An open community for founders
Founders helping founders. Free. Forever.
Badass Founders is an open, volunteer-run community where builders trade what actually happened: the wins, the scars, and the numbers. No dues. No upsell. No pitch funnel. Show up, give first, build louder.
What this is
A community, not a product
Open by default
If you want in, you are in. Founder, operator, dreamer at day zero: the door has no bouncer. Attendance never costs a cent, and that is written into how we are organizing, not just into the marketing.
Real over polished
The format is built for the truth. Every story includes the scar tissue: the near-death month, the cofounder mess, the pivot that hurt. Highlight reels stay at the door.
Yours, not ours
Chapters are run by local founders who volunteer, get certified, and own their room. Nobody owns the community. Not even us. It can be guided, never controlled.
The format
One hour. Two founders. Zero varnish.
The Badass Hour runs the same way in every chapter, every month. Repetition is the feature: it keeps the bar high and the ego low, and it means any founder can walk into any chapter and know exactly what they will get.
Say hi to a stranger. That is the whole instruction.
One win and one scar. What worked, what nearly killed the company, and the real numbers behind both.
Straight ones, from the room. No speeches disguised as questions.
Same deal. A different company, a different scar.
The room digs in again.
Who needs what, who has what. Then everyone goes back to building.
The rules we run on
Commitments, not vibes
Adapted from Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway's The Startup Community Way, and adopted on purpose.
Founders lead
Everyone else (investors, sponsors, universities, us) helps.
Anyone who wants in is in
Inclusion is the strategy, not a slide.
Free forever
Attendance never has a price. Ever.
Give first
Show up with help before you show up with asks.
Trust beats hierarchy
Networks of trust. No org chart, no inner circle.
Play the twenty-year game
Communities compound. We are patient.
Guided, never owned
You tend a community like a garden, not a machine.
Not a funnel
What we will never do
Sell access to you
Your inbox is not our inventory. Nobody pays us to reach you, and your data is not a product.
Paywall the room
No premium tier, no inner circle, no "apply to see if you qualify." The room is the offer, and the room is free.
Turn the stage into an ad
Sponsors keep the coffee flowing and get loud gratitude for it. They do not get the microphone. Here is exactly how that works.