Real Conversations
Talk openly about hiring, fundraising, GTM, leadership, product, AI, burnout, growth, and everything that happens between the milestones.
Built by founders. For founders.
Building a company is hard. You shouldn’t have to do it alone.
The Founders Experience brings founders and startup leaders together to share the realities of building, learn from each other, and grow stronger companies together.
Membership is free for accepted founders and operators.
Backed by
Founder-led conversationsCurated introductionsPrivate communityIn-person experiences
Why join
The conversations founders actually need.
No feeds, no noise, no pitch floors. Just people who are in the work, sharing what it really takes.
Learn From Builders
Learn directly from founders and operators solving similar problems at different stages of growth.
Build Real Relationships
No endless networking feeds. The goal is genuine relationships between people building ambitious companies.
Grow Together
Share wins, failures, introductions, resources, and lessons with people who understand the journey.
Community
A private community, not another feed.
A curated directory of founders and operators you can actually reach, filtered by stage, function, and the problem you’re trying to solve right now.
- Curated member directory
- Private discussion space
- Stage and function filters
- Direct access, no gatekeeping
Who has hired a first sales leader?
StageFunctionIndustry
APA. PatelFounder · FintechSeed
JKJ. KimOperator · DevtoolsSeries A
MLM. LopezGTM Lead · HealthtechPre-seed
Events
Gatherings worth showing up for.
Dinners, panels, roundtables, and coworking sessions. Small rooms, honest agendas, and formats designed for real conversation instead of business-card swaps.
- Founder dinners and panels
- Operator roundtables
- Coworking and office hours
- San Francisco and virtual
Oct2026
Coming soon
The Founders Panel
San Francisco · Panel
JMJGDCLB+
Members only · FreeIntroductions
Introductions that actually land.
Tell us what you’re working on and we connect you with the member who has solved it before, with context on both sides, so the first call starts at the useful part.
- Hand-matched by the founders
- Context shared up front
- Warm, double opt-in
- Follow-through, not just an email
Curated introduction
SDRH
You’re both hiring your first sales leader. Worth 30 minutes this week?
Hand-matched · Double opt-in · Context shared up front
How it works
From application to your first table in three steps.
01
Apply
Tell us what you’re building and where you are in the journey. Every application is read by a founder, not a filter.
02
Get accepted
We curate for people actively building companies. If it’s a fit, you’re in. Membership is free.
03
Plug in
Join roundtables, dinners, and the private community. Get introduced to people who have solved the problem in front of you.
What members get
More than another founder LinkedIn chat.
Real conversations, curated relationships, and gatherings that help you make better decisions.
Everything is designed around one goal: you leave each conversation with something you can use: an answer, an introduction, or the confidence to make the call.
- Founder roundtables
- Private member community
- Curated introductions
- Operator conversations
- Founder dinners
- Panels and fireside chats
- Coworking sessions
- Startup resources
- Invitations to private events
Who should join
Built for people building companies.
We prioritize people actively building, scaling, or leading startup companies.
Founders
Leading a company through the hard parts of growth.
Cofounders
Building alongside a partner and looking for peer counsel.
Startup Executives
Scaling teams, systems, and culture inside high-growth companies.
Technical Leaders
Guiding product and engineering through rapid change.
GTM Leaders
Owning growth, revenue, and market motion.
Operators
Making the company work day to day, and compounding the lessons.
Backed by operators
Made by people who have worked with the best.
TDengine, C3.ai, OpenAI, Meta, Google, Workday, Wave, Anthropic
Anthropic, Wave, Workday, Google, Meta, OpenAI, C3.ai, TDengine
and other Fortune 500 enterprises
Events
Meet online. Build relationships in person.
First gatheringComing soon
The Founders Panel
Our first gathering. A founder panel to open The Founders Experience: real conversation, practical lessons, and the start of the community.
- San Francisco
- Mid-October, SF. Exact date announced to members.
- Founders and operators
Panel
Why we exist
Great companies aren’t built alone. They’re built in community.
Every milestone you celebrate publicly has a hundred hard conversations behind it. We built The Founders Experience so those conversations happen with people who understand them.
- Founders and startup leaders
- 100+
- Membership for accepted members
- Free
- First gathering, San Francisco
- Oct 2026
- In-person and online formats
- SF + Virtual
Questions
Everything founders ask before applying.
Something else on your mind? Ask us in your application. A real person reads every one.
Founders, cofounders, startup executives, technical and GTM leaders, and operators who are actively building companies, from idea stage through Series C and beyond.
Membership is free for accepted founders and operators. The community is supported by partners, never by member fees.
We review every application by hand. If it looks like a fit, we’ll reach out for a short intro conversation, then welcome you into the community.
In-person gatherings in San Francisco, plus virtual roundtables you can join from anywhere. Our first gathering, The Founders Panel, lands in October 2026.
No. There are no endless feeds and no pitch floors. Programming is built around honest conversation: roundtables, dinners, and fireside chats with people in the work.
Yes. Brands partner with us to fund programming and build real relationships with founders. Head to the Partners page to book a meeting or start the conversation.
Join the community
Build alongside people who understand the journey.
Membership is free for accepted founders and operators. Apply and we’ll be in touch.