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Granite City Workspaces
October 20–23 · Folsom, CA

Sac Tech Week 2026 in Folsom at Granite City

Granite City Workspaces is hosting free AI sessions in Folsom during Sac Tech Week 2026, October 20–23, primarily at The Commons at Granite City, 705 Gold Lake Dr, Suite 150, Folsom, CA 95630 — with the Tuesday, October 20 Grok Bots session in The Nook, Suite 390 (same building). Sac Tech Week (October 19–24) is the Sacramento region's community-hosted tech week — see the full citywide calendar at sactechweek.org.

Meet our speakers →

A wide view of the crowd gathered in the Commons at Granite City Workspaces in Folsom
The Week at Granite City

Five days of ideas, building, and connection.

Kick things off early with frAIdays, then join us for a full week of free coworking, focused sessions, and Build Day.

Free coworking pass

Cowork free all week, Oct 19–23.

Claim a free pass for Monday through Friday. Confirm your email, and your door PIN and WiFi code arrive by email Monday morning.

frAIdays

October 16

11:45 AM–4:00 PM

frAIdays — October 2026

frAIdays AI Lunch Series — lunch, networking, and breakout sessions for every skill level at The Commons at Granite City Workspaces.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

12:45–1:45 PM

AI for Real Estate Agents

Scott Kirk, Weichert Realtors

Real estate runs on speed and follow-up, and those are exactly the two things AI is good at. Scott Kirk, Broker/Owner of Weichert, Realtors - Sierra Pacific Group, shows how an AI agent can take repetitive work off a real estate agent's plate so more of their day goes to clients.

This is a practical, working-agent session built around the parts of the job every agent already does: getting listings out the door, working leads, and staying in touch after the first conversation.

What you'll learn

  • Where an AI agent fits into a real estate agent's day, and where it doesn't
  • Practical workflows for listings: getting from property details to finished marketing faster
  • How to keep leads from going cold with faster, more consistent follow-up
  • How to start small: one workflow this week, not a rebuild of your business

Who it's for

Real estate agents, brokers, and teams who want to use AI on real work, plus anyone curious how AI applies to a relationship-driven sales business. No technical background needed.

About the speaker

Scott Kirk is the Broker/Owner of Weichert, Realtors - Sierra Pacific Group, a family-owned brokerage he founded in Folsom. Licensed since 2010, he has more than 16 years in real estate and has closed over 500 transactions.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

Monday

October 19

Free Coworking — Office Hours

8:00 AM–6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Claim your free week pass

No scheduled sessions today — just free coworking.

Tuesday

October 20

Free Coworking — Office Hours

8:00 AM–6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Claim your free week pass

10:00–11:30 AM

Building Grok Bots for Real Business Workflows

Justin Fortier (FYC Labs) & Sedale Turbovsky (Modern Zen)

The Nook at Granite City · 705 Gold Lake Dr, Suite 390

Most businesses have at least one workflow that eats hours every week and follows the same steps each time. That is where a bot earns its keep. Justin Fortier (FYC Labs) and Sedale Turbovsky (Modern Zen, founder of OpenGrants) walk through building and deploying Grok-powered bots for real business workflows.

This is a working session, not a product pitch: you'll see how a bot goes from a repeatable task to something running in a business.

What you'll learn

  • How to pick a workflow that is actually worth automating with a bot
  • How a Grok-powered bot is put together, from instructions to the tools it can use
  • What deploying a bot involves, and what to check before you trust it with real work
  • Where a human should stay in the loop so the bot helps instead of creating cleanup

Who it's for

Founders, operators, and team leads who have a repeatable process in mind and want to see a bot built around it. Comfort with everyday business software is enough; you don't need to be a developer.

About the speaker

Justin Fortier is the founder of Fractal Group and previously led FYC Labs as CEO/CTO through its acquisition in 2020. Sedale Turbovsky is founder and CEO of Modern Zen Strategies and founder of OpenGrants, which runs much of its sales, content, and support with AI agents.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

Wednesday

October 21

Free Coworking — Office Hours

8:00 AM–6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Claim your free week pass

6:00–8:00 PM

Folsom AI Meet Up — AWS Startup Programs

Robby Gill, AWS Partner Initiatives Manager · hosted by Startup Folsom

Granite City Workspaces · 705 Gold Lake Dr, Suite 250

Monthly AI meetup: 30 min networking, then a talk on AWS Startup Programs.

Session page →

Thursday

October 22

Build Day

10:00 AM–10:00 PM

Free Coworking — Office Hours

8:00 AM–6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Claim your free week pass

10:30–11:15 AM

Building a Company Brain (w/AI)

Justin Fortier, FYC Labs

Your company already owns years of documents, emails, tickets, and customer records. Most of it is hard to search and harder to use. A company brain puts an AI layer over that information so your team can ask questions and get answers grounded in your own data.

