Founders Network Alternatives for Tech Founders

Founders Network is still active. Founded in 2011, it is an invite-only peer mentorship community for tech founders that takes no equity, with 600+ members, 200+ investors in the network and 39 city chapters plus a virtual one, from São Paulo to Tokyo. You request an invitation, apply, and the membership committee decides on the last Friday of each month. There are three plans: Launch (pre-revenue to $10K revenue, or up to $100K raised), Scale ($10K to $1M revenue, or $100K to $3M raised) and Lead ($1M+ revenue or $3M+ raised, or a new venture after prior success).

All memberships are annual commitments, with discounts for portfolio companies of some VCs and accelerators. A Long Angle review from October 29, 2026 lists dues of $75 a month for Launch, $134 for Scale and $249 for Lead, all billed annually ($900 to $2,988 a year). Founders look elsewhere when they want something free, a group that meets in person in their city, or a room of larger companies. The eight picks below are grouped around those needs.

Prices below are as of November 8, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

YC Startup School

Founders at Launch stage get most of what they need here for free. Y Combinator's Startup School is a self-paced course of about 7 weeks at 1 to 2 hours a week, a weekly update tool for tracking growth, and co-founder matching that Y Combinator says has made over 100,000 matches.

Matching profiles are visible only to approved users, and the platform is only for finding a co-founder; recruiting or selling there can get you removed. Our Startup School forum alternatives page covers what replaced its old discussion board.

Best for: First-time founders who want structure and a co-founder search at no cost.

Pricing:

• Free; sign-up required

Watch out for:

• Co-founder matching allows 15 invites a week, per the Startup School FAQ.
• There is no chapter, dinner or peer group of the kind Founders Network runs.

Official site: YC Startup School.

MicroConf Connect

MicroConf Connect is for bootstrapped B2B SaaS founders, a group Founders Network's funding-based tiers do not speak to directly. Members get a quarterly Ask Rob Anything session and a vetted community, with no revenue minimum.

VCs hunting for deal flow are kept out, and only a few vetted investors (such as TinySeed LPs) are admitted, so threads stay on running the business. Both monthly and annual plans have a 30-day refund window.

Best for: Self-funded SaaS founders who want peers without investor pressure.

Pricing:

• Monthly: $49
• Annual: $499, saving $89
• 30-day refund on both

Watch out for:

• New members join from a MicroConf Connect waitlist in batches, so expect a wait before approval.
• Founders outside SaaS will find little aimed at them.

Official site: MicroConf Connect.

Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO)

EO is the long-running global network for business owners, with nearly 20,000 members. To join you must be a founder, co-founder, owner or controlling shareholder of a company with at least US$1 million in annual revenue.

That makes it a natural step for a Founders Network Lead member, and it is open to any industry, not only tech. Earlier founders can look at the EO Accelerator program for early-stage entrepreneurs, which has its own application.

Best for: Owners of companies past $1 million in revenue who want a local peer forum.

Pricing:

• Membership dues: price on request
• Requirement: US$1 million or more in annual revenue

Watch out for:

• Pre-revenue and seed-stage founders cannot join full membership, per the EO membership page.
• Dues are not published, so you cannot compare costs before applying.

Official site: Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO).

Hampton

Hampton is a step up in price and selectivity. Core groups of about 8 to 10 founders meet in person with a professional moderator for about three hours a month, in one of 18 chapter cities in the US, Canada and London.

Applicants need more than $3M in revenue, more than $3M raised, or a previous exit above $10M. Admission runs through a screen, an interview, a member veto and final approval, and Hampton says about 2% are accepted.

Best for: Tech founders past $3 million who want a small, in-person group in their city.

Pricing:

• $15,000 a year, billed annually, plus a $2,500 non-refundable initiation fee
• Dues refunded if you cancel within 45 days, provided you attend the Commitment Call
• Some retreats cost extra

Watch out for:

• At $17,500 in the first year it costs about six times Founders Network's Lead plan, per Long Angle's Hampton breakdown.
• Core groups are never virtual, so you must live in a chapter city.

Official site: Hampton.

ODF Founder Fellowship

On Deck still exists, under a new name. The old beondeck.com address now redirects to joinodf.com, where the program is called ODF Founder Fellowship: an intense one-week, in-person program in San Francisco for founders going from pre-idea to pre-seed.

Cohorts have about 80 to 100 people, more than half of them technical, and ODF takes no equity. Members keep access to a community platform afterwards and $800K+ in partner perks from companies such as Mercury, AWS and Stripe Atlas.

Best for: Pre-seed founders who want an intense week with peers instead of a year-long membership.

Pricing:

• Fee not published
• No equity taken
• $800K+ in partner perks

Watch out for:

• The next cohort, ODF28, starts in Q1 2027, per the ODF site, and it requires a week in San Francisco.

Official site: ODF Founder Fellowship.

Indie Hackers

No invitation, no committee, no dues. Indie Hackers is an open forum where founders post revenue milestones and questions, look for collaborators on the Partner Up board and read founder case studies, some locked to IH+ subscribers.

It has been independent of Stripe since April 2023, with Stripe as an investor. Our Indie Hackers alternatives page lists similar forums.

Best for: Bootstrappers who want free, public feedback from other builders.

Pricing:

• Free to read and post
• IH+ subscription for some case studies; price not published

Watch out for:

• Fundraising advice is thin, because much of the community is bootstrapping.
• Nobody is vetted, so replies vary in quality.

Official site: Indie Hackers.

Vistage

Vistage is the largest CEO peer advisory group, with more than 45,000 members in 40 countries. Groups of 12 to 16 leaders from non-competing industries meet for one full day each month with a Vistage Chair, and each member also gets a monthly one-to-one coaching session of 1 to 2 hours.

It is built for small and midsize business owners, with separate programs for $1M to $4M and $5M+ companies. Fundraising is not the focus.

Best for: CEOs of profitable small and midsize companies who want a coach plus a peer board.

Pricing:

• One-time enrollment fee plus monthly dues; price on request
• Fees vary by program and location

Watch out for:

• A full day every month is a heavy commitment for an early-stage founder, per Vistage's own description of the format.
• You must submit a form before seeing any price.

Official site: Vistage.

GrowthMentor

If the part of Founders Network you used most was asking an experienced founder for advice, GrowthMentor sells exactly that. It lists 750+ vetted mentors, and the monthly plan allows unlimited calls, one booked at a time.

Yearly billing costs $675, which works out to three months free, and allows three calls at a time.

Best for: Founders who want on-demand advice calls rather than a community.

Pricing:

• Monthly: $75 a month, unlimited calls one at a time
• Yearly: $675 a year (three months free), three calls at a time
• First-call guarantee: refund if requested within 14 days

Watch out for:

• There is no free trial; GrowthMentor guarantees only the first call.
• It is mentoring, not a peer group, so you will not build lasting ties with founders at your stage.

Official site: GrowthMentor.

How to choose

When to stay with Founders Network

Stay with Founders Network if you are a venture-track tech founder between seed and Series A and want vetted peers in several cities without Hampton's $15,000 dues. Scale membership costs a fraction of Hampton, and the 39 city chapters (plus a virtual one) and 200+ investors suit founders who travel. Ask about the Founders Network VC and accelerator discounts before you pay the annual fee.

Frequently asked questions