Few people understand the experience of being a founder. We've all been through the trough of sorrow—some have made it out, some haven't. We've felt the isolation of working long hours, of knowing the last 6 months of effort hangs on the reply from a VC, of maxing out your credit card to keep the servers running.

This is a chance to unplug, recharge, treat yo self, and swap stories with the few people who can empethize with your experience. Before you work yourself to death, or give yourself scurvy.

Structured Unstructure

The group is moderately curated—only current or recent founders, and ideally everybody will know somebody but nobody will know everybody (we all get a chance to spend time with friends and make new connections). Digital detox isn't required, but encouraged.

And hey—we know co-founding a company is a bit like a marriage, so if you're tired of seeing their stupid face, play ro-sham-bo to see who gets to come this time, and who goes next time.

It's really for you and what you want to make of it. If sitting by the fireplace with a good book is what you need, then self-care with some Tolkien!

Nodes and Edges

Many of us get stuck in our networks based on who we've worked for or what program we've been through. Whether we're part of the Salesforce / Square / Twitter / Facebook mafias, or we're YC / 500 alumni. Intersections of these groups are where new connections are made that wouldn't happen otherwise.

What This Is Not

This is not an elitist social club—remember, but for a happy circumstance of birth, you would not be where you are. This is not an event to sell you timeshares or other services, I hate those more than you do. This is not a product launch. This is not a profit-seeking (or making) enterprise. This is not a cult, but you're welcome to drink koolaid if you brought enough to share.

Further Reading