Skip to main content
Founders Club

A Private Entrepreneur
Community in Chicago for 7, 8, and 9-Figure Founders

Chicago has become one of the most magnetic cities in the country for founders, and the room you keep here matters more than ever. Built for operators running serious businesses across the city, where the right relationships make the climb less lonely.

APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP
as seen on
ForbesEntrepreneurINC
Why Members Join

Chicago rewards depth. So does this room.

Building at the highest level means making decisions with limited time and imperfect information. The Founders Club chapter in your city gives you the room that matches the pace and the stakes of what you are building.

01
Get direct, unfiltered feedback on the decisions that define your next chapter: hiring, exits, fundraising, pivots.
02
Access capital, partnerships, and talent across the most active and high-opportunity industries in your market.
03
Build a peer group that does not just celebrate wins. It helps you navigate the hard ones.
04
Stay connected year-round through a high-signal private Slack and exclusive members-only events across the city.
05
Join a founders mastermind that holds the bar where you need it, with peers building businesses of comparable scale and seriousness.
What Membership Includes

The room. The network. The results.

Your Chicago membership unlocks the local chapter and the full national Founders Club network 150+ events, every major city, and a private community of vetted operators.

Founders Club

Monthly Mastermind Groups

Monthly Mastermind Groups

Join an intimate group of 8 to 12 like-minded, high-growth founders for a strategically designed and professionally facilitated session focused on brainstorming and solving your most pressing business challenges. Available both in-person and online.
Group of people seated around a table attentively listening to a man presenting with a screen displaying 'Framework For The Verse' in a room with large windows and a wooden ceiling.

Local Chapter Activations

Local Chapter Activations

As The Founders Club expands coast to coast across the United States, new chapters are emerging in every major market, giving founders more opportunities to meet locally, build deeper relationships, and grow together.
Group of seven adults socializing on a boat with a city skyline and bridge in the background at sunset.

150+ National Events

150+ Member Only Events Access

From in-person masterminds and celebrity guest speakers to box seats at sporting events, X-Games trips, and our once-in-a-lifetime Billion Dollar Dinners, members enjoy a curated lineup of exclusive events throughout the year.
Group of young adults engaged in conversation at an outdoor event during the evening.

Annual Retreat

Annual Retreat

Each year, members from across the country gather for The Founders Club Annual Retreat, an immersive experience in one of Mexico’s most breathtaking destinations. Blending strategy, connection, and renewal, it gives founders the space to realign and return home ready to lead at a higher level.
Group of four young men socializing indoors, one holding a drink and another holding a bottle.

Members Only Slack

Members Only Slack

Tap into a private Slack community of vetted founders across industries and stages. Get real-time feedback, referrals, hiring help, vendor recommendations, and honest insight from operators who are in the trenches with you every day.
Group of young adults posing shirtless and in swimwear outdoors, with lush green foliage in the background.

$100K+ in Travel Perks

Travel Discounts

$100K+ in Perks
Members receive preferred rates on luxury hotels, premium airlines, and curated travel experiences around the world. Whether you’re booking a personal getaway or extending a business trip, our partnerships unlock meaningful savings and elevated perks that compound over time.
Two people working on laptops at a table, one wearing headphones and glasses, with a potted plant nearby.

Founders Club App

Founders Club App

The Founders Club App keeps the entire ecosystem in your pocket. RSVP to events, access resources, and stay plugged into what’s happening across chapters, all from your phone. Your network, organized and accessible wherever you are.
Three people sitting together at a wooden bar counter in a dimly lit setting, engaging in conversation.

Curated Connections

Curated Connections

We don’t leave networking to chance. Through intentional introductions and thoughtful matchmaking, members are connected to the right people at the right time—whether that’s a strategic partner, investor, operator, or lifelong friend. The goal isn’t more contacts. It’s the right ones.
Three people sitting together at a wooden bar counter in a dimly lit setting, engaging in conversation.

Men's & Women's Growth Workshop

Men's & Women's Growth Workshop

Purposefully small gatherings that create protected space for vulnerability, personal development, and growth in mind and body.
Who Belongs in Chicago

For founders who build on fundamentals, not fanfare.

Members are typically founders and operators running 7 to 9 figure businesses across Chicago's most established and emerging industries. The city tends to attract a certain kind of operator: disciplined, direct, and genuinely invested in the people around them.

What matters more than your revenue number is how you show up. We want founders who lead with generosity, share what they've learned, and make the room better just by being in it.

If you're still building your first proof of concept, this isn't your moment. If you're running a serious business in Chicago and looking for a peer group that operates at your level, this is your room.

Outdoor dining area at dusk with string lights hanging above tables and chairs surrounded by palm trees.
Group of young adults socializing indoors, some holding drinks, with large glass windows and outdoor patio visible.

Member Overview

A snapshot of what's being built inside the Founders Club network.

$1B
Combined Revenue
$28M
Average Revenue
800+
Vetted Members
15+
Cities

The founders already inside.

A look at the operators building inside the Chicago chapter right now.

Anne Mahlum
SolidCore

Anne’s session on leadership and self-mastery at Founders Forum became one of the most talked-about events of the year.

Her story of resilience continues to shape the Club’s culture of high performance with empathy.

Jake Karls
Midday Squares

Jake has taken the stage at our Annual Retreat and calls The Club “the only place where founders can speak without filters.”

His roundtable in Miami inspired dozens of members to take bold creative risks that transformed their brands.

Megan Klein
Little Saints

“Secured a $2.3M partnership from a dinner introduction.”

Through a single TFC dinner, Megan connected with a strategic investor who helped scale her beverage brand into national retail chains within six months.

Dom built relationships that led to the eight-figure sale of Mela, sparked by an introduction from a member inside the Club. Today, he continues to expand his network through the same high-caliber rooms that helped him win.
          
Dom Purpura
Dom Purpura
Founder, Mela
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Building in Chicago comes with its own dynamics. The city moves on relationships, the talent pool is still maturing, and the line between people doing real work and people performing it is sometimes hard to see.          

Chicago is one of the most underrated builder cities in America, with deep roots in manufacturing, fintech, real estate, food and beverage, and B2B SaaS.Chicago is one of the most underrated builder cities in America, with deep roots in manufacturing, fintech, real estate, food and beverage, and B2B SaaS. A curated local chapter means your peers understand those specific industry dynamics, not just generic entrepreneurship.
Founders and operators running 7–9 figure businesses in fintech, real estate, manufacturing, B2B SaaS, healthcare, food and beverage, and consumer brands, along with select investors and executives.
Monthly sessions of 8–12 founders, professionally facilitated, structured around the real challenges of the people in the room. You bring what you're working on. The room brings what they know.
No. Many members are headquartered in Chicago but operate nationally or globally. The local chapter gives you depth; the national network gives you reach.
Abstract close-up of black surface with soft blurred gray diagonal shadows.Close-up texture of dark green suede fabric.
Private Network for EntrepreneursPrivate Network for Entrepreneurs

Apply To Join The Club

The Founders Club is not for everyone. But for the right founder, it can change everything.

Become a Member