Comparison · 18 material differences
Dynamite Circle vs South Park Commons
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Invitation-only community
Verified September 2026 Dynamite Circle
Founders of bootstrapped, profitable, location-independent businesses in software, e-commerce, services and media.
Invitation-only community
South Park Commons
Technical founders, researchers and domain experts between things - the site's phrase is "-1 to 0" - who can commit full time and live in San Francisco, New York or Bengaluru.
What the records say
- Role or title: Dynamite Circle: Business founder; freelancers, employees, multi-level marketers, C-suite executives, upper management and department heads are excluded; South Park Commons: No published role or title.
- Minimum company revenue: Dynamite Circle: At least US$100,000 per year in business revenue (standard DC membership); South Park Commons: No published minimum company revenue.
- Geographic restriction: Dynamite Circle: No published geographic restriction; South Park Commons: Must live in and work from San Francisco, New York City or Bengaluru.
- Annual dues: Dynamite Circle: $697 a year; South Park Commons: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Dynamite Circle | South Park Commons | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Invitation-only community |
| Founded | 2011 (Founded in 2011 by Dan Andrews and Ian Schoen, who had started the Tropical MBA podcast in 2009.) | 2016 (The Our Story page dates the community to 2016 and describes its origin as ten people reading AI papers around founding member Ruchi Sanghvi's dining table, before a physical space opened in San Francisco's South Park neighbourhood.) |
| Headquarters | Not documented | San Francisco, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Members in 50+ countries and 200+ cities, with in-person meetups across seven continents and annual conferences in Bangkok and Mexico City. | Physical communities in San Francisco (380 Brannan St), New York City and Bengaluru; members must live in one of the three hubs. |
| Members | 1,400as of September 2026 | 175as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | No formal chapters. The organization runs local meetups in cities including Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Tokyo, Barcelona and Portland, and states it holds 200+ in-person meetups a year. | 3 |
| Primary audience | Founders of bootstrapped, profitable, location-independent businesses in software, e-commerce, services and media. | Technical founders, researchers and domain experts between things - the site's phrase is "-1 to 0" - who can commit full time and live in San Francisco, New York or Bengaluru. |
| Typical member | Members are business owners rather than freelancers or executives, running bootstrapped companies with consistent recurring revenue above US$100,000 a year; the premium tier is limited to founders above US$1 million. | The FAQ states that about 70 percent of members are founders who aspire to start a company and 30 percent are researchers and experts going deeper in new fields. Members are expected to be full-time; those holding a full-time job are generally not accepted, with rare exceptions for visa or vesting reasons. Applicants who want to leave or take a sabbatical from university or academia are considered. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Business founder; freelancers, employees, multi-level marketers, C-suite executives, upper management and department heads are excludedCertain professional categories are also excluded, specifically coaching, consulting and recruiting.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published role or title |
| Minimum company revenue | At least US$100,000 per year in business revenue (standard DC membership)The organization also requires consistent recurring revenue rather than one-off income.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Must live in and work from San Francisco, New York City or BengaluruThe FAQ answers "Do I need to be located in SF, NYC, or Bangalore?" as yes; members are expected to work from SPC spaces through the week.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Applicants confirm they meet six published requirements, agree to the code of conduct and submit an application with written answers about themselves and their business. A team member reviews each application personally and notifies the applicant within 48 business hours. DC BLACK adds a discovery call with the founder and revenue verification through a signed profit-and-loss statement, followed by facilitator-led placement into a mastermind group. Referrals from current members are encouraged. | Applicants apply online to either the Member Residency or the Founder Fellowship. The organization says it reads every application and that applicants generally hear back within one to three weeks; those advancing are invited to an interview. Residency applications are accepted on a rolling basis year-round, while the Fellowship runs spring and autumn cohorts with application cut-offs and concentrated interview periods before each start. |
| Selectivity | "Only a fraction of applicants are accepted", per the requirements page; no acceptance rate is published. | Not publicly disclosed. SPC publishes active member and alumni counts but no application volume or acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $697 a yearStandard DC membership: "$697 per year - one-time annual payment", covering the online community, app and free local meetups.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $0 a year"Is there a membership fee? No, we do not charge fees or dues." The India page repeats that the six-month residency is at "No cost or equity".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Programme fee | Not publicly disclosed | $0 one-timeThe six-month Member Residency carries no fee and no equity. The separate Founder Fellowship is an investment, not a fee: US$400,000 for 7 percent via a SAFE plus US$600,000 guaranteed in the next venture round.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Event costs | Not publicly disclosed in aggregate. The events page states that local meetups and Juntos are typically free, and that "Global conferences and retreats have ticket prices that are listed on each event page".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | SPC does not sell membership. Its economics run through the SPC Fund, which the site says manages a US$575 million global pool and writes cheques from US$1 million to US$10 million. |
| Membership term | Annual | Six-month Member Residency; Founder Fellowship recipients become lifetime members of the community |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | 200+ local meetups a year plus 13+ organised events annually; DC BLACK masterminds meet monthly | Members work from SPC spaces through the week; peer accountability groups, learning forums, speaker series, workshops and roundtables run on an ongoing basis |
| Peer forums | Online community and mobile app for all members; DC BLACK members are placed in facilitated mastermind groups of five to seven peers matched by track | Peer accountability groups and member-led learning forums rather than assigned confidential forums; Fellowship cohorts are kept small at roughly one partner per two companies, with no demo day |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed beyond a published code of conduct | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Full time. The residency page states that "-1 to 0 isn't a side project. It's a full time endeavor." |
| Organized as | Virtual, Event-focused, Forum-based | Clubhouse premises, Cohort-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Partial | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Yes | No |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | Yes | No |
| Travel | Partial | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | No | Yes |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | High | Medium |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Dynamite Circle · South Park Commons