It was a Tuesday evening in Austin, Texas. The kind of warm, lazy evening where the only reasonable thing to do is grab a cold beer and sit outside. I was at The Hopyard — a craft beer bar I'd been going to for years — when I struck up a conversation with a stranger at the bar.
Her name was Lisa, and she was a VC who'd just left her firm to figure out what was next. We talked for three hours. About startups, about the loneliness of building something from scratch, about how the best ideas always seemed to come from unexpected conversations.
By the end of the night, we'd sketched out the bones of Beers & Business on a cocktail napkin. The idea was simple: what if we created a space where entrepreneurs could meet, share ideas, and form teams — but in a relaxed, social setting instead of a stuffy conference room?
The First Event
We hosted our first event two weeks later. We expected maybe 10 people. Forty showed up. The energy was electric. Founders pitched ideas over IPAs. A designer met a developer and started building an app that same weekend. A first-time founder got advice from someone who'd exited twice.
We knew we were onto something.
From Events to Platform
For the first six months, Beers & Business was just a series of monthly events. But we kept hearing the same feedback: "I met someone amazing last month, but I lost their contact info." Or: "I have an idea but I don't know how to find the right people to build it with."
That's when we decided to build the platform. A place where the connections made over beers could continue to grow. Where ideas could find teams. Where the community could support each other between events.
What We've Learned
Three things have stayed true since that first napkin sketch:
1. Authenticity beats networking. Nobody wants to be "networked at." People want genuine conversations. That's why our events always center around good food, good drinks, and good vibes — not pitch competitions and business card exchanges.
2. Diverse teams build better things. The most successful teams in our community are the ones that bring together different skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. A designer and a developer. A finance person and a creative. That's the magic.
3. Community is the product. We don't sell software. We nurture a community. The platform is just a tool to help that community thrive. Every feature we build starts with the question: "Does this help people connect and collaborate better?"
What's Next
We're now in 6 cities with over 2,000 active members. We've seen 50+ teams form through the platform, and several have gone on to raise funding. But we're just getting started.
Our vision is simple: every entrepreneur should have access to a supportive community of people who get it. People who've been there. People who'll grab a beer with you when things are tough and celebrate with you when things are great.
If that sounds like something you want to be part of, we'd love to have you. Pull up a chair. The first round's on us.