The plumbing behind the dinners.
The same-day mechanic, the directory, the channels, the legal entity. None of it is the point of the club, but all of it has to work invisibly or the point falls apart.
The same-day mechanic
The single most distinctive thing about the club. Treated as a feature, not a coincidence.
- First Saturday of every month, globally
- Each chapter runs its event at the local time that makes sense
- 30 minutes after each chapter's start, the room does a one-line toast: "To the room, the host, and the cause"
- Each chapter posts a short clip or photo to the global members' channel that night
- Monthly recap published the following Tuesday on foundersbbqclub.com: total raised across all chapters, causes funded, headcount per chapter, photo per chapter
Invitations
Every invite features the host as the headliner.
Subject: Founders BBQ Club, [City], [Date] — with [Host Name]
Body:
· Host bio (150–200 words, host-written, chapter lead edited)
· What's on the grill (one or two lines, host's voice)
· The cause and why the host picked it (one or two lines)
· Venue, time, dress code if any
· RSVP link with donation amount
· Reminders: founders + one guest, no pitching, no recruiting, no media
Channels
Public
- foundersbbqclub.com — landing page, chapters, next events, cause list, transparency reports
- Instagram @foundersbbqclub — event recaps, hosts, food, venues
- LinkedIn company page
Members
- WhatsApp for the members' channels. One group per chapter, one global group for cross-chapter conversation that members opt into.
- Signal for the chapter-leads-only group across cities (better provenance for cross-border coordination).
- Monthly newsletter per chapter: next event, recap of last event, cause and amount raised.
The chapter lead sets the tone early on the WhatsApp groups — these are for event coordination, occasional intros, and the same-day toast clips, not chat-all-day social feeds.
Member directory
Private, members-only, global. The persistent asset of the club. Searchable by city, industry, and "ask me about" tags. Each member's row: name, photo, city, current thing, past things, LinkedIn, three or four "ask me about" tags they're happy being approached on. No contact info exposed publicly. Introductions happen through chapter leads or member-to-member through club channels.
Event view
At each event, attendees can see a filtered view of the directory showing only the people RSVPed to that night. A QR code on the table opens it on phones. The room knows who's in the room without anyone having to introduce themselves formally.
Build path
- v0, launch: a website with the member area on foundersbbqclub.com. Public site, application form, member directory, event RSVP and the tonight's-attendees view. Stripe payment links for v0, not embedded.
- v1, after 3–6 months if v0 is working: richer member area features — chapter lead admin dashboard, in-app payments, event creation UX.
- v2, when multiple chapters and real volume: a PWA or native app with push for events, in-app payment, the same-day photo feed. Don't build until v1 is straining.
Privacy norms
- Everything in the directory is opt-in and member-controlled. Each member writes their own bio, picks their own photo, picks their own tags.
- Directory is members-only. Event view is attendees-only for that specific event.
- No exporting, no screenshotting. Stated norm, not technically enforced.
- LinkedIn is linked from the directory, not duplicated.
The events are the gravitational core, but the directory is the long-term product. It's the thing that's useful between events, when a member travels, when someone needs to find a specific kind of operator. Build it knowing that.
Legal and payments
Entity
Estonian MTÜ (non-profit) preferred for the clean non-profit story. Estonian OÜ as fallback. Decision before Porto event one.
Payments
Stripe, multi-currency, one product per chapter event. Stripe fees (around 3%) disclosed openly. Funds held briefly in the central entity, transferred to causes within 14 days.
NY tax-deductibility
At NY launch, default to picking US-based causes that handle their own receipting directly. If NY scales, partner with a US 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.