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Founder Groups San Francisco

Venture into San Francisco's founder scene

Sold Startups: Founders Who Built and Exited

Sold Startups: Founders Who Built and Exited

Thu, Jul 30, 4:00 PM
From Global AI Makers • West Coast • AI CEOs, Founders, Makers
4.6

What does it actually take to build something worth buying? Most business content is about raising money, growing users, or surviving the early days. This event skips all of that and goes straight to the part most founders never reach: the exit. We bring together founders who built real businesses and sold them. Some closed in weeks. Some took years. Some used AI to build faster than any team could. Some bootstrapped with no outside funding and sold to a strategic buyer. Some built newsletter businesses, AI apps, SaaS tools, no-code platforms, vibe coding projects, and AI agent products that a larger company wanted enough to write a check for. Every founder in the series has something most startup content glosses over: a real number, a real timeline, and a real story about what the process actually felt like from the inside. This event is for founders at any stage, operators who want to understand what makes a business acquirable. Best for.... \- AI founders building without a technical team \- People who use tools like Cursor\, Base44\, Bolt\, Lovable\, and Replit \- Startup CEOs thinking about their first or next exit Each founder walks through what they built, who bought it, what the negotiation looked like, what they would do differently, and what they are working on now. No panels. No investor pitches. No surface-level advice. Just founders telling the truth about what it took to get to the other side. The audience is small and the questions are open. Come ready to ask the one you actually want answered. *Note: Date may change to accommodate guest speakers. Check this page for the most current information.*

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3 attendees
Berkeley AI Founders & Builders Meetup

Berkeley AI Founders & Builders Meetup

Sat, Jun 27, 8:00 PM
From Berkeley AI Founders & Builders Meetup

​Come connect with AI founders, builders, operators, and researchers in the Berkeley area. Whether you're working on a startup, doing research, or just deep in the AI space, this is a casual drop-in to meet your people. Hosted by Juanita Alvarez, Founder & CEO of Ciph Lab® (PBC) ​[ciph-lab.com](https://ciph-lab.com/?utm_source=luma) — a San Francisco-based company building governance architecture for human-AI oversight gaps — and UC Berkeley BASIS AI Safety Policy Fellow. ​Cal students and Berkeley alums are especially welcome. Come when you can, leave when you need to.

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10 attendees
The Future of Agentic Engineering and AI Workforces with Qoder

The Future of Agentic Engineering and AI Workforces with Qoder

Thu, Jul 2, 9:00 PM
From AI Builders Silicon Valley

**Overview** For engineering and business leaders at high-growth companies, this invite-only gathering goes beyond “which AI tool should we use?” to examine how autonomous AI workforces are moving from model to production. Qoder, QoderWork, AI Builders, and Z.AI will bring together CTOs, VPs of Engineering, founders, and technical executives to explore how specialized AI agents can scale coding and everyday work while preserving architecture judgment, code ownership, review discipline, and security. The session will go under the hood of Qoder Expert Mode and QoderWork’s multi-agent workflows, alongside Z AI’s GLM-5.2, a flagship model for long-horizon tasks, project-scale engineering context, and agentic coding with a 1M-token context window. **Agenda** * **2:00 PM** — Check-in & Pre-Networking * **2:30 PM** — Opening Remarks * **2:40 PM** — Qoder/QoderWork Intro and Demo — Joey Huang (Solution Architect, Qoder) * **3:10 PM** — The Production & Ecosystem Layer — Chenyi Zhang (Member of Technical Staff, Character AI) * **3:40 PM** — The Model Layer Perspective — Cara Li (Head of Global Ecosystem Partnerships, Z AI) * **4:10 PM** — Open Networking * **5:00 PM** — Event Closes **Who Should Join** * CEO/CTOs and Heads of Engineering deciding how AI coding should securely enter their engineering orgs. * Senior AI Engineers and Platform Leads building next-gen AI agents looking to harness the full potential of the model layer. * Business Leaders and Founders looking to optimize resource allocation and accelerate top-line growth via autonomous workforce agents. **Perks** * Every attendee will receive 2,000 Qoder credits upon creating/registering their active Qoder account. * Food and drinks included throughout the open networking session. **Co-hosts** * **Qoder** — an agentic coding platform that helps developers automate complex software tasks. QoderWork operates as a macro-level, autonomous agentic teammate for everyday work. * **AI Builders** — a premier community of builders, developers, and innovators in the San Francisco Bay Area, Singapore, and Tokyo. * **Corgi** — a full-stack insurance platform for technology companies, home to Corgi Cafe: a 24/7 space for builders, founders, and investors. *This is an invite-only event and approval is required to attend.*

