Newsletter #43 - IRL Builders Club SF Launch + Crowdfunding Success! 🚀

Hi BIRLy fam,

What a week!

Two launches. Two big ideas. One goal: build clubs with people, not for them.

Last week we:

💥 Launched the IRL Builders Club in SF: a dedicated, ongoing crew of people building IRL clubs, spaces, culture, and communities.

💥 Ran our first Club Campaign experiment: shared what exactly it takes to run the club and invited founding members to chip in and co-create from day one.

Result?
We crushed the experiments.
So maybe — just maybe — we’re onto something.

In this edition:
🏗 IRL Builders Club: launching our own club, our way [Join Here]
💸 Club Campaigns - get founding members who co-create from day one [Get Beta Access]
🏠 Club Hubs (Coming soon!) - local venues or businesses to host clubs regularly
✨ Bonus: New Launch: Quarterly Dues

Let’s go!

✨ Launching the IRL Builders Club in SF

The accelerator’s been amazing but SF builders have been craving a dedicated, ongoing space to gather, support each other, and grow together.

We finally did the thing - launched our own club 🔥.

And we did it our way: building with (not for) our people from day one.

Our playbook in action:

• Who we gather:

  • Club creators, IRL builders, community leaders or community-curious. Know IRL builders in SF? Invite them to join → here

  • 5 vibe checks: Co-create, Be Real, Mutual Respect, Show Up, Choose Fun 🎊

• How we gather:

  • Our rhythm: Monthly hangs — last Wed each month @ SF Commons. Packed with music 🎶, snacks 🍕, real convos 💬, hacks 🛠️, and inspo 💡.

  • Afterspace: Slack channel, member-created events, more support!

• How we co-create:

  From day one, we wanted to invite co-creators - not just attendees - who bring energy, ideas and care.

The big question: How do we get founding members who actually contribute from Day 1?

Answer: we built our own solution.

💸 Community-funding Your Club from Day 1

Our second launch? A club campaign experiment.

We told folks: Here’s what it costs to keep this club alive.

The math:
If we had 22 people × $20/month = venue + snacks covered.
If we get more people, contributions go to make the club more awesome.

All or nothing:
If we hit the goal in 3 weeks, the club starts. If not — no club. Because a club should exist only if people want it, not just because Saum or Colt host it.

The result: Goal surpassed in 1 week. 🎯

Now we’ve got:

• A recurring hang, same time + place, fully funded by members

• 20+ people who want this as much as we do

• A shared sense of ownership

Y’all know we’ve been jamming on rebuilding the contribution culture for IRL.

💡why this works:

• builders openly share the real resources needed to build irl

• people feel invited to co-create it, not just consume

• members feel proud to support, build or keep the a space alive

• local businesses feels excited (and not overwhelmed) to support groups with more predictable funding

Can we unleash the creative collective power to build irl?
Start the flywheel? Spin. Spin. Spin. Let’s go.

Want to try your own club launch or sustainability campaign?
Sign up for beta access for club campaign page → Join the beta

✨ That’s not all: Bonus

💳 Quarterly Dues

You asked, we delivered! You asked for quarterly dues to get longer-term commitment from your crew. Quarterly dues are now live on the platform!

💸 Club Campaigns (Beta)

Want to launch your own club campaign? Sign up for beta access a → Join the beta

🏠 Club Hub (Coming Soon)

Builders keep telling us: finding an affordable, regular meetup spot is tough.
So we’re launching a Club Hub network - local venues and businesses ready to host your recurring hangs. More on this next time!

🏠 3 Asks / Gives

1. Know an IRL builder in SF?
   Invite them to join the IRL Builders Club → Share the page

2. Want to try your own club launch or sustainability campaign?
   Sign up for beta access for club campaign page → Join the beta

3. Need a recurring venue for your crew?
   Reach out — we might be able to help. More on this next time.

💌 Let’s build IRL together.

Before we go. Here’s a photo from our Builder’s Club Pre-Launch.

Now back to building!

Build, Build, Build.