The startup life ain't easy. Whether you're starting a business, considering entrepreneurship, working within a startup, or venturing into the world of startups in some other way, you're bound to run into your fair share of challenges — and you're probably looking for like-minded people to share your wins with, too.

If that sounds like you, it might be time to consider joining a startup community.

Why join a startup community?

Startup founders and leaders tend to be pretty collaborative and open. Even those who are now running or leading large companies have been in your position before. They understand just how hard, and often lonely it can be to build a business from scratch, so they're more willing to take on mentors or share their challenges, barriers, wins, failures, and learnings with like-minded people.

But the question is: how do you find your mentors? Sure, you can go onto YouTube and find creators in your field, or listen to interviews on podcasts like ‘How I Built This’ and ‘The Diary of a CEO,’ but these people aren’t exactly at your fingertips. They are behind an invisible media wall.

This is the gap online communities fill They are created and sustained by people like you – people who have an idea and want to bring it to life and talk about their growth journey. This information is often more valuable because community members have boots-on-the-ground experience and can give real, actionable advice.

If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the below questions, you should consider joining a startup community:

• Do you have a business idea you want to explore?

• Are you an entrepreneur looking for advice on marketing, sales, tech, development, logistics, staffing or funding?

• Are you a business founder encountering a particular challenge you don’t know how to fix?

• Are you a startup founder or leader approaching a new growth phase? 

• Are you looking to hire talent to help lift your startup off the ground?

The benefits of joining a startup community include:

• The opportunity to connect with like-minded people who share common interests and experiences

• The opportunity to hear about other people’s successes and failures first-hand

• Access to helpful resources and honest reviews of business tools and software

• Enhanced knowledge and understanding of launching a business – and, in turn, better business outcomes

• Career networking opportunities (lots of communities encourage members to post and share job listings)

• A support network that can motivate you and help you navigate sticky problems. Startup life can be tough! 

12 best startup communities

If you want to pick the brains of your peers and walk away with valuable nuggets of advice you can put into practice, these communities are a great place to start.

1. Growth Mentor 

Best for: Mentorship.

If you’re looking for a mentor to walk beside you as you start or scale your business, Growth Mentor might be the community for you. Growth Mentor is a mentorship platform for founders and marketers looking to grow their businesses. Plans start at just $49 a month billed quarterly, and will grant you access to the the community and give you one free call with a mentor per month. Members are also granted access to a video library and workshops and can connect with like-minded peers in active discussion groups on Slack.

2. FounderPass

Best for: Bootstrapping or COGs conscious startup founders

In recent years, many startups learned the hard way that a growth-at-all-costs mentality doesn't work in the long term. Founders need to focus on building a sustainable business, and part of that is being conscious of every dollar spent.

If you're a bootstrapping founder, or a founder looking to better optimize your cash flow, FoundersPass is an incredible resource. Described as a 'members club for founders', it gives startups access to perks and discounts on some of the most-loved SaaS products out there like Notion, GitHub, Google Cloud, and Ortto.

3. Startup Grind

Best for: Connection and education.

Startup Grind is a global startup community that educates, inspires, and connects entrepreneurs. Founded in 2010, it is the brainchild of Derek Andersen who wanted to create a place for entrepreneurs to talk about the challenges they were facing when launching a company. Before long, the community had attracted founders and experts from around the world and from different industries who share key learnings and advice. 

Today, there are Startup Grind communities (aka ‘chapters’) in major cities around the world (Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, London, New York, Beijing, etc.) where entrepreneurs can connect locally.

4. StartupNation

Best for: Those at square one

Are you a novice entrepreneur starting from square one? StartupNation can teach you “how to start a business”. It is bolstered by four experts and thought leaders and offers a wealth of resources and how-tos via blog posts, interactive guides, podcasts, and webinars. The community is a hub of information and knowledge split into categories such as ‘startup business basics,’ ‘marketing, sales and public relations,’ ‘personal growth,’ ‘business operations,’ and ‘finance and funding.’ The search function allows members to jump to the content that resonates with them. 

StartupNation is also a valuable resource for entrepreneurs who already have a business up and running but want to learn about growth hacking.

