Founder Dinner Series - F26
Applications extended. Now open until Monday, September 14, 2026.
The Founder Dinner Series is hosted by
Builders Club and
Barn Ventures: home cooked meals, honest founder conversation, and a workshop built on the lived experience of this community, not theory. Every lesson in it comes from founders who did the thing, refined over three terms. Alumni have gone on to raise from YC,
Afore.vc, Garage VC, and others. Founders from
Datacurve.ai, Voltra,
Automax.ai, and many more have sat at this table.
You do not need to be qualified for this. Look at the first table two years ago. You can see where those founders ended up, but that is not what they looked like then. For most of them the willingness to show up was the first signal they could build something. Not sales. Not funding. Not the pitch.
We're deeply wired into YC and San Francisco, and this community has spent twenty years learning how to use SF to build from here: when to go, what to take, what to bring home. You can learn that on your own. It just takes years, and time is the most expensive thing a founder spends. This table is where that experience is already collected. If you're serious about building, this is for you.
Five speakers are confirmed for the fall: Mazin Al-Ani (co-founder, Definite, YC S26), Gavin Yuan (founder, Aestus Industries), Ryan Gariepy (co-founder, Clearpath Robotics and OTTO Motors, acquired by Rockwell Automation), Roger Kirkness (founder, Convictional), and Michelle McBane (Managing Director, StandUp Ventures). One more to come.
Over six Tuesdays, a small group of builders comes together for lunch-hour workshops, intimate founder dinners, and hands-on build sprints in between.
The F26 dates (all Tuesdays): September 22, September 29, October 20, October 27, November 17, and November 24.
15 seats, full stop. The series is capped at 15 people this term, and the same 15 people are at the table all six weeks. That consistency is what makes the conversations honest, useful, and high-trust.
The commitment: attendance at all six dinners is part of the deal. If you can't make all six dates, this isn't the term to apply. There will be more.
• Founders, builders, and operators actively working on something
• People who value candid conversation over polished stories
• Early is fine. Not sure you want to go the VC route is fine. You do not need to have it figured out.
No pitches, no panels, no performative networking
Workshops built on what founders here actually did, with something to take away every week
Honest founder conversations, including what didn't work
Space to build, ask questions, and get unstuck
If you want to build something meaningful, apply below. This is meant to educate you in a way a workshop series will not, from the experience of your peers.
Can you make all six dinner dates?
*
Tuesdays: Sep 22, Sep 29, Oct 20, Oct 27, Nov 17, Nov 24. The group is capped at 15 and every seat matters at every dinner.
What are you hoping to get from this dinner series?
*
What are you working on?
*
Are you enrolled in an accelerator program?
*
Do you plan on applying to YC?
*
What uni or college program are you in or completed?
*
Is there anything else you would like to share?