Comparison · 11 material differences
Founders Network vs The PEER 150
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
Networking organization
Verified September 2026 Founders Network
Full-time founders of technology startups, from idea stage through post-Series A, who want peer mentorship rather than capital or an accelerator programme.
Networking organization
The PEER 150
Chief human resources officers, chief people officers and other senior HR leaders at large US employers
What the records say
- Role or title: Founders Network: Must be a full-time founder of a technology startup; The PEER 150: Senior HR leader - CHRO, chief people officer, EVP/SVP/VP of human resources or equivalent.
- Geographic restriction: Founders Network: No published geographic restriction; The PEER 150: United States.
- Industry restriction: Founders Network: Technology startups only; service firms are excluded; The PEER 150: No published industry restriction.
- Annual dues: Founders Network: $900 a year; The PEER 150: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Founders Network | The PEER 150 | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 2011 (The About page credits founder Kevin Holmes, a former tech startup founder, with starting the organization in 2011.) | 2014 ("Thus, in 2014, The PEER 150 was born" per the organisation's own story page.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | Portland, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Members in more than 25 cities worldwide; in-person chapter meetings named for San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, London and Mexico City. | United States: 12 regional chapters - Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle |
| Members | 600as of September 2026 | 800as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | The organization does not publish a chapter count. Its About page says members are in "over 25 cities"; individual chapter events are announced case by case. | 12 |
| Primary audience | Full-time founders of technology startups, from idea stage through post-Series A, who want peer mentorship rather than capital or an accelerator programme. | Chief human resources officers, chief people officers and other senior HR leaders at large US employers |
| Typical member | The organization describes its members as vetted full-time tech startup founders; it states that members have collectively raised more than US$5 billion, that average funding per member is US$1.1 million, and that 50 percent are serial entrepreneurs. Service firms are explicitly excluded. | Members are CHROs, chief people officers, EVPs and SVPs of HR and comparable senior people leaders at large US employers; the member directory lists executives from companies including Kaiser Permanente, Nike, Georgia Power, Chick-fil-A and NCR Voyix. The organisation reports a mix of C-suite, VP/SVP and director-level attendees. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Must be a full-time founder of a technology startupStated as "You are working full-time on building your tech startup. No service firms."verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Senior HR leader - CHRO, chief people officer, EVP/SVP/VP of human resources or equivalentThe organisation describes itself as a national community of senior HR leaders; membership pages do not publish a formal written title test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | United Statesverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Industry restriction | Technology startups only; service firms are excludedThe membership requirements text explicitly excludes service firms.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published industry restriction |
| Invitation required | Sometimes | Sometimes |
| Sponsor required | Sometimes | No |
| Application process | Applicants either arrive with a member invitation or request one through the site. The published flow is a short application of about two minutes plus an optional longer addendum. A membership committee reviews complete applications by the last Friday of each month and notifies applicants of the decision the same day. | Prospective members complete an application form on the website. The organisation reviews applicants for seniority and fit within the local HR community before granting access to events and the member channels. No sponsor or dues payment is involved. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The organization calls itself invite-only and says it researches applicants' backgrounds, but publishes no acceptance rate or rejection statistics. | Not publicly disclosed. Gatherings are described as invite-only and applications are reviewed, but no acceptance data is published. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $900 a yearLaunch Plan (idea-stage founders), listed at "$75/mo billed annually" on the benefits page; the annualised figure is derived from the published monthly rate.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $0 a yearThe organisation's application page states plainly that membership is completely free. The business is funded by event sponsors and partners.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | All memberships are annual commitments; monthly payment plans are offered on some tiers. Discounts are advertised for portfolio companies of partner venture funds and accelerator graduates, without published amounts. | $0 one-timeNo joining fee; membership carries no charge.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Event costs | All memberships are annual commitments; monthly payment plans are offered on some tiers. Discounts are advertised for portfolio companies of partner venture funds and accelerator graduates, without published amounts. | Member events including the National Summit are included in membership. The PDXYZ conference sells registrations more widely; its member pricing is not published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual commitment, renewed annually; monthly payment plans available on some tiers | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Continuous online forum; roughly 100 events a year including about 40 webinars, plus city chapter meet-ups and two annual conferences | Regional dinners through the year in each chapter city, plus virtual webinars and roundtables, the annual National Summit and the PDXYZ conference |
| Peer forums | An online mentorship forum open to all members, plus peer advisory roundtables at the top tier; there is no standing confidential forum group of assigned peers | No standing facilitated forums. The core format is a regional dinner of 40-70 senior HR leaders hosted at a member's headquarters, with a tour, workshop or presentation |
| Confidentiality | The organization describes the platform as a confidential space for founders; it does not publish a confidentiality agreement. | The organisation emphasises candid, unfiltered discussion under a "Come As You Are" philosophy, but publishes no formal confidentiality rule |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Virtual, Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused | Chapter-based, Event-focused, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Partial |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | Yes | No |
| Investment opportunities | Partial | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Founders Network · The PEER 150