From Networking to Fundraising | Startup+ Just Made the Next Step Easier
From six founders in a basement bar to 25,000+ members across NYC — Startup+ has become the city’s go-to hub for real founders, investors, and builders. Here’s how we got here (and what’s next).
Startup+ × FE Capital (A Game-Changing Partnership)
If you’ve been to a Startup+ event, you already know what happens when the right founders, investors, and operators meet — conversations turn into collaborations, and ideas turn into companies.
Now, we’re taking that same spirit of connection one step further.
💡 Introducing Our New Partnership with FE Capital
We’re thrilled to announce that Startup+ has officially partnered with FE Capital — an AI-powered fundraising platform that helps founders raise smarter, faster, and with more clarity.
Through this partnership, every Startup+ member gets 6,000 complimentary credits on FE Capital to unlock tools that help you:
✅ Find the right investors for your stage and sector
✅ Manage your entire raise in one place
✅ Automate personalized investor outreach that actually gets replies
No more cold email guessing. No more scattered spreadsheets.
Just structured, smart, and scalable fundraising — the way it should be.
👉 Claim your exclusive credits here:
🌐 https://www.fe.capital/startuppluscommunity
Inside NYC’s Fastest-Growing Startup Community - Startup+
If you’ve been around the NYC startup scene lately, you’ve probably heard of Startup+ or at least stumbled into one of our events packed with founders, investors, and operators swapping stories over drinks.
What started in 2021 as a tiny gathering of six founders in a basement bar has quietly grown into one of New York City’s largest startup communities, with 75+ in-person events and a network of over 35,000 members across Meetup, Luma, Substack, and Discord. Join us
And honestly, we didn’t plan it this way.
Back when everything was still virtual, we just wanted a place where people could have real conversations not another panel or pitch competition where everyone’s rehearsing their “vision.” Just founders talking about what’s actually hard, what’s working, and what’s next.
That simple idea somehow snowballed.
From Scrappy Meetups to a Startup Movement
In the early days, things were… messy.
Venues fell through. Some nights, only five people showed up. Once, a rooftop double-booked us twenty minutes before the event, and we had to scramble to relocate while attendees were already on the way.
But week after week, people kept showing up and bringing their friends.
Ten became twenty. Twenty became fifty. Soon, we were seeing 100+ people per event, and we realized this was bigger than just “networking.”
By 2022, Startup+ became a place where early-stage founders, investors, and operators could actually connect, no suits, no ego, no gatekeeping.
Next Event: Startup+ NYC Networking Night
🗓 Thursday, November 6
📍 Sour Mouse, NYC
🔥 63 spots gone
The Pitch & Networking Nights
One of our biggest turning points was adding Pitch + Networking Nights — casual evenings where founders could pitch their startups to investors in an authentic, no-pressure setting.
So far, we’ve hosted:
120+ founders pitching their ideas
400+ investors evaluating those pitches
7,000+ total attendees across events
And yes, we’ve seen real deals happen, real co-founders meet, and real friendships form.
Where We Are Now
Startup+ has now hosted over 78 events at our last sold-out night.
Across all our platforms, we’ve grown to:
15,000+ members on Meetup Group
7,100+ Substack Newsletters readers
1,200+ subscribers on Luma
25,000+ founders, investors, and operators in total
And our newsletter community just crossed 8,000+ subscribers, all people who believe in showing up, supporting each other, and building something real.
🎟 Don’t Miss the Next One — November 6 at Sour Mouse, NYC
Meet 100+ founders, investors, and builders shaping the NYC startup scene.
RSVP now before spots run out:
age of this exclusive perk.
🌐Claim your exclusive Startup+ community benefits: https://www.fe.capital/startuppluscommunity
What’s Next
We’re not stopping here.
Startup+ is expanding beyond NYC, with new chapters, more local partnerships.
We’re also growing our Founder Stories and How to Network blog series, sharing real insights from the people building NYC’s startup ecosystem from the ground up.
Why It Matters
In a city full of accelerators, panels, and polished events — Startup+ has stayed true to its roots:
Real founders. Real conversations. Real community.
No sponsors. No corporates. Just people helping people build.
And if you’ve ever walked into one of our events, you know, it’s not just about business cards. It’s about the energy in the room when someone says, “I’ve been exactly where you are.”
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who’s helped shape this journey, from early believers at The Scratcher to our current community at Sour Mouse.
Here’s to the next chapter, new cities, new stories, and a lot more startup magic ahead. 🚀
See you soon,
Aneesh Lal, Founder
Jaynish Shah, Community Lead
Team Startup+
🌐 www.startupplus.club
P.S. Want a free ticket and front-row access to Startup+ energy? Volunteer with us! We’re looking for awesome humans to help us run the show. Email: contact@startupplus.club or send us a message!