Founder communities in the US and Canada: 13 compared by city (2026)

The right founder community in the US or Canada is one that meets in your city, at your stage, often enough for people to know what you're building. Most of the big national names are online or invite-only, so the groups below are local: weekly gatherings, members' buildings, pitch nights and city meetups. Here are 13 across San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, Austin, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, each checked on its own pages on 28 October 2026.

A note before you read on: this guide is published by Remote Builders, our own free community for founders who build companies remotely, which you can join online from anywhere in the US or Canada. It isn't in the table, because the table is for groups that meet in a city here. We've left out any number we couldn't find on a community's own page.

How to choose a founder community in the US and Canada

Free weekly and monthly meetups

If you're early, start free. Venture Café Cambridge runs a free Thursday Gathering every week for Greater Boston. Colorado Startups runs a monthly Founders & Friends meetup in Denver, and Vancouver Founders runs a fortnightly Open Coffee Club. NY Tech Alliance runs NY Tech Meetup at Civic Hall, where founders can demo a product.

Members' buildings and hubs

• Frontier Tower, San Francisco. A 16-floor members' building for frontier-tech founders and researchers, at $190 a month or $1,800 a year (currency not named), with more than three events a day.
• Hacker Dojo, Santa Clara. A non-profit hackerspace with 24/7 access at $150 a month or $1,350 a year (currency not named), and no approval needed for standard membership.
• 1871, Chicago. A non-profit hub with shared desks downtown, at $200 a month for individuals (currency not named), and Startup Roadmap workshops every Wednesday.
• The LAB Miami. A members' campus in Wynwood with DOCK, a builder community from $250 a month (currency not named), and LAB membership by application, invite or referral.

Pitch nights, networks and festivals

Founders Live Seattle runs happy-hour pitch nights with five founders, 99-second pitches and an audience vote. Capital Factory in Austin runs pitch days, meetups and summits across four Texas cities, plus All Access, a membership network for experienced founders. TechTO in Toronto runs member events and a private Slack, with an annual membership at $249 CAD. Startupfest in Montreal is a three-day founder festival each July.

Founder communities in the US and Canada compared

These are 13 communities. The first 12 were checked on 28 October 2026; Bootstrappers Breakfast was checked the same day for our guide to solo founders. Every row had an event, intake or live join page dated May 2026 or later. "Says" means the figure is the community's own claim.

Notes by city

• San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Frontier Tower lists a members-only hackathon on 31 October and says it has 750+ citizens. Hacker Dojo opened its new Santa Clara space on 12 October 2026. Our San Francisco guide compares 17 Bay Area founder communities. Our New York guide compares 16 in New York, and our Toronto guide 15 in Toronto.
• New York. NY Tech Alliance's next NY Tech Meetup is on 9 November 2026 at Civic Hall, 124 East 14th Street.
• Boston. Venture Café Cambridge's next Thursday Gathering, on 29 October, is a Chile Innovation Night during Tough Tech Week.
• Austin. Capital Factory says it has been based in Austin since 2009, and lists events on 28 October and 9 November. Our Austin guide compares 12 founder communities in the city.
• Miami. The LAB Miami says it was established in 2012 and hosted the Miami phase of an accelerator in May 2026. Our Miami guide compares 12 founder communities in the city.
• Chicago. 1871 held its Momentum Awards on 17 September 2026 and says its early-stage community has about 400 startups. Our Chicago guide compares 14 founder communities in the city.
• Denver. Colorado Startups' next Founders & Friends is on 3 November at ID345, and its Meetup group shows 3,945 members.
• Seattle. Founders Live holds a Seattle pitch night on 29 October 2026 at Labour Temple, as part of Seattle AI Week.
• Toronto. TechTO's Together Toronto & Ecosystem Showcase is on 2 November 2026 at U of T's Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, and it says it has hosted 500+ events.
• Vancouver. Vancouver Founders' Meetup group shows 5,421 members and nine upcoming events.
• Montreal. Startupfest's registration is open for 7 to 9 July 2027, with Startup tickets from $389.40 CAD early bird.

Communities we checked and left out

We left out groups whose newest dated activity was before May 2026, accelerators whose community is open only to their cohorts, investor-only groups, chapters that say they're no longer active, and sites that blocked us. We didn't find a Los Angeles group that passed every check. If you run an active founder community in the US or Canada, tell us and we'll check it.

The US and Canada in numbers

The US Census Bureau counted 534,947 business applications in September 2026, seasonally adjusted, and projects 29,022 new employer startups to form within four quarters from them. In Canada, Statistics Canada reported a business opening rate of 4.9% in January 2026. That's a lot of new founders every month, and most of them start out without a local network.

How to get value in your first month

1. Go to the same weekly gathering three times. By the third, people know what you're building.
2. Pitch early. Founders Live and Capital Factory's pitch days are a cheap way to test your story.
3. Bring one specific ask. "I need an intro to a founder who has sold to US hospitals" gets you somewhere.
4. Try a day before a membership. Visit a hub's open events before you pay for a desk.
5. Add an online group for between events. Our comparison of communities for remote founders covers the online options, and our guide for SaaS founders covers the national SaaS groups.

Common mistakes

• Joining for the brand name. A small group that meets near you every week beats a big name you see once a year.
• Paying for a desk you won't use. Members' buildings suit founders who'll be there most weeks.
• Ignoring the entry rules. The LAB and Capital Factory's All Access have application or experience requirements. Read them first.
• Waiting for the perfect group. If nothing fits your city, start one. Our guide to starting a founder meetup covers the first three events.