Do you know of a "Founder's Forum" for startups?

April 12, 2007 12:15 PM

My wife and I are about to launch a new web startup. This is her second successful venture and I am moving from agency creative to join her. Throughout the process, there are many opportunities to reinvent the wheel and I would love to connect with other people that are putting their nest eggs on the line and taking the web 2.0 leap. I am looking for a "founders forum" for entrepreneurs. Does anyone know of a forum or community that is centered around the trials and tribulations of serious startups?
posted by Occams Hammer to work & money (11 comments total)

StartupNation
posted by necessitas at 12:33 PM on April 12, 2007

There are lots of entrepreneurial resources out there online - are you looking for real world meetups and groups? Also where are you located?
posted by rmm at 12:35 PM on April 12, 2007

There were a lot of events for your type at SXSW. If you look through the panels and after-hours events, you'll find quite a few people to connect to and organizations that they're a part of.
posted by SpecialK at 1:22 PM on April 12, 2007

http://startupping.com/ has some really good forums.
posted by zackola at 1:40 PM on April 12, 2007

If you're aiming to connect with other web 2.0 entrepreneurs for advice and insight, forums aren't your only option (unless you live in a very rural area, perhaps).

If you're in a dense place like Southern Cal, Seattle, NYC; meetup.com may have existing groups for entrepreneurs or web2.0-related areas.

The county chamber of commerce may have an organization or could refer you to something that coordinates face to face contacts with fellow entrepreneurs (maybe too general for you if you're looking specifically for web2.0 entrepreneurs).

And Heck, maybe I'm being a bit naive here, but email a couple web2.0 (smaller ones, not facebook or something that large) entrepreneurs and ask them for any advice or to chat (in person, if they're local).

And of course, good luck.
posted by fizzix at 2:26 PM on April 12, 2007

Where are you ? There is a tech incubator outside Portland, Ore., and many other cities have them too.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2007

Y Combinator startup news is like a reddit or digg for start-up (and web technology/programming) related links. Theres some interesting stuff you may find helpful, and there also seems to be a little community there.
posted by MetaMonkey at 5:31 PM on April 12, 2007

I would love to go to meetings, but we are launching from Milwaukee, WI (not exactly the next startup hub) I should probably check Chicago meetings. Also, I like the idea of "cold calling" founders.

I am going to check out all the online resources now. Thanks!
posted by Occams Hammer at 5:49 PM on April 12, 2007

http://nichegeek.com/
http://freelanceswitch.com/

I also just got done reading:

Mavericks at Work
Founders at Work

oh.. and Seth Godin's new book "Small is the new big" is really awesome.

Not exactly what you are asking for, but very insightful.
posted by jmnugent at 6:26 PM on April 12, 2007

jmnugent - I have read all of the above and agree with you fully. Very inspiring. One of my first projects was featured in Seth Godin's Purple Cow.

I checked out freelanceswitch and thought it was only a resource to find freelancers (we are full up!) but the 101 essential resources are excellent!
posted by Occams Hammer at 6:31 PM on April 12, 2007

specialK - I checked out the SXSW stuff and am really impreseed. I have looked into SXSW for the film festival (I came from the film industry) but the interactive stuff looks great. I have about 10 hours of podcasts to catch up on.
posted by Occams Hammer at 7:00 PM on April 12, 2007