The Austin Networking Club That Happens to Run

This week's Founder Friday features a community builder who used her own experience with founder loneliness to build one of Austin's most consistent startup communities.

Katya arrived in Austin knowing just two people, her partner and her ex, and nobody else. As a former data scientist who had recently left the corporate world to build her own startup, she knew firsthand how isolating entrepreneurship could feel, and how valuable it was to be surrounded by people taking the same kind of leap.

So she and her co-founders, Anette and Carmen, started Founders Running Club.

Two years later, the club meets every week, has grown a 750+ member WhatsApp community, and has helped spark co-founder matches, investor introductions, job placements, new hires, and agency contracts.

What founders can steal from this:

• Attach your community to an activity people already want to do
• Consistency is what turns attendance into actual relationships
• Design the experience for your quietest member, not your loudest

Here's what Katya and Anette shared about building a founder community around a weekly run.

What is Founders Running Club, and why did you start it?

It started because I came to Austin and I knew two people, my partner and my ex, and nobody else. I love founder community. I was working on my startup at the time, and for me it was a very big transition from the corporate world. I was a data scientist in my past life, and moving from corporate into entrepreneurship is probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

A big part of that shift was surrounding myself with people who have similar values, who are excited to work on something crazy, who want to bring new ideas into the world and have the bravery to follow their dreams. I'd found a lot of meaning in being part of communities before, and a few of them made a big impact on my life. By the time I got to Austin, I felt mature enough to start my own.

Why pair running with founder networking specifically?

A lot of entrepreneurs feel lonely on their journey. Sometimes they have resources, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they're just so focused on what they're building.

Combining running with a founder meetup works because founders like to be productive. They like to manage their time in a way that brings them closer to their goals. By adding running to a regular meetup, we made it productive for them.

The other part is that a lot of our founders and tech people are very introverted. It's difficult for them to connect with others, to express themselves and share what they're working on. Running helps, because when people move together, they relax. Their body puts them in a state where it feels safe to open up. That creates a unique combination that makes people vulnerable on one side, but helps them connect and find resources in our community on the other.

Who actually shows up?

Mostly founders of startups of all stages. We also have exited founders who are now in investor roles, and sometimes investors and venture funds join our runs. And we have a lot of people working in tech who want to make the leap into starting their own startup, or who have ideas or side hustles going and are looking for a nurturing environment to take the next step.

What if someone isn't a runner?

Usually when I invite someone, they say, "Oh no, I don't run," or "It's too hot to run." And I say, "Well, we have a walking group."

I consider us more of a networking club than a running club. Networking, meeting really interesting people, and finding the right resources for your business is what makes us special. Running is just an addition to it. We have a walking group and three running groups organized by distance. Some run clubs organize by pace. We don't, because we're more focused on the networking component.

What does a typical session look like?

We start with intros. We form a big circle and talk about whatever we're building. We ask questions focused on gratitude: what are we grateful for, what do we need help with, what can we give to the community. It's a different set of questions each time. Then we do a warm-up, take a group photo, and go for a run. We chat during the run, and afterward we go to a coffee shop and share coffee and pastries and continue the conversations people started while running.

What makes Austin the right city for this?

Before Austin, I lived in New York, Miami, and Washington D.C. I spent a year and a half traveling Europe, changing countries every month. There is no place like Austin. As an immigrant, it took me a while to find a place I could call home, and I'm glad Austin became that.

The pace here is a little slower than New York, and that creates an opportunity for people to have free time. People in Austin love getting together in person, doing events, doing fitness activities. Austin is a very fit city. People here genuinely have the time and resources to invest in building meaningful connections. That's what I love most about it.

What advice do you have for founders and community builders in Austin?

The warm path to any kind of engagement is the easiest one, and there's no better place for a warm introduction than meeting people in person. With Founders Running Club, we don't just have events, we have them consistently, every week. That consistency creates a real opportunity for founders to build relationships. It's almost like going to church without the religious component, because it's community driven. We meet once a week and we create value for each other.

We have so many stories: founders meeting their co-founders, founders meeting investors, investors finding startups to invest in, people getting jobs, people winning projects for their consultancies and agencies, people finding great first employees. Because part of our community works in tech, people even help each other change companies. In the two years we've existed it's been pretty amazing from what I know, and there's so much more that I don't know.

How does the community stay connected between runs?

We have a WhatsApp community with over 750+ members, with different pockets inside it where we help people find their area of interest and make connections online too. It continues the conversations, lets people plan things to do together, and turns friendships that start on our runs into something deeper.

How can the Austin community help?

Katya, Anette, and Carmen want to connect with Austin founders, early-stage builders, investors, and tech professionals looking for a more natural way to meet people and build real relationships.

They want to welcome people even if they don't consider themselves runners. Founders Running Club includes walking and multiple running groups, focusing on conversation, community, and helping members find the right people and resources.

Where can people learn more?

Our website is austinfoundersrc.com, and we have an Instagram page. We're part of a larger Founders Running Club network in over 50 cities globally, with over 50,000 runners going out every week around the world. So if you're traveling or in another city, you can link up with the club there too. To join the Austin WhatsApp community, come to the run/walk and you'll be added to the group, and you can RSVP for an upcoming Saturday run. Follow Founders Running Club on Instagram.