Justin Fortier (FYC Labs) shows the immediate value already sitting in your company's data, and how to start putting it to work.

What you'll learn

  • What a company brain is, in plain terms, and what it can and can't do
  • How to find the data you already have that is worth connecting first
  • Quick wins: the questions and tasks where a company brain pays off soonest
  • How to think about access and privacy so the right people see the right information

Who it's for

Business owners, operations and sales leaders, and technical leads who want to get more value out of the information their company already has. Suitable for beginners and for teams already experimenting with AI.

About the speaker

Justin Fortier is the founder of Fractal Group, a consortium of technology services, software startups, and angel investing. He previously led FYC Labs as CEO/CTO, serving clients including Remax, PepsiCo, and Budweiser.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

11:30 AM–12:30 PM

AI in the Sales Process: Is Humanless Sales Worth It?

Chris Warren, Mendocino Management

AI can find leads, answer calls, route them, summarize them, and coach the people on them. The bigger question is whether taking the human out of sales is worth it. Chris Warren (Mendocino Management) looks at how AI can support the sales process, and tests the hypothesis that the reduced results of humanless sales outweigh the cost savings.

Expect a business-first look at the numbers, not a technology demo.

What you'll learn

  • Where AI genuinely helps in the sales process: lead follow-up, call routing, summaries, quality checks, and rep support
  • The case for and against fully humanless sales calls
  • How to compare cost per call with cost per closed sale before you automate
  • How to decide where to keep people on the line

Who it's for

Sales leaders, call center managers, business owners who run phone-based sales or support, and anyone weighing an AI voice or automation project for customer conversations.

About the speaker

Chris Warren is the founder of Mendocino Management, a Folsom consulting firm focused on sales optimization and AI transformation. He holds an MBA, a Master of Science in Business Analytics, and a PMP certification, and co-founded Debt.Help, which was sold within 24 months of launch after scaling to over twenty-five million dollars a year in revenue. He is a Professor at Jessup University in the Computer Science division, manages limited client engagements, and serves as the Executive Director of the non-profit Better Bridge.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

12:30–1:30 PM

Build Day Lunch

Historic Folsom, CA

Informal lunch a block away, a short walk to Sutter St in Historic Folsom. First beverage is on Granite City. The exact spot goes to registered guests only, so RSVP to get the location.

1:30–2:00 PM

Smart Building AI

FollowThrough Works

A building is a set of systems: doors, rooms, network, displays, sensors. AI is starting to connect them so a space can run itself. Kyle from Granite City Workspaces and FollowThrough Works shows the real systems already running at Granite City and how the same approach applies to your own space.

You'll see what is running today, how the pieces connect, and where AI does the work that used to take a person.

What you'll learn

  • How a space can be automated end to end, from access and rooms to network and displays
  • What is already running at Granite City, and what it took to get there
  • Where AI adds value in a smart building, and where simple automation is enough
  • How to start on your own office, venue, or property without a big upfront project

Who it's for

Office and property managers, coworking and venue operators, business owners with a physical space, and anyone curious how smart building technology and AI fit together.

About the speaker

Kyle runs Granite City Workspaces in Folsom and is behind CommonSignal (thecommonsignal.com), the coworking and smart-building management platform grown out of Granite City's own systems.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

2:00–3:00 PM

AI Governance & the Law

George Usi, Omnistruct

Rolling out AI across a business raises questions that a tool's marketing page won't answer: what data goes where, who is accountable, and what the legal exposure is. George Usi (CEO & Co-founder, Omnistruct) covers what leaders need to know about AI governance, policy, and legal risk before they roll AI out.

The session is aimed at leaders making decisions, not engineers writing code. General information only, not legal advice.

What you'll learn

  • What an AI use policy should cover, and why to have one before your team starts using AI
  • How to think about data privacy and vendor risk when choosing AI tools
  • The main legal and compliance risks leaders should have on their radar
  • How to roll out AI in stages so governance keeps up with adoption

Who it's for

Business owners, executives, IT and operations leaders, and anyone responsible for policy, risk, or compliance at a company that is starting to use AI.

About the speaker

George Usi is CEO and co-founder of Omnistruct, a cybersecurity and compliance company focused on cyber risk transference, governance, and compliance. He has more than 25 years of experience in Internet governance and enterprise security and co-chairs the California IPv6 Task Force.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

3:10–3:55 PM

More Customers, More Revenue: Using AI Without Losing the Human Touch

Brian Hammond, FYC Labs

Getting more customers and growing revenue is a system, not a personality trait. Brian Hammond (FYC Labs) shows how founders, SMB owners, and early teams can use AI to find the right buyers, convert more conversations, and keep deals moving without sounding like a robot or losing the human touch that actually wins trust.

You'll leave with a clearer picture of where growth leaks in your own customer journey, which parts to hand to AI first, and three practical plays you can run the following week.

