You come to BoS for the smartest conversations of your year. Then it ends. Founder Circle is the room where they continue.
What It Is · Our History · What You Get · A Typical Month · BoS OS · Next Steps · FAQ
“Ten times faster progress, because you’re working through real problems with people who are dealing with the same thing, in real time”. Marv Rounce, InTouch
What is the Founder Circle?
Founder Circle is a supercharged network of people who value the learning and the conversations at BoS Conference, and want to benefit from having the same types of conversation with the same curated group of people available to you year round. We work with every Founder Circle member directly to make sure the right network and the right expertise are there when they need it.
You also play a critical part in steering the future of business of software and how we support people like you.
“The most lonely person in the room is the CEO founder, because at some point she’s going to talk to people about what she’s thinking about, but can’t talk to her own people because they get distracted.” Bobby Moesta.
Nearly 20 Years at the Heart of the Software Industry
Founder Circle compounds the value of our community.
BoS OS
An operating system for running your company, built on the thinking, learning, and design principles behind some of the most influential talks in BoS’s nearly 20-year history.
Founder Circle
Where the core community share ideas and challenges, the value of the community compounds.
Together, smart entrepreneurs access skills, tools, resources, context and people to help them build great products and great companies.
Many people in our community pioneered the industry shift from enterprise software to SaaS. The opportunities and threats for us in the shift to AI native organisations are an order of magnitude greater. We know journeying together makes us all stronger.
Founder Circle is the natural step.
Founder Circle
Smart entrepreneurs, skills, tools, resources, context and community for people who build great products and great companies.
Who’s It For?
Founders and CEOs of software companies at the stage where the hard problems are leadership, strategy, and organisational design, not just product-market fit. If you’ve been to BoS and found yourself wishing the hallway conversations didn’t have to end, this is the next step.
As groups evolve, we organise smaller mastermind and accountability groups around common interests. One principal per company: if you and a co-founder both want in, you’d be in separate groups. Groups work when everyone in the room has the same level of accountability, while staying relevant to your own context and challenges.
What You Get
What You Get
Two sessions a month: one built around a topic of current interest to the group, usually suggested by a participant, and one mastermind session where you bring a live problem and the room works through it together.
Between sessions, you can run your BoS OS day to day. Running BoS OS is not a prerequisite for membership.
Three 1-to-1 sessions a year with Mark on whatever you’re working on, ending with an agreed plan to help you get there.
A Typical Month
Two online sessions: one on a topic the group has nominated for discussion that month (hiring, pricing, whatever’s current), where all participants listen and discuss. The other features member challenges, worked through together as a room.
Typical Conversations in the Room
BoS OS: More Than Just You
Founder Circle doesn’t run on session time alone. When members run the BoS OS, the same operating system Mark and the team use to make decisions, track missions, and think things through in the open, they are able to share the perspectives and experiences of others.
BoS OS is what we use to make the Founder Circle a reality. It’s how the room keeps working between sessions, and it’s how you end up sharing ideas with other people you trust, not just the people in your group, but the wider BoS community working through the same kind of problems.
“I should have been creating and thinking in this way before.” Martin Millican, Envoke
Running the BoS OS is not a prerequisite for Founder Circle membership. Founder Circle sessions will always focus discussion on exploring problems or understanding opportunities from the perspective of the participants. Discussions will frequently be facilitated by experts, previous BoS speakers, and will aim to solve practical problems while considering alternative approaches and the experience of those in the room with you.
Qualification & Next Steps
Founder Circle Membership is for founders/CEOs of established tech companies. Membership is subject to approval and members are expected to be net contributors to conversations. First step is to have a conversation with Mark.
- Find Out More: We’ll set up a call to understand your goals, how we can help you succeed and if Founder Circle is a fit.
- Approval and Introductions. Once approved, we build a short profile for you to share with other Founder Circle members. We’ll build a BoS OS with you so you walk into your first group session and you’re not a stranger before you start.
- Join your group. Twice-monthly sessions begin.
Groups are small and curated. If the fit isn’t right, we’ll be honest about that and suggest what might work better for you.
FAQ
How much does it cost?
Full Founder Circle Membership is $10,000 per year.
Can I try Founder Circle for a shorter period first?
Talk to Mark if you'd like to consider a three-month or six-month membership.
What if I've already attended a workshop?
If you attended an Online Workshop within the last three months, the fee counts toward your first year.
Do I need to have BoS OS running before I join?
No. We'll happily help you build one, it's part of what membership includes, but the value of Founder Circle is in the network and community. The BoS OS is the icing on top of that.
How big are the groups?
The Founder Circle is our core group. Discussion, mastermind, and accountability conversations will be held in groups of no more than 12, around common interests.
Who facilitates?
Mark and the BoS team are available at every event, though many are facilitated by experts or even members of the Founder Circle where appropriate.
What happens between sessions?
You can run your company with BoS OS every day, but even if you don't, you'll be kept up to date on the stuff that matters to you.
Is this connected to the BoS conference?
Yes. Founder Circle is run by the same team, in the same spirit. It's what happens in between.
Not ready for Founder Circle yet?
BoS is running standalone workshops to help you make sense of AI
Open to anyone. No ongoing commitment beyond the session. A good way to test whether Founder Circle is for you, or to get help with one specific problem.
Short Workshops
Focused sessions, one problem. How can You… No ongoing commitment. The right starting point if you’re testing whether this is for you.
Four-Week Intermediate & Advanced
Four weekly sessions, cohort-based.
Deep work on one challenge alongside founders facing the same thing.
If you later join Founder Circle, workshop fees paid within the three months before joining count toward your first year, up to $4,000.
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