What Founders Network does

Founders Network is an invite-only, subscription-based peer mentorship community for full-time tech startup founders, founded in 2011 by Kevin Holmes and headquartered in San Francisco. The company operates a curated platform comprising a private online forum (searchable across 12+ years of archives), a member directory, an investor directory of 250+ active funds, and integrated event programming, accessible via desktop web and a dedicated iOS mobile app. Membership is gated by a Membership Committee of high-profile exited founders (including Adam Cheyer/Siri and Jason Gardner/Marqeta), with admission by nomination or application and monthly review cycles.

The product is structured as three annual membership tiers aligned to founder stage: Launch ($900/yr) for idea-stage founders, Scale ($1,608/yr) for market-ready founders adding investor directory access and VC mentoring, and Lead ($2,988/yr) for experienced founders with $1M+ revenue adding peer roundtables and quarterly coaching. A Lifetime tier is offered at a one-time $4,992.92 payment. The company takes no equity from members and generates all revenue from membership dues. The commercial ecosystem extends to 35+ service partners providing $500K+ in accelerator-grade discounts (AWS, Goodwin, Wilson Sonsini, Salesforce, J.P. Morgan, Vanta, Insperity, Justworks), the affiliated FN Fund (GP Kevin Holmes), and two flagship annual events: fnIRL (San Francisco fundraising conference) and fnSummit (3-day Santa Cruz retreat), supported by 100+ annual events across 25+ global tech hub chapters.

Go-to-market is community-led: growth depends on member referrals, peer advocacy, testimonials from exited founders, content marketing through the Founders Edge blog and FN Podcast, and a 35,000+ subscriber email newsletter. The model produces a fragmented customer base of 600+ active full-time founders whose companies have collectively raised $5B+ at an average of $1.1M per member, with the organization credited with helping 2,000+ startups since inception. The company has no disclosed venture capital backing and appears to be founder-controlled and self-funded.

Name

Founders Network

Legal name

Founders Network

Website

https://foundersnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Founders Network is an invite-only, subscription-based peer mentorship community serving 600+ full-time tech startup founders through tiered annual memberships, a vetted investor directory, and 100+ annual events across 25+ global chapters, with no equity taken from members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Founder Mentorship Community

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Networking & Peer Support Platforms (EDAFAMAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Startup founder community
• Peer mentorship network
• Investor introductions
• Founder membership platform
• Entrepreneur networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Founders Network generates revenue entirely from annual membership dues across three tiered plans (Launch, Scale, Lead) and a Lifetime plan. The company does not take equity from members. Discounts are available to portfolio members of tier-1 VCs and select accelerator graduates. All memberships are annual commitments with upgrade flexibility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Founders Network is an invite-only peer mentorship community for full-time tech startup founders, sold as annual membership subscriptions across Launch, Scale, Lead, and Lifetime tiers. Members gain access to private stage-, chapter-, and sector-segmented forums with a 12+ year searchable archive, a curated investor directory with team-facilitated warm introductions, pitch coaching, accelerator-grade partner discounts worth $500K+, and 100+ annual in-person and virtual events.

Product overview

Founders Network is a curated global startup community offering a multi-tiered membership platform for tech startup founders. The core offering is the Mentorship Platform, which provides real-time forums, member directory, and direct messaging. This platform is accessed through web and iOS mobile app. The membership is structured into three tiers: Launch Plan for idea-stage founders, Scale Plan for market-ready founders, and Lead Plan for experienced founders. Additional offerings include the Investor Access program with an investor directory and warm introductions, the Success Coach service for personalized support, and live event programs (fnIRL and fnSummit conferences). The company also provides a Partners & Deals directory with over $500K in startup discounts and publishes content through the Founders Edge Blog and FN Podcast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• fnIRL: Annual spring in-person conference in San Francisco connecting founders with ~100 venture funds and investors.
• fnSummit
• Founders Edge Blog
• FN Podcast
• FN Fund