What you'll learn

  • How to map your path from first touch to revenue and spot where customers stall
  • How AI helps you find and research the right buyers (without spraying everyone)
  • How to use AI for follow-through that converts. Nail your replies, proposals, and next steps so they don't die in the inbox
  • What never to automate, and how to keep the personal touch that grows revenue

Who it's for

SMB owners, tech founders, and early-stage teams scaling up. Or, anyone wearing the “get more customers / grow revenue” hat, whether or not “sales” is in their title.

About the speaker

Brian J. Hammond is VP of Sales at FYC Labs, an award-winning software development agency. He helps founders and SMBs turn AI into practical customer and revenue systems, and writes the “Selling Satire” blog.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

4:00–5:45 PM

hAIppy Hour at UCFB

UCFB

Demos and drinks with the Granite City crowd at UCFB.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

6:00–8:00 PM

Have an idea for an app but no developer? This hands-on Lovable workshop takes you from idea to a working app, live, with no developer experience needed.

Matthew Loughran (Founder, CraftsmanAI, and Lovable City Ambassador for Sacramento) leads the session and builds alongside you, so you see each step as it happens. It is the finale of Build Day, held after the day's talks.

What you'll learn

  • How to turn a rough idea into a clear prompt that Lovable can build from
  • How to build a working app live, one step at a time
  • How to change and refine what you've built by talking to the tool
  • What to do next once your first version is running

Who it's for

Founders, operators, and curious builders with no coding background who want to see how quickly an idea can become a working app. Bring an idea you'd like to build.

About the speaker

Matthew Loughran is the Founder and CEO of CraftsmanAI and a Lovable City Ambassador in Sacramento. He helps founders and businesses turn ideas into production-ready products using Lovable, AI, and automation, and runs hands-on workshops and events for the regional startup community.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

8:00–10:00 PM

After Party at The Commons

Close out Build Day with the Granite City crowd, right here in the Commons.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Friday

October 23

Free Coworking — Office Hours

8:00 AM–6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. Claim your free week pass

10:00–11:30 AM

AI is moving fast, and it is easy to keep reacting to it without deciding what you want from it. Jeromy Zajonc (Running Water Coaching) leads a Goal House AI Pause: a guided session to step back and think clearly about AI in your business and your goals.

This is a coaching-style session. Less demo, more thinking, with time to work through your own situation.

What you'll learn

  • How to separate the AI tools that serve your goals from the ones that just add noise
  • How to decide where AI belongs in your business, and where it doesn't
  • How to set one clear, realistic AI-related goal for the next 90 days
  • A simple habit for keeping your focus as the tools keep changing

Who it's for

Founders, operators, and professionals who feel pulled in many directions by AI and want a clear, calm plan. No technical experience needed. Goal House members and newcomers are both welcome.

About the speaker

Jeromy Zajonc is the founder of Running Water Coaching and a certified life and performance coach with more than 15 years of experience. He leads Goal House, a group coaching program for founders and operators at Granite City Workspaces.

Use the email on your Luma account to see this RSVP there.

Session page →

From Past Tech Weeks

See The Commons in action.

Photos from Folsom Tech Week at The Commons at Granite City — where most of our Sac Tech Week sessions take place.

A crowd gathered for a session at The Commons at Granite City in Folsom
Sessions in The Commons
A panel discussion at The Commons at Granite City in Folsom
Panels and talks
A wide view of a full crowd at The Commons at Granite City in Folsom
Room for the whole crowd
The audience watching a hackathon presentation at The Commons at Granite City in Folsom
Build Day energy
Who's Presenting

Meet the presenters.

Meet the people leading our sessions. Tap a name for their full bio, LinkedIn, website, and booking link.

Granite City Workspaces / CommonSignal

Smart Building AI — Thursday

Runs Granite City Workspaces in Folsom and is behind CommonSignal.

thecommonsignal.comRead full bio →
LinkedIn coming soonBooking link coming soon
Frequently Asked Questions

Sac Tech Week in Folsom FAQs

When is Folsom-Cordova Tech Week?

Folsom-Cordova Tech Week (formerly Folsom Tech Week) returns March 1–5, 2027.

Get Involved

Want to help make the week happen?

RSVP for each session right on its card above — this form is just for people who want to pitch in.

Prefer Luma? Already have a Luma account?

Every Granite City session is on our Luma calendar. Sign in to Luma to register in one click.

Want the full citywide picture — every venue, every event, all week?

Visit the official Sac Tech Week site
After the Week

Can't make it to Sac Tech Week? Or want more?

Sac Tech Week is a great way to see what's happening across the region. If your schedule doesn't line up this week, or you'd like a deeper dive, Folsom-Cordova Tech Week returns March 1–5, 2027 across Historic Folsom and Rancho Cordova.

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