinely honored to be included. As much as I love the heads-down building that comes with startup life, it can also be wildly isolating. So being dropped into a room full of smart, open, ambitious people who are building things, questioning things, and dreaming bigger was the reset I didn’t know I needed.

Heading into the week, I had a general idea of what to expect thanks to a very chic, detailed itinerary of where we’d be headed and what to wear to each event. From a day of curated speakers at the Ritz Paris, to a private tour & dinner at Musée Rodin, to workshops and games at a château in the countryside – there was so much to look forward to, and spoiler alert: it didn’t disappoint.

(side note: let the record show, the only thing I love more than a detailed itinerary is a dress-code-specific mood board to go along with the agenda)

Here’s my full recap of what we did and of course, what I wore (and acquired) while abroad.

Day 1

I landed in Paris early Tuesday morning, one day ahead of the X Summit kickoff. After a sleepless overnight flight (and a truly cursed customs line), I checked into Fouquet’s: a hotel so plush it almost made me forget I hadn’t slept. Almost.

I met up with my friend Karson, who’d arrived the day before, and we did what any self-respecting duo does with a free day in Paris: we galavanted. Hopped from arrondissement to arrondissement – we shopped, spritzed, and strolled. (AKA: two very happy founders to have 12 hours with no agenda).

We wrapped the day with dinner at L’Avenue, joined by a few fellow founder and investor friends, and then drifted to Costes for cocktails, where I ran into a friend I met in Aspen this winter (cc: Henri!). We laughed at the fact that we only ever seem to cross paths in absurdly lavish places. Some people network on Zoom (realistically me most of the time – ha). Others at mountain lodges and Parisian bars… c’est la vie!

Day 2

The summit began in style – with the only full day held in the city before we all decamped to the countryside. First stop? The Ritz Paris. It’s one of the most iconic hotels in the world for a reason, and somehow even more stunning in person. We started the day in the courtyard with coffee, croissants, and chatting with 100-ish new friends.

Then we moved into one of the grand salons – calling it a “conference room” feels disrespectful – for a few speaker sessions and a multi-course lunch that reminded me how elite French cuisine really is.

@konstantynzakhariy

Night one was hosted at the Musée Rodin. Which, for context, almost never allows private events. But somehow, they pulled it off. We had the museum entirely to ourselves – two hours of roaming sculpture gardens and hushed galleries, followed by cocktails at golden hour and dinner under the stars in the back gardens. It felt like a scene from a fairy tale. Or, at the very least, a really expensive wedding.

Day 3

This was the second day of the summit, and our first at the Château de Villette. The core crew (VCs, their plus-ones, and a few port-co founders) stayed on the property, while the rest of us were shuttled in from Paris each day like very chic commuters.

I spent the first hour wandering and swooning. The property is often called Le Petit Versailles. Not because it resembles the world-famous property, but because it quite literally shares the same design DNA. The château was originally commissioned in the 1660s for Jean II Dyel, Comte d’Aufflay, and designed by François Mansart (the architect who basically defined French classicism). After his death, it was finished by his nephew, Jules Hardouin-Mansart – a name you might recognize from, well, the Palace of Versailles.

Needless to say, the vibe was opulence, turned all the way up.

The day was a masterclass in curated excess in the best way. We had programming with standout founders and operators, an interactive murder mystery staged throughout the château (cue the real actors), and a steady stream of activities designed to make you forget this was technically a “professional” gathering.

interactive murder mystery @ the château

There were afternoon massages tucked into quiet wings of the property, aperitifs on the terrace under the early evening sun, and a long dinner on the side lawn that felt more like a scene from Marie Antoinette than anything I’ve ever associated with venture capital. A little surreal and very fab.

Day 4

My last day at the summit (sadly), since I had to fly out early to make it back for the workweek. Duty calls… even from a château. But we made the most of it.

The morning was all substance: sharp speakers, smart ideas, and just enough ambition in the air to make you sit up straighter. The afternoon leaned softer: sound bath, meditation, floral arranging, a fortune teller reading our fates (mine: unclear, but promising), and a chilled glass of chablis never far from reach.

Dinner was set in the garden of one of the guest houses – less Versailles, more countryside fairytale. Since it happened to be the 4th of July, the organizers went full Francophile with a little twist: cue the French army re-enactors teaching us their traditional marching formations. Hilarious. Slightly bizarre. Very unforgettable.

We closed the night with a DJ, dancing, and one last round of drinks under the stars (of course).