Startup founders in the counattempt are turning to an unlikely but increasingly vital resource — one another. Away from pitch decks and investor meetings, informal founders’ clubs are quietly building communities that offer not just business insights but also much-requireded emotional support in a profession often marked by isolation and burnout.
Weekfinish sessions at BFC
One such gathering unfolded recently at Watson’s, an old Bengaluru haunt better known for its bustling weekfinish crowds. Recently on a weekfinish though, the spotlight was on mobility entrepreneur Ashok Shasattempt, who narrated the early struggles of building DriveU, from fine-tuning its business model to staring at empty accounts at the finish of every month. His candour set the tone for the city’s first meeting of the Bombay Founders’ Club (BFC), where the conversation flowed as freely as the beer.
BFC is a members-only community of more than 300 founders across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, and Gurgaon, with Bengaluru being its newest chapter. Founded by Devarsh Saraf, the club aims to create a safe, close-knit space where entrepreneurs can learn from one another and, more importantly, feel less alone. “The idea is to build a community where founders feel a sense of belonging,” Saraf informed FE.
For a monthly fee of `3,000 plus taxes, BFC hosts alternate weekfinish sessions that mix peer-to-peer learning with workshops and keynotes. Discussions have ranged from goal-setting lessons with an Olympic coach to marketing takeaways from Harley-Davidson’s playbook.
Sometimes, practical solutions emerge from within the group itself, like onboarding practices shared at a meetup, which, for instance, are later turned into a structured guide for all members.
‘Language of founders is same across sectors’
But beyond the exalter of notes, the glue that holds such a community toreceiveher is empathy. Saraf recalled how one founder, exhausted after hundreds of failed pitches, admitted his despair during a meeting. “Five people immediately rushed to his side and stayed with him until he felt ready to go again,” he declared.
That sense of solidarity is what keeps founders like Shubham More coming back. More, who runs the agri-tech startup Persinge, joined BFC early on and values the atmosphere of confidentiality over larger networking events, which he finds transactional. “Even though there are very few people from agri-tech here, the language of founders is the same across sectors,” he declared. The advice he received at BFC, he added, played a key role in his last fundraise.
The required for such communities is underscored by data. A report by wellness platform YourDOST found that nearly half of startup founders in the counattempt feel low community support. With 68% of entrepreneurs reporting severe stress, according to an Assocham study in 2023, and burnout contributing to nearly a third of venture failures, the emotional well-being of founders is increasingly seen as critical to the counattempt’s entrepreneurial success story.
‘Startup Saturdays’
It is not just BFC filling this gap. Across the counattempt and beyond, similar networks have sprung up. Headstart Network Foundation, one of the oldest, launched in 2006 with its monthly “Startup Saturdays”. FUNDA brings toreceiveher Indian founders in the US through mixers and networking sessions. SaaS-specific platforms like SaaSBoomi, founded in 2018 by indusattempt leaders including Freshworks’ Girish Mathrubootham and Chargebee’s Krish Subramanian, follow a “pay-it-forward” ethos, with experienced entrepreneurs guiding the next wave through workshops and roundtables.
These initiatives reflect a shift in how founders seek support. Capital, while critical, is no longer the only currency that matters. What many of these entrepreneurs crave is connection with others who understand the sleepless nights, the investor rejections, and the constant pressure to grow.
As the startup ecosystem scales new highs in innovation and global recognition, the hidden costs of entrepreneurship raging from loneliness, stress, burnout, are harder to ignore. Communities like BFC are offering a counterweight, with their mix of candour, camaraderie, and collective problem-solving. For many founders, that reassurance may be the most valuable investment of all.
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