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1 attendee
Founder-to-Founder: Q&A with Guy Yalif (July 9th, 2026)

Founder-to-Founder: Q&A with Guy Yalif (July 9th, 2026)

Thu, Jul 9, 11:30 PM
From Founders Network San Francisco/Silicon Valley

VIRTUAL EVENT — IMPORTANT JOIN INSTRUCTIONS This event is hosted via the Founders Network platform. Once your registration is approved, you'll receive your personalized join link by email from foundersnetwork.com. Please use ONLY the link from your Founders Network confirmation email — any meeting link shown on this page may not let you in for this event. You can also access your link from your account at https://members.foundersnetwork.com/ --- Join Guy Yalif, former CEO of Intellimize and current Chief Evangelist at Webflow, for a conversation on what actually drives durable growth in the age of AI.As AI makes it easier than ever to build products, Guy shares why the founders who win aren’t just the fastest, they’re the ones who listen best. From customer development and distribution to founder relationships and defensibility, this episode explores the fundamentals that still matter most.We’ll cover:What’s actually defensible in the AI eraWhy customer conversations matter more than everLessons from building and scaling IntellimizeHow AI is changing growth, SEO, and marketingThe realities of founder commitment, trust, and resilienceDon’t miss this episode of the Founders Network Podcast for an honest look at building and growing companies in a rapidly changing world.About the SpeakerGuy Yalif is a former CMO and martech CEO with over 20 years of experience helping marketers use AI to drive revenue on websites and across digital advertising. Currently Webflow's Chief Evangelist, Guy has been a marketing leader at Twitter, BrightRoll, Tradeweave, Yahoo, and Intellimize. He has been a part of four successful exits and was cofounder and CEO of Intellimize, which Webflow acquired in 2024. He was also an aerospace engineer and made the oh-so-typical journey from there to CMO.Confidentiality Policy:All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.

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2 attendees
Founders Running Club :: Easy 5-10km Run + Talks

Founders Running Club :: Easy 5-10km Run + Talks

Sat, Jun 27, 4:30 PM
From Founders Running Club :: San Francisco
4.8

**Founders Running Club** (FRC) brings founders, investors, operators and creators together for weekly easy runs and networking. We like to be comfortable when we run and finish with coffee and more conversations. Choose your pace or follow a pacer—pets, friends, family, are welcome. ​​🗓️ Launched in San Francisco, July 16, 2022 🌍 Now in 55+ cities 📅 Running + Networking events + Community ​​Join the community [https://heylo.group/frc-sf](https://heylo.group/frc-sf) **​Follow us**: Instagram [http://instagram.com/foundersrc/](http://instagram.com/foundersrc/%EF%BF%BCPodcast) Podcast [https://podcast.foundersrc.com](https://podcast.foundersrc.com/) LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/](http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/) Strava [http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC](http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC) Website [http://foundersrc.com/](http://foundersrc.com/) Chats [http://foundersrc.com/chats](http://foundersrc.com/chats)

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6 attendees
FOUNDERS GATHERINGS  (💡Read description)

FOUNDERS GATHERINGS (💡Read description)

