We’re still catching our breath from the biggest weekend in the history of The Founders Club. Founders Forum NYC brought 250+ of the best and brightest that we know into one room. I can say without a doubt that the energy was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

We had everything from morning panels to late-night conversations, from a packed happy hour in the Snapchat Penthouse to an afterparty at Othership with Hank on the decks, it was honestly chaos in the best way possible. The kind of chaos that only happens when people show up fully, lean in, and pour into each other, and it didn’t stop there. 

On Saturday, a crew of us made it out to Smorgasburg, hosted by our member Gaston for a casual day two of connection. Founders everywhere, eating, laughing, still riding the high of the day before. Saturday night, our internal team capped it off at John Summit’s Experts Only festival on Randall’s Island. Unreal.

Pulling something like this off reminds me that community is built in momentum. What separates winners and losers is how they react to wins: the winners enjoy it, take it on the chin, and then go chase new heights. That’s what Aaron and I love most about this group. We get to celebrate together, then immediately get back to building.

Which brings us to what’s next. You’ve probably already heard, but if not:

Founders Forum Los Angeles. Spring 2026. Members only.

NYC set a new bar. LA will raise it again.

Behind the Curtain

What most people see is a day that seemed to go off without a hitch: doors opening at 8:15 AM, founders moving from panel to pane and conversations flowing seamlessly. What you don’t see is the months of planning, dozens of sleepless nights, and a team that refuses to let the details slip.

Every mic check, seating chart, and sponsor partner conversation — it was all designed to give our members a day that felt effortless but carried immense depth. Aaron and I talk about this often: the magic is in the things nobody notices. The energy in the room doesn’t happen by accident.

The Energy Of 250+ Founders

The forum hosted some of my favorite builders of all kinds, representing more than $8.4B in enterprise value, together in one room. These people are quite literally scaling category-defining companies, raising capital, and pushing boundaries in every industry you can name.

I hate surface level conversations, and there were none. They were open, raw, and grounded in a willingness to give as much as to get. It’s rare to find a group where vulnerability and ambition co-exist, but that’s exactly what made NYC different.

Someone told me: “I’ve been to hundreds of events in my career. This is the first time I felt like I could drop the BS and just be who I am.” That came up again and again throughout the whole weekend.

Mercury Makes it Happen

Q4 is when the revenue rolls in and when a lot of operators lose control of their cashflow. Most founders prep for the sales spike. Fewer prep for the backend chaos that comes with it:
• Delayed payouts
• Scrambled books
• International wire issues
• Ad spend you can't recoup fast enough

That’s why we use Mercury. It’s the one tool that’s never dropped the ball when orders surge.

Here’s what it unlocks heading into peak season:

• Real-time dashboards across Shopify, Amazon, and more

• Working capital loans¹ to bridge inventory or ad spend gaps

• Auto-allocations that keep profit, expenses, and taxes clean

• Instant accounting syncs to close the year without a scramble
• Free USD wires + 1% international payments to move quick with suppliers
• 1.5% uncapped cashback with Mercury IO (and a 2.5% ad spend promo²)

Through the entire time that we’ve used Mercury, it’s only gotten faster, cleaner, and more intuitive.

If you're scaling for Black Friday or stocking up now for the holidays, Mercury is the difference between “barely held on” and “ran like clockwork.”

1 Mercury’s Venture Debt and Working Capital loans are originated by Mercury Lending, LLC (NMLS: 2606284) and serviced by Mercury Servicing, LLC (NMLS: 2606285). Mercury Lending and Mercury Servicing are wholly-owned, separately managed subsidiaries of Mercury Technologies, Inc. At this time, we are unable to offer working capital loans to businesses operating in California.

2 Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. The IO Card is issued by Patriot Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard®. The 2.5% cashback promotional offer must be claimed by 10/31/2025. It applies to eligible purchases made within 120 days of your IO account activation date, capped at $3K earned. See here for the full promotion details.

Moments That Stood Out

It’s hard to pick highlights, but a few stick with me:

• Anne Mahlum on stage being unapologetically herself, challenging us to think about resilience in business and life.

• The panel with Ross, Aaron, and Dom, proving that next-gen crushers are rewriting the script across the board.

• The raffle for Back On My Feet: $63,000+ raised for Anne’s nonprofit, with donations matched by both Anne and UBS. That moment turned the energy of the whole weekend into real-world impact.
  

And then, of course, the happy hour at the Snapchat Penthouse: seventy-five founders, skyline views, drinks in hand, honestly it felt like the perfect way to set off something so much bigger.

The Ripple Effect

The mark of a great event is what happens after the lights go down. Saturday at Smorgasburg told me everything I needed to know. Founders could’ve gone home, caught flights, or slept in. Instead, they showed up again to eat, to laugh, to extend conversations started the day before. The texts haven’t stopped since. Deals in motion, and friendships forming that I know will last decades just to name a few. That’s momentum.

Why Community Matters

As I stood body to body at John Summit’s festival Saturday night, watching our team vibe under the lights after pulling off the biggest event of our lives, I couldn’t help but think about legacy. We’re all in some way building ecosystems that outlast us. The Founders Club is a movement of people who believe that when you put ambitious people together, limits quite literally don’t exist.

That’s why we obsess over the boring, mundane details, pouring months into planning a single day that gets executed flawlessly. When you see the end result of 250+ founders walking out of a room lighter and more connected than when they walked in, you realize how rare this really is.

Looking Ahead: Founders Forum Los Angeles 2026

NYC was the start. LA is the next chapter.

In Spring 2026, we’ll gather in Los Angeles for the second Founders Forum, and if NYC set the bar, LA will raise it. Bigger stage, better conversations, even deeper community. Tickets are already live. For members, your spot is secured, this is part of why you joined. NYC sold out. LA will too.

Gratitude and Momentum

As I write this, I’m filled with gratitude for every founder who showed up to New York, and for our team who made the impossible feel seamless. And for the partners, like UBS, who believed in the vision enough to put their weight behind it, I thank you as well. But gratitude doesn’t in any way mean slowing down. Winners take the win, celebrate, and then immediately chase the next peak. That’s what we’re doing. That’s what this community does best.

So enjoy the photos, relive the memories, and then gear up. LA is calling.

See you there.

Onward and upward,
Chris