Comparison · 19 material differences
Helm 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 Helm
Founders and CEOs of UK scale-up businesses past about £3 million in revenue
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: Helm: Founder or CEO of the business; South Park Commons: No published role or title.
- Minimum company revenue: Helm: £3m+ revenue, or more than £3m raised; South Park Commons: No published minimum company revenue.
- Minimum employees: Helm: Team size around 20 full-time equivalents; South Park Commons: No published minimum employees.
- Geographic restriction: Helm: United Kingdom scale-up businesses; South Park Commons: Must live in and work from San Francisco, New York City or Bengaluru.
- Annual dues: Helm: £1,450 a year; South Park Commons: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Helm | South Park Commons | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Invitation-only community | Invitation-only community |
| Founded | 2003 (Founded as The Supper Club in 2003 by Duncan Cheatle; rebranded to Helm. Helm's own site states the 2003 founding on every page footer line and in its FAQ.) | 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 | London, United Kingdom | San Francisco, United States |
| Geographic footprint | United Kingdom: events across London and regional UK hubs, plus a digital community; Helm does not publish a full list of hubs | Physical communities in San Francisco (380 Brannan St), New York City and Bengaluru; members must live in one of the three hubs. |
| Members | 400as of September 2026 | 175as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | Helm has no chapters. It runs Forum groups and events in London and regional UK hubs but does not publish a hub list or a Forum count. | 3 |
| Primary audience | Founders and CEOs of UK scale-up businesses past about £3 million in revenue | 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 founders and CEOs of UK scale-ups, with average member turnover of about £21 million according to Helm's own comparison page. Businesses span SaaS, deep tech, biotech, property, manufacturing and retail. Non-founder executives, advisers and service providers are explicitly not admitted. | 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 | Founder or CEO of the business"non-founder executives, advisers and service providers are not admitted as members".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published role or title |
| Minimum company revenue | £3m+ revenue, or more than £3m raisedHelm's published qualification panel: "Revenue £3m+ (or, raised >£3m)".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Minimum employees | Team size around 20 full-time equivalentsHelm's qualification panel gives "Team size 20 FTEs"; its FAQ says "a team of around 20 or more".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum employees |
| Geographic restriction | United Kingdom scale-up businessesverified September 2026 · source ↗ | 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 | A short application form (Helm says two to five minutes), then a 30-minute qualifying call with the membership team to check fit and identify a suitable Forum. Helm describes committee approval within about 48 hours, followed by a 45-minute onboarding call. Forum placement follows an introductory conversation with the prospective Forum Chair and happens within one to three months of joining. | 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 | No acceptance rate is published. Helm states that every application is reviewed for fit and that non-founder executives, advisers and service providers are not admitted. | Not publicly disclosed. SPC publishes active member and alumni counts but no application volume or acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | £1,450 a yearClub membership: "£1,450 /per annum" on Helm's Get Started page. In-person experiences are pay-as-you-go at this tier.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 ↗ |
| Monthly dues | £495 a monthA Helm comparison landing page quotes "£495 Joining Fee + £495 per month" (about £5,940 a year), which conflicts with the annual figures on the Get Started page. Both are Helm's own pages; the discrepancy is unresolved.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. |
| Initiation fee | £495 one-time"£495 Joining Fee" per Helm's comparison landing page. No joining fee appears on the Get Started 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. |
| Programme fee | Helm publishes prices, but two of its own pages disagree: the Get Started page lists £1,450 and £4,250 a year for the two tiers, while a competitor-comparison page quotes £495 joining plus £495 a month. Membership can be cancelled at any time under the published membership agreement. | $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 ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual, cancellable at any time under the published membership agreement | Six-month Member Residency; Founder Fellowship recipients become lifetime members of the community |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Forum meets ten times a year (about three hours a month) plus an annual retreat; Helm runs two to three events a week, roughly 160 a year | 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 | Chaired Forum groups of six to eight founders, capped at eight, matched on business size, experience level, personality mix and Chair expertise; Chairs are experienced or exited founders | 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 | Events run under the Chatham House Rule; Forum is described as absolutely confidential ("What's discussed at Helm stays at Helm") | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | About three hours a month for Forum; Helm states there is no fixed overall commitment and that members typically attend an event every one to two months | Full time. The residency page states that "-1 to 0 isn't a side project. It's a full time endeavor." |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Event-focused, Virtual | Clubhouse premises, Cohort-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | Partial | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | No |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Partial |
| Retreats | Yes | No |
| Travel | Partial | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | Yes | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | Partial | Yes |
| Philanthropic component | Partial | 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: Helm · South Park Commons