// 01
THE FORMAT (this part is the magic, don't change it)
Same day, same time, every week. Ours is Sunday 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Weekly matters. Monthly clubs die because nobody builds a habit around them.
Quick intros. Name, what you do, what you're building today, and the tool you're using. Big group? Have them go fast.
A SILENT two-hour build sprint. Starts around 1:50 PM after intros. Library quiet. Yes, we have a buzzer if you talk (this exact one). Everyone brings ONE thing they want to build and puts their head down next to other founders. This is the product. Protect it.
Show and tell on the big screen. 45 minutes. Demo what you made, or don't. No obligation, no pressure. This is my FAVORITE part. We've watched people build their company in public. We've watched people demo fun side hustles, or just some overall funny AI stuff that cracks the room up. The room either learns and/or chimes in with additional hacks, tips, and resources.
Free. All levels. Zero gatekeeping. Beginners sit next to ex-Google engineers and both leave better. The moment your club feels like a tech-bros-only room, it's dead. Make an effort to keep the group as diverse as possible. That's truly my favorite part of ours: almost a 50/50 split of women and men, all ages, all backgrounds, and all levels of AI knowledge.
NAME TAGS (do NOT skip this one, it's tiny but it's everything). Grab a stack of name tags and put them by the door. Everyone writes their FIRST NAME and a HOBBY. That's it. Sounds small, but the hobby line is what breaks the ice. People walk up to each other over rock climbing or sourdough or whatever, and boom, they're talking before the sprint even starts. We've watched club members turn into close friends who hang out outside the club and become weekly regulars because of it. Right now anywhere from 30 to 50% of our room is brand-new first-timers each week, and the rest are regulars who keep coming back. The name tags are a big part of why. Here are the exact ones we use.
// 02
THE ROOM
You need wifi, tables, and a screen. That's it.
Ask a VC office or coworking space to host. They say yes more than you'd think, because you're bringing them 20 founders every week. Ours is sponsored by Antler VC. One warm intro got us the space, free, as long as our club stays free. When we charge for events like our masterclasses, we pay them a percentage to use the space.
Don't wait for the perfect venue. Six people at a coffee shop with a buzzer is a real club.
// 03
GETTING PEOPLE IN THE DOOR
Post every session in three places:
Luma is home base, though it depends on your city (it's quite popular here in Austin). Your calendar, your RSVPs, your event pages live here.
Meetup is discovery. This is where people who've never heard of you find you. Worth the fee.
Eventbrite is extra reach. Same event, copy-paste. ...And all the social media that you have.
Then start a newsletter (we use Beehiiv, free tier is plenty) and make it THE source of truth. Locations and times move around. The newsletter is how nobody gets lost. Push every RSVP to subscribe. Ours is weekly. It's a commitment, but we noticed big momentum and engagement as soon as we went weekly vs. every 3 to 4 weeks.
One ask that saves your waitlist: tell people to only RSVP if they can actually come. A no-show means someone else didn't get a seat.
// 04
PAID MASTERCLASSES (once your room trusts you)
Regular sessions stay free, forever. But every other week, run a masterclass: a guest instructor teaches, and the whole room builds the SAME thing at the same time, step by step. Ticketed, lunch included, capped so everyone gets help.
The rules that make them worth paying for:
- Everyone walks out with the thing WORKING, not notes about it
- Offer a guarantee: if they don't walk out with that item, refund them. It's only fair
- Send a setup checklist before class so nobody burns 30 minutes installing things
- Start with the coolest use cases first, then teach
- Walk through every step live on screen
- Put helpers in the room so nobody gets left behind
- Only promise what you'll actually teach, then teach all of it
Price to cover lunch, the instructor, and a cap of 20 to 25 seats. Sell out small rooms. Way better than half-filling big ones.
// 05
WHAT KILLS CLUBS LIKE THIS
Panels. Speakers. Theory. "Networking events" where laptops never open. Skipping weeks. Letting the sprint get chatty. If people leave without having BUILT something, they don't come back.
Talk less. Build more.