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It’s official— we’re throwing a summit for founders of calm companies, co-hosted with our friends at SureSwift Capital, October 24-27th in Mexico City!
The summit will be focused on building relationships and spending quality time with other founders—like a well-done company retreat but for 150+ incredible people building companies. It’s invite only, and we already expect it to sell out—especially since we’ve already got a great crew rolled over from last year’s foiled attempt. Early-adopter tickets go on sale soon, so sign up to make sure you’re on the list.
When we started this process last year, we didn’t want to start a conference just for the sake of it, so we asked every founder we knew what they would want us to create for an annual in-real-life experience. Here’s what we heard:
1/ We all knew remote work was (and still is) the future, but this year gave us the worst version of it. On a good day, remote work can feel a bit isolating; it needs to be paired with more opportunities to build connections, have spontaneous discussions, and form lasting friendships in real life with other founders going through similar challenges. After the year we’ve had, most founders “virtual vs. in-person” balance is at an all-time low.
2/ Conferences can be great, but most people don’t go for the PowerPoint presentations. The Calm Company Fund and SureSwift are built on questioning the status quo, so we’re creating something that will look nothing like a traditional conference
. Think of it as an incredible team retreat, just with 150 or so other founders, focused on interaction and curated experiences, with plenty of flexibility and breathing room to meet, chat, and have fun with a great group of founders.
3/ Adding to all of the above, the last year has been particularly complex for founders, full of extra curveballs to navigate—with companies, families, homes. A break where you can gather, connect, and laugh with peers is long long overdue. Even resilient founders need to recharge sometime.
Oh… and the whole thing will be in Mexico City, so the food, culture, and energy is going to blow your mind.
150+ friendly founders and funders of calm companies. You’ll find Calm Company Fund founders and mentors, alongside other like-minded founders building profitable, sustainable, calm, remote companies.
We’re not dogmatic about what you call yourself: Bootstrappers, indie hackers, makers, builders, and entrepreneurs are all welcome (and yes, you can even come if you raised some venture capital).
The event will be invite-only and space limited, not because we want to be snooty about it, but because we want the experience to live up to your expectations and ours. Priority access is reserved for members of our remote community.
Non-founders can absolutely come too, but we’ll keep space extremely limited with a strong focus on founders.
This event will feel “VIP,” but you don’t have to be a famous and successful founder (yet) to attend. We want a great mix of folks from early-stage makers to operators running large, successful companies. If you don’t feel you have anything to learn from spending time with solo founders still doing it all themselves, or folks thinking about how to take their team from 100 to 250 employees, you probably won’t enjoy this, but if that sounds energizing and rewarding, you are welcome.
It’s our first one of these, so we’re making it up as we go and just creating the event we would want to attend. Last year’s agenda was slated to be amazing (you can take a peek here) and we’re aiming for an equally incredible lineup this round. Our priorities remain the same from the 2020 event:
We’ll be releasing a full agenda closer idea, but here’s a general idea of how you’ll spend your three days.
Masterminds and small coaching sessions: Facilitated small group discussions with world-class experts on building incredible products, hiring a remote team and creating a sustainable culture.
Will these workshops be in a bland conference room you ask? No, they’re going to be on boats, floating down the Xochimilco canals with the occasional mariachi band floating by.
Getting outside and doing stuff with founders: A luchador match, yoga & guided meditation in Chapultepec park, or mezcal & taco tastings with your new (and old) founder friends.
Activities will be “choose your own adventure” style and we’ll make sure there’s plenty of communal work space if you just want to nerd out for a few hours somewhere with power outlets and coffee.
Daytime activities may be broken up in smaller groups, but there will be epic group dinners and evening events for everybody.
What you won’t do is:
Honestly, why not? The food is amazing. It’s a high energy city with a vibrant tech/startup scene. The conference will be centered around the lush, walkable restaurants and cafe-packed neighborhoods of Condesa, Roma, and Polanco.
Mexico City also offers really good value. So the venues will be exceptional for the price. We’ll provide a hotel block at the Four Seasons, but if you want to bring the family and book a 3-bedroom Airbnb with a terrace, you’ll find tons of excellent and affordable options.
Oh, and the Four Seasons has childcare options, if you want to bring the whole fam.
There are direct flights from most major cities in the US ranging from 2 hours (Houston) to 5 hours (Seattle or NYC).
Tickets will be US$1,695.
(with limited early adopter tickets at $1495) for three days including all workshops, experiences, meals, mezcal & margaritas. We’re not a conference company and aren’t trying to make a profit here. Our goal is to put every dollar we can into making the experience unforgettable.
We expect to sell out, so please register soon to keep your FOMO in check.
Note: to be 100% clear, the invite process is about helping us make sure we get a nice balanced group of folks of different experience levels and perspectives. Don’t stress about it.
PS – We had to postpone the event last year but about 45 attendees had already arrived in Mexico City beforehand. At that time there were no recorded cases in Mexico, so we threw a few dinners, went to Lucha Libre, and everybody connected through Slack to meet up in person. Several of those folks have since reached to tell me that the cancelled version of the Founder Summit was still the best conference they’d ever been to. 🤩
Are you taking any Covid precautions?
We will take all necessary precautions to ensure a safe event—and all ticket holders will be asked about vaccination status. Obviously a lot can change between now and October so we will be carefully monitoring best practices and communicating plans along the way.
Can I bring my spouse, partner, +1?
Absolutely. Many of the activities will be plus-one-friendly and we’ll provide plenty of good resources for enjoying the city during the summit. Plus-one tickets are $395. Please indicate on your questionnaire whether you intend to bring a +1.
What if I’m a founder who can’t afford it?
We will make a number of scholarships available. Please fill out the main form and indicate that you'd need a little extra help to attend. We'll follow up with an email about next steps.
Can I sponsor this?
Yes, there are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities primarily focused on funding the scholarships mentioned above. Please reach out here.
