No panels. No pitches. Just conversation. The Founders & Builders meetup brings together people who are actively building—startups, studios, solo projects, side hustles. The format is deliberately unstructured: show up, get a drink, find someone interesting to talk to. What makes it work is the curation. Attendees skew toward design, product, and engineering rather than pure finance. The conversations tend toward "what are you working on" rather than "what's your valuation." It's the networking event for people who usually hate networking events. January's edition focuses on anyone building in AI—not the hype, but the actual product challenges. How do you ship when the models keep changing? How do you price when costs are unpredictable? Bring your unsolved problems.
Why We Love This
Arrive early. The venue fills up by 7:30 and the best conversations happen before the crowd peaks.
Spring Studios, 50 Varick Street, New York