Ron Conway, Jack Dorsey and Nick Woodman Turn Out For BUILD Gala

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer Photography

Venture capitalist Ron Conway, Twitter and Square’s Jack Dorsey, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman and Ben Silbermann, founder and CEO of Pinterest, were among the tech titans to gather for the 5th annual BUILD Gala, which drew over 500 of the most prominent entrepreneurs, investors and tech titans from across the country to San Francisco’s new Pier 27 international cruise ship terminal on March 7 and raised more than $1.6 million in one extraordinary night.

Business United in Investing, Lending and Development, otherwise known as BUILD, is a Bay Area-based nonprofit whose mission is to encourage entrepreneurship among high school kids. Woodman was this year’s honoree at the event, which was co-chaired by Dorsey, who also serves on BUILD’s National Board, Silbermann and his wife Divya, Conway and his wife Gayle, Cathie and Pitch Johnson, Gideon Yu, Concepcion and Irwin Federman, Jean Kovacs and Brooks Stough, Sarah and Don Lucas and Fritzi and David Marston.

Last year, BUILD honored Silbermann with the “Pitch” Prize for Innovation in Entrepreneurship—named after venture capitalist Pitch Johnson, who attended the event as well.

Through a unique entrepreneurship-based experiential learning program, BUILD ignites the potential of youth in under-resourced communities. BUILD was founded by award winning social entrepreneur Suzanne McKechnie Klahr and is currently partnered with over 20 schools across the country to serve almost 1,500 students annually. Since 2012, 97% of students completing the BUILD program graduate from high school, and 98% are accepted into college.

 Photos by Drew Altizer Photography