20+ Startup Communities for Founders to Join
Entrepreneurs and startup founders are often on the lookout for networking opportunities, additional exposure, feedback, and valuable resources. This is precisely why many choose to join various founder communities and online groups where like-minded individuals can connect, share thoughts and experiences, ask questions, and give advice.
Where do business owners hang out? And what are the top online communities for entrepreneurs? Below we'll overview some reputable startup groups that you can consider.
Why Are Entrepreneur Communities Worth Joining?
Being able to connect with other founders and businesses is crucial no matter where you currently are in the product development life cycle. Entrepreneur groups are great grounds for networking, and there are plenty of reasons why joining them can be beneficial for startup founders and teams.
Let's go over the major ones:
- experience-sharing or getting advice (such groups are a perfect and safe space for sharing expertise, as founders often ask questions, give tips, voice opinions, and discuss cases and challenges they've encountered in their business with those who can relate);
- access to valuable resources (you can get hold of various startup resources, including checklists, cheat sheets, books, lifehacks, tips, and other useful findings like curious statistics or special offers);
- mentorship opportunities (some groups are devoted to learning and upskilling, they invite entrepreneurs to training or coaching sessions and offline events, offer peer-to-peer mentoring programs, or provide educational content like links to exclusive courses, lectures, podcasts, etc.);
- getting exposure and brand visibility (founder communities can be used for startup branding, you can introduce your product to other founders and promote the brand or even serve as a channel for building in public);
- finding new connections and partners (such venues may become a place for connecting with potential business partners and even establishing collaborations and partnerships on your own, plus, some platforms are fitted with co-founder matching functionality);
- staying updated (such communities for entrepreneurs overview the latest trends and share industry news);
- funding possibilities (going through startup funding rounds and securing capital is never easy for startups, but such communities can be a place to meet and afterward pitch investors).
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15 Best Startup Communities
Networking is among the most effective startup growth strategies. However, not all startup communities can boast of quality. Where do entrepreneurs hang out? There are many mediocre or sub-average groups where you can encounter unprofessional behavior, inappropriate content, the spread of misinformation, or too many ads and self-promotion.
That's why we've put together a collection of the top entrepreneur communities that are worth your attention. Note that some communities may be a better fit for your specific case or industry, yet all share a range of resources and perks. Here's a brief introduction to each.
Indie Hackers
Key figures: 100,000+ community members
Indie Hackers is an open platform where you connect with various professionals like developers and business owners. The community is rather large and highlights transparency, experience-sharing, and mutual support.
This website and online forum has plenty of resources on the news page and lots of groups that you can join, such as Startups or the Product Launch Group. Moreover, you can find a page with podcasts in this online entrepreneur community, discuss things on the forum, browse various innovative products, and different insights on building online products and growing them.
GrowthMentor
Key figures: 3,000+ community members, 600+ mentors
This startup community platform was created to help startup owners and entrepreneurs find and connect with more than 600 growth mentors who have a proven track record in their respective fields and were deliberately invited to join GrowthMentor. Thanks to the platform, it becomes possible to receive one-on-one pointers or feedback from advisors who created or worked for renowned companies (like Shopify, Firefox, or Toptal) on sessions. These consultations come on prescription, with packages starting from 50 USD per month.
GrowthMentor allows you to schedule calls with professional mentors via Zoom, Skype, and other means, get tips, clarify confusion, or get guidance on how to use specific tools. Its major areas of focus are:
- idea validation;
- feature prioritization;
- product management;
- leadership;
- go-to-market strategy;
- finding product-market fit;
- various marketing-related things like professional SEO services, paid ads, content marketing, etc.
Product Hunt
Key figures: 1.2M+ registered users
This renowned online community was built to help tech enthusiasts discover new and emerging tech products. This platform lets founders and people interested in tech check out new products that were submitted to the platform. Every day PH puts up a ranking of the newly added products and allows people to view them, give ratings, add comments, and reach out to the makers. Because such product submissions are free, the platform's popularity continues to grow, connecting hundreds of founders and people in tech daily.
The Product Hunt Community is also a safe space to hold discussions, request feedback, give tips, and connect. It has numerous practical stories, a marketplace with hot deals, and paid ads opportunities too.
GrowthHackers
Key figures: 1.8M+ platform users
The GrowthHackers Community is free to join but is invite-only. Its main aim is to bring together business owners, growth specialists, marketers, and other professionals to share and gain insights, discover new ways to grow products, and learn from each other's challenges first-hand.
You can apply for an invite, and if you get accepted (this takes only two business days), the platform will grant you many benefits. As such, you'll connect with professionals, make priceless discoveries on growth marketing and other techniques thanks to collective expertise, and attend exclusive member-only events, Q&A sessions, and other activities.