Fri, Jun 26, 11:00 PM
From FRIDAY FOUNDER'S GATHERINGS in San Francisco
4.7

**"This event is ONLY for founders/CEO/ C-levels"** (No Talent Recruiter) **For precise location, please REGISTER HERE** 👉 [https://luma.com/7xfjplhp](https://luma.com/7xfjplhp) **Add me on Linkedin for update!** [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyosuke-togami-338ba6a3/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyosuke-togami-338ba6a3/) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- We are hosting casual gatherings with tech start-up founders, offering networking opportunities to find partners, clients, investors, or like-minded friends. As you may already know, when it comes to having a start-up in San Francisco, the environment surrounding you is crucial. We believe in mutual support to help each other reach the next level, and I am actively involved in introducing you to the connections, places, and information you need. **For precise location, please REGISTER HERE** 👉 [https://luma.com/7xfjplhp](https://luma.com/7xfjplhp) **Add me on Linkedin for update!** [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyosuke-togami-338ba6a3/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyosuke-togami-338ba6a3/) Our event boasts an impressive lineup of attendees, including esteemed individuals from renowned organizations such as Y Combinator, 500 Startups, and numerous talented founders from across the globe. The majority of these attendees are exceptional pre-seed founders who have demonstrated significant traction in their respective fields. We are delighted to bring together such a diverse and accomplished group of individuals, creating an invaluable networking and learning opportunity for all participants. \*Please note that if you register but are unable to attend without notifying us in advance, we may not be able to extend future invitations to you. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. **"LAST FOUNDER'S GATHERINGS"** ​ ・Founder @ Tennis by Maddy Backed by athletes like Serena Williams and Michael Jordan, my startup seeks to offer accessible racquet sport instruction online and AI analysis of player progress. ・Founder and CEO @ OpsLyft A FinOps platform helping organizations increase their COGS by correlating their cloud costs with business units. ・Co-Founder, CEO @ Banquette Connecting people through the power of breaking bread ・Founder @ Your Spin Limited Connect drink brands with consumers through instant gratification and gamification. ・CTO @ Stealth Startup Helping product-led sales companies get more revenue with CRM looks like tool gathering CRM and Product Usage + AI ・Founder @ Design Buddies Design community with a total audience of 150,000+ helping designers improve their skills and land jobs ・CTO @ W4Labs Unrestricted AI platform ・Co-founder & CEO @Stealth We're building an AI platform to help European companies enter the Product-Led-Sales era. ML for cohort analytics, LLM for actionable insights about upsell, churn... ・Co-founder and CEO @ Ivy Insights AI-powered insights platform for e-commerce growth. ・CMO @ Mockdrivingtest Platform connecting driving instructors to students ・Cofounder @ Enu AI AI-powered self-serve analytics ・Founder @ Altcodelabs Providing consultation services (AI/ Machine Learning) to tech startups to build their MVP. ・Founder @ Vibes Cryptography for applied category theory in intelligence systems for data processing applications with social twin cognition for user adaptive neuromorphic implications while working with computers or robotics ・Cofounder @Moonshot helps startup founders improve their investor pitches, iterate 10x faster. ・Co-Founder @ Permar AI Website Optimization on Autopilot ・Chief Creative Officer @ MediaRide High end video/marketing for tech companies. ・CEO @ B2Metric Data analytics and customer journey solutions specialized in churn prediction. ・Founder & CEO @ Pave AI Enabling Solo Founders to Build Billion-Dollar Businesses ・Principal @ Bosch VC Agnostic VC investing in deeptech ・Co-Founder @ Enu AI No-code data access tool. ・Founder @ Elevate Eliminating manual data entry with Camera-based Fitness Tracking ・CEO/Founder @ Analytica Consulting Self-funded Analytica Consulting serves clients in both private and public sectors, helping businesses use their data to make better decisions and run their operations more effectively. ・Co-founder @ stealth AI platform for SMB sales of PLG companies ・Co-founder @ Impact Academy Fully launched. Non-profit Educational programs for global talent focused on reducing catastrophic risks and contributing to a better future. ーーーーーーーーーーーーー ## **Would you like to be part of our team ?** ​**👉 [Details >](https://melts.notion.site/Would-you-like-to-be-part-of-our-team-7fb9ed751f3346a9a758988ffca3f9c3?pvs=4)**

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2 attendees
430kMonthly events
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Frequently asked questions

Founder Groups on Meetup focus on connecting business founders for networking, sharing experiences, and growth in various industries.

Use Meetup's search feature to explore groups by entering 'founder' and setting your location to San Francisco. Results will display relevant events.

Founder meetings often involve networking, discussions, and talks on entrepreneurship, challenges, and opportunities in the business world.

Yes, you can join multiple groups to broaden your connections and gain varied insights across different founder networks in San Francisco.

Joining groups and attending some events can be free, but certain events might have fees. Check each event's details for specific information.

Absolutely, many founder groups cater to solo entrepreneurs, focusing on topics like growth strategies and overcoming business challenges alone.

RSVP by selecting the event and clicking the RSVP button. Ensure your commitment, as spaces could be limited and organizers appreciate accurate counts.

Yes, once you’ve joined a group, you might be able to propose events. Each group may have different rules, so check the specific group's guidelines.

While not guaranteed, these groups often attract diverse attendees, including potential mentors, partners, or investors interested in new ventures.

Frequency varies by group. Some have regular weekly or monthly meetups, while others meet less often. Check individual groups for their schedule.

Meetup supports various interests and not just business. Focus on group selection to align with specific networking goals relevant to founders.

Yes, both online and in-person meetups are available, especially due to flexibility during current hybrid work trends.

While Meetup facilitates connections, it does not guarantee business contracts. Success relies on active participation and networking efforts.

If a specific founder group doesn’t exist, you can consider starting a new one to tailor to unmet needs or join virtual groups until a local one forms.

Attendance can vary based on the group and event type. Popular and well-advertised events tend to have higher attendance.