Inside The Founders Club Forum: A Community for Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship has always been portrayed as glamorous: the visionary founder, the big idea, the rapid growth. But behind the headlines, many founders share a quieter reality—building a company can be profoundly lonely.
That insight is at the heart of Founders Club, a rapidly growing private network designed to connect entrepreneurs not just around business strategy, but around life itself.
Founders Club Forum at COSM Los Angeles
MomsLA was invited to interview the founders of Founders Club at their recent event: Founders Club Forum.
The event was attended by 500 Founders Club members, some of the most influential founders and entrepreneurs. This one-day experience is dubbed as the “Coachella for founders.”
About Founders Club
Founded by entrepreneurs Chris Meade and Aaron Spivak, the organization began as a small series of dinners for founders who wanted to connect with others facing similar challenges.
Today it has grown into an international community with local chapters, retreats, curated events, and a private network of founders building high-growth companies.
At its core, the club is built around a simple premise: no founder should have to build alone.
From Startup Success to Startup Isolation
For Spivak, the idea for the club grew out of his own entrepreneurial journey.
At just 21, he created one of the early versions of the weighted blanket for adults and built the company into an international brand sold in 70 countries. By age 25, he had sold the business.
But success didn’t feel the way he expected.
“Everyone is celebrating you,” Spivak said in an interview. “Everyone thinks you’re a genius… and I’ve never felt more alone in my whole life.”
The experience revealed something many founders quietly struggle with: the higher they climb, the fewer people around them truly understand their challenges.
That realization led Spivak and Meade—who previously co-founded the sports brand Crossnet—to start gathering entrepreneurs together informally for dinners and conversations. Those gatherings eventually evolved into what is now The Founders Club.
A Life Club, Not Just a Business Club
At first glance, The Founders Club might sound like another business networking group. But the founders say that’s not the point.
“This is a life club, not a business club,” Meade explained.
Members connect around the realities of entrepreneurship: hiring struggles, financial pressure, leadership decisions, and the emotional ups and downs of building something from scratch.
“Entrepreneurship, for whatever reason, is designed to be a lonely journey,” Spivak said. “It’s not supposed to be that way.”
Today, the community offers curated mastermind groups, private messaging networks, retreats, and in-person gatherings designed to help founders connect with peers facing similar challenges.
Members also participate in dozens of events each year—from small dinners and speaker sessions to larger conferences and destination retreats.
A Growing Role for Women Founders
While startup communities have historically been male-dominated, The Founders Club says it is working to build a more balanced membership.
And in fact, the membership is 35% women founders.
Today roughly one-third of members are women, including founders, executives, and investors. Inside the community, members have created dedicated groups and events for women entrepreneurs, including support networks for mothers and single parents navigating both business and family life.
For many women founders, that peer support is critical.
“You can be a great mom, build a great company, and still live a full life,” Meade said.
Mind, Body, and Business
Unlike traditional founder organizations that focus exclusively on strategy and growth metrics, The Founders Club emphasizes what it calls a “mind, body, and business” approach.
The idea is that a founder’s personal life, health, and relationships are inseparable from the success of their company.
“You can have billions of dollars,” Meade said. “But if your health is failing and your family life is falling apart, that’s not success.”
Members talk about everything from scaling companies to parenting, relationships, burnout, and personal growth.
“Your business needs to fit into your life—not the other way around,” one founder explained.
That philosophy has resonated with many entrepreneurs who feel overwhelmed by the constant pressure of startup culture.
A Selective Community
Despite its rapid growth, The Founders Club remains highly selective.
The organization receives thousands of applications each month but accepts only a small percentage of candidates.
Membership is vetted not only for business success but also for values.
“We’re looking for people who want to give more than they take,” Spivak said.
According to the organization, the goal is to build a community where founders actively support one another through every stage of the entrepreneurial journey.
Building the Future of Founder Communities
As the organization expands to new cities—including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Toronto—it reflects a broader shift in the startup world.
Entrepreneurs are increasingly looking for something deeper than networking events or social media communities.
They want real relationships.
“In a world where we’re so connected online,” Meade said, “we’re actually not.”
The Founders Club aims to fill that gap—bringing together entrepreneurs who are building companies, raising families, and navigating the challenges of modern leadership together.
Because, as one founder put it simply:
“No founder wins alone.”
Sarah Auerswald is the co-Founder and Managing Editor of MomsLA.com.
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