Founders Network
Key figures: 600+ tech founder members, 50+ investors, 100+ annual events
This global community was founded to help tech startups provide mutual support, assisting other members in business growth. Founders Network gives startups the opportunity to obtain lifecycle mentorship without the need to provide startup equity in return. It's one of the best communities for startup founders, and the platform has a handy archive that keeps a record of earlier cases, allowing you to solve your problem much faster.
Plus, the program of this founders community offers mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and an investor mentor program for getting guidance on fundraising from tech investors. What is more, there are more than a hundred events a year (like tech summits and virtual gatherings) all over the world. Not to mention some neat startup discounts for popular software and tools (like Zendesk, AWS, InVision, SendGrid, Stripe, and others) worth over $500k in accelerator grade discounts.
Startups can join the community solely by invitation (you can apply for membership on the official website to request an invitation). The membership fees start from 75 USD per month.
Product-Led Alliance
Key figures: 10,000+ members
Product-led growth enthusiasts can surely benefit from joining the Product-Led Alliance. This community connects bright minds who wish to achieve PLG. The resource offers an extensive collection of guides, podcasts, broadcasts, and other invaluable content that's available for members. It also provides a Slack community for networking, meeting in person, exchanging ideas, and getting various recommendations on must-reads and other insights. Furthermore, it gives a chance to get product-led growth certification after completing a course.
Startup Grind
Key figures: 5M+ community members, 100+ mentors, 1000+ investors
This online startup community is also rich in resources for those building a business. Startup Grind is truly global. It can boast of having a large number of community locations called chapters, and it hosts events in various languages all around the world (in more than 100 countries and 600 cities from Buenos Aires to Sacramento to Johannesburg to Auckland and beyond). This allows entrepreneurs from more than four million startups to get acquainted, share their experiences, and connect with each other.
The platform has over 100 mentors and 1000 investors. It offers unique discounts and partner offers for trending services and startup tools. To apply for a membership you have to have a working website. However, keep in mind that only tech-based startups are accepted (unlike agencies, service companies, or non-tech startups).
FoundersBeta
Key figures: 10,000+ subscribers, 6,000+ network of founders and talent
This hub was specially designed to give tech startup founders a hand in creating, growing, and scaling startups. It has a job board for hiring freelancers, a collection of hot deals, and makes it possible to connect with the community members during monthly networking events.
Becoming part of FoundersBeta is rather cheap (the subscription prices range from 15 to 100 USD per month). The membership grants access to valuable resources and helps entrepreneurs find co-founders, talent, and partners. Topping that, members of this founder community have access to partner deals from platforms and services like Wagepoint, Tenure, and others.
SaaStr
Key figures: 100,000+ SaaS leaders
Software-as-a-service startups are the heart of the SaaStr community that connects executives and entrepreneurs who have such products. The SaaStr University offers free courses on growth, raising funds, and more than 400 lessons on scaling.
It also provides access to e-books, free workshops, videos, podcasts, and a large blog. The community holds many global events, including the SaaStr Annual, Summit, and Europa, where entrepreneurs can get acquainted, share their digital business cards, and expand their network..
StartupSauce
Key figures: 100+ SaaS founders
This private community is also oriented toward those building a SaaS business. StartupSauce connects founders who aren't part of Silicon Valley, allowing them to communicate in a closed Slack chat, create partnerships, and get consultations.
It is among the better-known SaaS startup communities, it shares guides and free downloadable resources and provides an exclusive library of tutorials, video resources, templates, trainings, and courses. Also, members can participate in mastermind calls with other founders and attend monthly workshops and events.
The terms for joining are quite simple: you have to be a CEO, founder, or co-founder running a SaaS startup that currently generates a monthly recurring revenue of over 5000 USD. The membership fee is 99 USD per month.
CoFoundersLab
Key figures: 700,000+ users, 200+ expert advisors
What's for more notable communities for startup founders, CoFoundersLab is another place you may go to find potential business partners and resources for accelerating your startup's or product's development and growth. It's free to join and shares lots of knowledge on getting funding (such as creating a pitch deck).
It offers live masterclasses held every week with industry experts. Interestingly, the platform has a smart search algorithm that can help you find a co-founder, investor, or even team member.
No Code Founders
Key figures: 26,700+ users, 5,000+ no-code experts, 1000+ tutorials
This online community for entrepreneurs unites those not-too-tech-savvy founders who choose to create their solutions with no code tools instead of developing custom software. No Code Founders is a great place for non-technical entrepreneurs to find tutorials, advice on no-code product development, more than 30 curated no-code courses and access to a 7-hour video course, covering no-code tool usage, marketing, lean business practices, and so on.
