Scale Together with
Founder Groups
With Founder Groups you don’t have to make every decision alone. Share your challenges, experiences, solutions and successes with a tightknit community of peers. Build connections. And develop the networks that could bring you new business.
What Is A Founder Group?
A peer support group of up to 8 vetted founders who all share similar goals. Each month, you’ll meet online for stimulating, inspiring conversation focused on topics ranging from innovation to internationalisation, investment to tech.
Curated Conversation
Each session, you’ll be joined by an expert in the chosen discussion topic who can fill knowledge gaps, challenge thinking and provide advice.
Real Outcomes
Every session is designed to provide answers and drive actions that can make scaling simpler or more successful.
On Slack
Keep the conversation going on a platform that’s easy to get to grips with. Chances are you’re already using it.
More Ways to Meet, Learn and Grow
Beyond your immediate peer group, there are lots more founders and scalers to meet. Here’s how:
Community Conversation
Access the wider Founder Group community, make new connections and explore potential collaborations.
Founder’s Insight
Like TED Talks but tailored to our founders, grab a coffee and enjoy regular presentations from industry experts.
Food & Founders
Throughout the year, join us for in-person get togethers, good food, the odd drink and great conversation.
Founders. Keepers.
Conversations you’ll want to keep having. New connections you’ll want to keep making. And powerful relationships you’ll want to keep building.
Find them all at Founder Groups.
Founder FAQs
About Founder Groups
Is this something I really need?
You may be the founder, but you can’t do everything on your own. Yet it can be difficult to find people to open up to within your own company. Founder Groups is the place to find likeminded people all going through surprisingly similar experiences.
Can’t I get a similar sort of thing from Scaling Partners’ mentoring service?
Yes. You might also feel that hiring a Chief of Staff as a service also fulfils a similar role. But every founder and every business is at a different stage of growth. Founder Groups can be your single way of connecting with a broader pool of experience. Or they can complement mentoring and other development routes.
About your peer group
How are peer groups selected?
We’ll build your peer group working to 3 criteria:
Sector: Your group will comprise founders from allied industries. They may not be exactly the same sort of business because there’s so much to be gained from the cross-pollination of ideas beyond your immediate sphere, but you’ll only ever be with people who understand your world.
Stage: Your peer group will be at a similar stage of scaling with a comparable level of personal experience, so your discussions resonate with everyone in the group. If you need to build insight on exit strategies, for example, you won’t join a group who are all exploring crowdfunding for the first time.
Location: Although the majority of peer group connection will take place online, our wider founder activities are in person, and we’d always prefer to put you in a group where you have the flexibility to meet-up if you wish. Where we can, therefore, we’ll aim to match founders who are relatively close, geographically speaking.
How do you vet founders?
We want every founder who joins our community to not only build their own network, understanding and opportunity, but to help do the same for others. When you apply to join, we’ll ask you a short series of questions about you, your business and your goals in joining Founder Groups. That will help us match you with a suitable peer group.
Can I pick my peers?
No. We’re adamant about that, because it’s important that all our groups remain free from the sorts of agenda bias or conflicts that may creep in where two or more peers already know each other.
Can I switch groups?
Yes. You’ll be able to do that at any time. That can be particularly useful when you feel you’re moving on to a new stage of scaling and need a peer group to match your new circumstances.
About meetings
What happens at meetings?
Your group will be curated by an expert in the day’s chosen topic. They will begin by introducing themselves and sharing some initial key points before inviting questions and discussion about the challenges faced by the group. You’ll agree actions to carry out before the next session.
Each session will also include space to follow up on actions from the previous group meeting.
What if I want to broaden the discussion?
We try to avoid ‘any other business’ discussions as there’s so much to pack into each session, but you are of course free to continue the conversation on Slack between ‘formal’ meetings.
What else will the curator do?
They’ll help ensure a roughly equal spread of conversation, ensuring no one peer monopolises the limelight. They’ll also ensure that conversation is not for conversation’s sake, but results in clear, actionable outcomes.
I’m worried about confidentiality
Don’t be. Every peer group operates under Chatham House Rules, so whilst everyone is free to use information they receive in their peer group, neither the identity nor the affiliation of participants may be revealed.
How much time will I need to commit?
Each online peer group meet takes 60-90 minutes – which we typically find is just long enough to give every member of the group the depth and insight they need. In-person meetups will usually last a little longer. Once your peer group is established, however, you have control. If you’d like meetings to be a little longer or shorter, you can decide that between yourselves.
Can I miss meetings?
Everyone misses a session now and again, but if you find yourself repeatedly missing sessions we’ll look at switching you to a group more likely to fit your schedule. That’s not just for your benefit. Every founder benefits every other member of the group and for that to happen you need to be present most of the time.
Am I expected to attend in-person events?
No, but we’d love to see you and you’ll find your Founder Group is a far more rounded experience when you do. That said, we realise that everyone wants different things from their membership and that not everyone is comfortable with the more social aspects of such groups. And that’s fine.
Do you want your startup to be a success?
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