NYC Founders Club
Built by founders, for founders, for friends.
An invite-only community of startup founders in New York City. Weekly dinners, quarterly traditions, and a curated peer network — all IRL, all in NYC.
Founded by three YC alumni who wanted to build the community they wished existed.
5,000+
Community Members
$1.3B
Raised by Members
5%
Acceptance Rate
What We Do
The Experience
IRL-first. No Slack channels. No webinars. Real rooms with real founders.
Weekly Founders Dinners
Intimate dinners of 12–16 founders. No panels, no pitches — just real conversation over a great meal. Members only.
Quarterly Traditions
NYSki, summer boat cruise, holiday party, and seasonal events that bring the community together beyond the dinner table.
AI & Tech Demos
Live demos, deep dives, and hands-on sessions at the frontier of AI, dev tools, and emerging tech.
Warm Introductions
Investors, customers, hires, advisors — the best opportunities come through trusted connections, not cold outreach.
Upcoming Events
See what's coming up — members get priority access to every event.
Membership
Who We're Looking For
We keep the community intentionally small so every member gets real value. Not every founder is a fit — and that's by design.
Active Founders
Building a company full-time in NYC. Seed through Series B — we care about ambition, not stage.
Operator-Founders
Former operators who took the leap. You bring a unique lens on scaling teams and products.
Technical Builders
Engineers and product leaders shipping real products. You think in systems and prototypes.
NYC-Based
You live and build in New York. This community is rooted in the city — in-person is the default.
The Process
How It Works
From application to membership in four steps.
Apply
Fill out a short application — it takes about 5 minutes.
Interview
A casual 15-minute conversation with a founding member to get to know you.
Trial Dinner
Attend a dinner as a guest. See if the vibe is right — for both sides.
Membership
Get your invite, join the community, and start showing up.
Member Stories
“You can be exactly who you are and like exactly what you like and still find community around you, no matter what that looks like. And that's a very rare, New York-specific trait.”
Priya Murali
Co-Founder & CEO, Cobalt ID
“I knew building a brand was the hardest thing you have to do as a startup. We use a "show me, don't tell me" approach — scan a prospect's codebase, find real vulnerabilities, and prove the product works.”
Francesco Piccoli
Co-Founder & CEO, Almanax
“I went to a LangChain meetup and met YC founders who encouraged us to apply. That one conversation changed the trajectory of the company.”
Shaunak Turaga
Co-Founder & CEO, Docsum
Our Community
Scenes From the Club
Dinners, demos, and everything in between — a look at what it's like inside NYC Founders Club.
From the Blog
Insights, stories, and updates from the NYC Founders Club community.
Trusted By
Our Story
Built by Founders, for Founders
Three YC alumni who couldn't find the founder community they wanted in NYC — so they built it.
Adam Alpert
Co-Founder, NYC Founders Club
YC alum and repeat founder. Built NYCFC to create the founder community he wished existed in NYC.
Aakash Shah
Co-Founder, NYC Founders Club
YC alum and engineer-turned-founder. Passionate about building spaces where technical builders connect.
Michael Wang
Co-Founder, NYC Founders Club
YC alum and operator-founder. Believes the best companies are built by founders who support each other.
Ready to Join?
Apply in 5 minutes. If we're a fit, you'll be at a dinner within weeks.
Or join our 5,000+ newsletter community