Joining the community is free. Here people can:
- connect with those who have the same views;
- get questions answered;
- learn how to use popular tools that don't require coding skills;
- browse interviews and webinars from experts;
- communicate with other founders in the private Slack community;
- obtain 50k USD credits for no-code tools like Airtable, Bubble, Stripe, and others.
StartupNation
Key figures: thousands of articles and resources available
StartupNation is an information hub that batches various resources about building a business. Small business owners can use a plethora of articles on launching a startup to their advantage. You can find a collection of how-tos, white papers, online books, podcasts, and videos on various topics from graphic design to recruitment and beyond.
It's one of the best online communities for entrepreneurs in terms of available resources which also sometimes holds events like webinars. It has a forum and directory too, where entrepreneurs can find various tools and services, chat, and share a virtual business card with contact details and links.
Future Founders
Key figures: 1,000+ members
This peer-to-peer community was launched for younger founders and those whose business is at an early or growth stage. Future Founders is a curated community of over 1000 entrepreneurs who are seeking networking opportunities.
The members of this entrepreneurship community are invited to weekly in-person dinners and various events in Lisbon and London (the project will expand to other major cities like Miami and Dubai soon). The platform also has a startup directory with information on all the members. Currently, it is possible to join a waitlist to become part of the community.
Y Combinator Startup School
Key figures: 100,000+ founders, 100,000+ matches made with co-founder matching
One of the world-renowned and best startup accelerators offers a Startup School program. It was designed to help entrepreneurs at early stages create their own businesses. The curriculum of this free YC online course is filled with curated content, advice, and a tool for tracking progress.
The course generally takes around two months, provided you spend as little as one or two hours per week. Moreover, the program offers to use the co-founder matching platform that can help find a fellow founder for the business.
7 More Channels with Founder Groups
Which other options are out there if you want to join and build a strong startup community? Let's overview several more notable channels and startup communities.
Being one of the most popular business-focused social media channels for professionals, LinkedIn is packed with different kinds of entrepreneur groups, and you can easily find numerous ones that are related to your niche. As such, here are a couple of general startup-related groups with thousands of people:
- On Startups - The Community For Entrepreneurs;
- Startup and Entrepreneurs Network;
- Business Owners, Entrepreneurs & StartUps;
- The Global Business Development Network;
- Bright Ideas & Entrepreneurs.
Similarly, Facebook has plenty of thematic groups for startups and business owners as well. These are some that you can consider joining:
- Founders Space - Startups, Entrepreneurs & Investors;
- Startup's | Investors | Entrepreneurs | Mentors | Founders & CEO;
- Startups & Business Leaders;
- Business Startups Forum.
Quora
Quora can be the go-to place for finding answers. Be it business-related or product development questions, this online knowledge market allows you to share insights and assist professionals by giving replies.
But apart from a simple-to-use search bar, the platform has multiple spaces that collect valuable resources too. For instance, there are such spaces as Entrepreneurial Mindset with thousands of followers, handy collections, and discussions.
Reddit is a true treasure trove of niche forums. It has over 130 thousand active subreddits devoted to different topics. Mentioning a few that cover business-related topics, you may check out these:
Slack
Slack also has an abundance of chats and communities for startups. Some channels in Slack are closed and invite-only (like in a few of the startup communities we mentioned earlier). Others have paid access. In any event, you can try applying to join other popular groups like the Startup Study Group or Growmance.
Discord
Likewise, Discord has spaces where entrepreneurs can communicate as well. There are multiple public Discord Servers (that's what they call their groups) that startup owners might make use of. For instance, the Tech Startup Community or the Startup Growth Hub are popular servers.
The Fastlane Forum
Finally, the Fastlane Forum is a place where entrepreneurs can discuss their business journeys and share tips on how to reach financial freedom and success as quickly as possible. Registration on the forum is free, and navigation through the hottest threads and most trending topics is rather straightforward.
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Concluding Thoughts on the Best Entrepreneur Communities
Networking is integral for startups regardless of your channel choice. Joining startup communities can be a way to find like-minded people, get advice from those who've been there, find inspiration, and upskill yourself via valuable content or by attending events. Not all resources are free, and numerous community memberships come on subscription. Yet, for some early-stage startups, this can be a solid way to fill business knowledge gaps without giving away equity.
Helping startups build and scale their products is Upsilon's specialty. So if you need a hand with your project, feel free to contact us to discuss your project. We provide MVP development services and IT team augmentation services that can boost your product development processes and get things going faster.
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