Products and services

• Founders Network Mentorship Platform Private web and iOS platform providing real-time advice forums segmented by founder stage, chapter, and industry sector; a member directory; direct messaging; and 12+ years of searchable founder wisdom archives for full-time tech startup founders.
• Success Coach Personalized 1-on-1 onboarding and ongoing coaching service providing warm introductions to founders and partners, quarterly goal setting, and progress reviews for Scale and Lead Plan members.
• fnIRL Conference Annual spring fundraising-focused conference in San Francisco connecting founders with approximately 20-100 VC funds and active investors in an intimate in-person setting.
• fnSummit Conference Three-day immersive fall retreat held at Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz, focused on high-level leadership, culture, and advanced growth strategies with workshops, roundtables, and keynote presentations for Lead Plan founders.
• Partners & Deals Curated member benefit program providing $500K+ in accelerator-grade discounts on hosting, banking, legal, HR, payroll, CRM, marketing, analytics, and cloud services from 35+ vetted service provider partners including AWS, Salesforce, Wilson Sonsini, Goodwin Law, J.P. Morgan, Justworks, Insperity, Vanta, and 99designs.
• FN iOS Mobile App Dedicated iOS mobile application providing full Founders Network platform access so members can engage with forums, the member directory, and direct messaging on mobile devices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members have collectively raised $5B+
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DesignlicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2026Designli, a Greenville-based software development agency, partnered with Founders Network to support non-technical founders in building scalable, investor-ready software products. The collaboration combines Designli's product development expertise with FN's peer mentorship and networking resources, with an aim to lower barriers to entry in tech entrepreneurship and accelerate the path from concept to investment. A cited success story is Virtuosity, a coaching app built for two non-technical founders.
• FN Startup Partners (35+ vendor/service providers)coreOthersFN has curated 35+ startup partners providing services including legal (Goodwin Law, Wilson Sonsini), finance/accounting (MontPac), HR & payroll (Insperity, Justworks), cloud infrastructure (AWS), banking (J.P. Morgan), security/compliance (Vanta, Thoropass), design (99designs), and marketing. Collectively these partners provide $500K+ in accelerator-grade discounts to FN members.
• Chapter Hosts and Regional PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFN has 35+ chapter communities in cities including San Francisco, New York, London, Toronto, Austin, Los Angeles, Seattle, Berlin, Bangalore, Singapore, Tel Aviv, and others. Each chapter is supported by local founders who host meetings and facilitate community building in their region.
• fnSummit SponsorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual fnSummit sponsors include Kinkor Consulting, MontPac, Salesforce, Tanooki Labs, People Connect, Goodwin Law, Tyler's Mystery Tours, AWS, EDB Singapore, Four Point Capital Partners, Be Bubbly, Justworks, Thoropass, and Wilson Sonsini. Sponsors support the annual 3-day fall conference for experienced founders.
• fnIRL 2026 SponsorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerfnIRL 2026 sponsors include Every.io, swagup, Fondo, J.P. Morgan, Insperity, Designli, Vanta, 99designs, and Mark Herold Wines. These sponsors support the annual San Francisco fundraising conference connecting founders with ~100 investors.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO): EO is a long-established global peer-network membership organization for founders who have scaled past a revenue threshold, with paid membership, chapter-based forums, and peer-learning events — comparable to FN's Lead tier in audience and structure but broader and more mature.
• Y Combinator: Y Combinator runs the dominant tech-startup accelerator with a massive alumni founder community, founder forums, and Demo Day investor access — the broadest incumbent comparable to FN's mentor-and-investor-introduction model, although it takes equity.
• Vistage: Vistage operates paid peer-advisory groups for CEOs and business leaders, with monthly group meetings, one-on-one coaching, and curated events — analogous to FN's community-led, recurring-dues model but focused on established SMB CEOs rather than tech founders.
• Techstars: Techstars is a global accelerator network offering mentorship-driven programs and an alumni community — comparable to FN's chapter-based mentorship and investor-intro value proposition, but structured as a cohort accelerator rather than an evergreen community.
• Endeavor: Endeavor is a global nonprofit community that selects and supports high-impact entrepreneurs through peer networks, mentorship, and investor connections across 40+ markets — comparable in mission and network structure to FN's premium Lead tier, but non-membership-dues based.

Emerging players

• Antler: Antler is a global early-stage VC and founder community that runs residency programs and connects founders with investors across dozens of countries, overlapping with FN's peer-mentorship and investor-access model but with an equity-backed accelerator structure.

Direct peers

• Chief: Chief is an invite-only private membership network for senior women executives offering peer groups, mentorship, and curated events — directly comparable to FN's vetted, tiered, event-driven community business model, although aimed at executives rather than founders.
• OnDeck: OnDeck (and its spinoff OnDeck Equity) operates paid, invite-style peer communities and programs for early-stage founders and operators, with a similar recurring-dues model and tiered offerings — the most direct comparable to Founders Network's community-led approach.
• Pavilion: Pavilion (formerly Revenue Collective) is a paid, vetted membership community for commercial leaders and operators that delivers peer roundtables, online forums, and curated events — a close analog to FN's tiered, community-led model applied to a different professional cohort.
• Hampton: Hampton is an invite-only membership community for founders, executives, and investors that pairs curated peer groups with private events and Slack-style forums, mirroring FN's vetted-access and community-driven model at a higher price point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/foundersnetwork
• Facebookfacebook.com/foundersnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/founders-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Founders Network