5. FoundersBeta

Best for: Founders looking to connect with talent, funding, and resources.

FoundersBeta is a networking community created to connect founders with marketers, designers, developers, and other professionals to actualize their goals. The platform lists tech startup jobs, events, and courses. Courses include ‘SEO for Startups,’ ‘Find that Dream Co-Founder,’ and ‘Recruitment Tools.’ FoundersBeta also has a magazine with articles about all things tech startups and careers.

FoundersBeta has a membership base of over 6,000 founders, innovators and talent. Membership for founders is just $30 per month, and it includes a startup deal listing. There's also a Scale up plan where members receive additional coverage for their business including deals listings and a newsletter feature.

6. No Code Founders

Best for: Non-technical founders.

Founders who don’t consider themselves to be highly ‘technical’ – or maybe they have a no-code business model – should check out No Code Founders. This global platform has had significant growth over the last two years and now boasts over 22,000 members with similar skill sets and ideas who learn from one another. Members can also access a wealth of resources including playbooks, blog posts, tutorials, a Slack group, events, and a no-code tool finder.

7. IndieHackers

Best for: Product developers looking for strategy-sharing.

IndieHackers is an online forum for developers to share the strategies and revenue numbers behind their companies and side projects. Members can join in on multiple discussion topics and find relevant groups for almost every startup challenge. We love the Product Hunt forum where community members help startups navigate the tricky process of getting a product featured, and the growing Building in public community that speaks to a growing movement in tech.

The community is large at 41,138 members at time of writing, and since it's free to sign up, there's really nothing to lose!

8. Early Stage Founders

Best for: Bootstrapping founders

Early Stage Founders is an online community designed to help self-funded SaaS and services founders get their businesses off the ground by engaging their target audience, finding product-market fit, and starting to generate revenue.

The community is a hub for shared learning and close collaboration with other founders; it also offers a robust resource library, live workshops and events, challenges and rewards, and one-on-one support from a dedicated advisor for those looking for a more structured program.

If you're a bootstrapping SaaS or services founder looking to perfect your product and find your first paid customers, Early Stage Founders will be a great fit for you.

9. Demand Curve

Best for: Marketing professionals.

Demand Curve is a 97,618-strong online community for growth and marketing professionals. It's another one that has experienced sharp growth in recent years tahnks to a wealth of resources four founders and marketers looking to fast-track business growth.

There's plenty to access on the site, but joining the community is completely free with paid in-depth courses and 'sprints' available on demand.

10. GrowthHackers

Best for: Hacking your way to growth.

This is a great one for any growth professionals to get involved in — including founders, marketers, product managers, and more. The community is active across discussion boards with wide-ranging topics like email marketing, social media strategy, outsourcing talent, product-led growth, and the best CDP software. Members can also attend live and virtual events and there's a large library of on-demand courses available for purchase.

11. SaaStr

Best for: SaaS founders.

If you’re a founder of a SaaS company, you should join SaaStr: an online community dedicated to business software. SaaStr is the destination for SaaS founders, executives, and enthusiasts looking to grow their business through peer-to-peer learning. Members also get access to content like podcasts, ebooks, training, and year-round events. Better yet, the search function makes finding solutions a breeze. Simply type in your search query and you’ll be presented with relevant information from people who have already walked the walk.

SaaStr also hosts the largest B2B software conference in the world: Annual SaaStr. It offers networking sessions, workshops, classes, and guest speaking events from the leaders of global SaaS companies.

12. Product-Led Alliance

 Best for: PLG enthusiasts.

Product-Led Alliance was founded in 2019 and is an online community for “product professionals and growth gurus”. It brings together founders and thought leaders with pioneers in the product space. Members can gain insight into the minds of startup professionals and leaders from tech giants, like Amazon and Spotify. 

PLA has a Slack community with a plethora of channels such as recommended reading, to job postings, upcoming events, Q&A and more.

Final word: Startup communities

Whether you’re a founder or employee number 30, life in a startup is challenging, fulfilling, and fun – a whirlwind full of highs and lows. Finding a great community where you can bounce ideas, find inspiration, solve problems, and connect with like-minded individuals can make a huge difference to you and your business’s well-being.