Comparison · 13 material differences
Founders Network vs LAVA
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
LAVA
Participants in the Los Angeles venture ecosystem: venture capitalists, limited partners, family offices, angel investors, founders of venture-backed companies, and the…
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Founders Network: No published maximum age at joining; LAVA: Young VC membership requires the member to be employed by a venture firm and under 40.
- Role or title: Founders Network: Must be a full-time founder of a technology startup; LAVA: VC Partner membership is for partners at venture firms, or analysts and associates at those firms.
- Geographic restriction: Founders Network: No published geographic restriction; LAVA: Los Angeles and Southern California focus.
- Industry restriction: Founders Network: Technology startups only; service firms are excluded; LAVA: No published industry restriction.
- Annual dues: Founders Network: $900 a year; LAVA: $485 a year.
Side by side
| Founders Network | LAVA | |
|---|---|---|
| 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.) | 1984 (LAVA's About page says it was established in 1984 as the Los Angeles Venture Club; its homepage gives 1985. The two dates were not reconciled.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | Los Angeles, 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. | Greater Los Angeles and Southern California |
| Members | 600as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed |
| 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. | No chapters. LAVA organises internally into industry committees, affinity groups and special interest groups rather than geographic chapters. |
| 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. | Participants in the Los Angeles venture ecosystem: venture capitalists, limited partners, family offices, angel investors, founders of venture-backed companies, and the professional services firms around them |
| 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. | LAVA's own description covers limited partners, venture capitalists, family offices, angel investors, founders, incubators, accelerators, universities, researchers, mentors, government officials and legal, accounting, marketing and PR service providers. Its membership tiers price these groups differently, with separate rates for entrepreneurs, investors, VC partners, limited partners and academics. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | No published maximum age at joining | Young VC membership requires the member to be employed by a venture firm and under 40Carries a reduced rate and access to young-VC events.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| 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 ↗ | VC Partner membership is for partners at venture firms, or analysts and associates at those firmsGives access to investor-only events.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Los Angeles and Southern California focusThe academic researcher rate is described as a discounted rate for local academics.verified 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 | No |
| 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. | Membership is bought online through LAVA's member portal by selecting a category. There is no published application review, sponsorship or interview stage; category eligibility appears to rest on self-declaration. |
| 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. Some events are invitation-only within the membership (investor-only and LP/VC-only formats), but membership itself is open paid enrolment. |
| 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 ↗ | $485 a yearPremium individual membership, annual ($50 a month on the monthly plan)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. | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee appears alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 |
| Membership term | Annual commitment, renewed annually; monthly payment plans available on some tiers | Annual, with a monthly option on the premium individual tier |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Continuous online forum; roughly 100 events a year including about 40 webinars, plus city chapter meet-ups and two annual conferences | Live and virtual events year-round, including investor round tables, syndication screenings, VC check-ins and private mixers, plus annual events such as Meet the VC, First Look SoCal and the LAVA Awards |
| 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 | Industry committees across more than a dozen sectors, affinity groups (Women In LAVA, Young VCs at LAVA, university alumni groups), special interest groups and sector divisions |
| Confidentiality | The organization describes the platform as a confidential space for founders; it does not publish a confidentiality agreement. | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Virtual, Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused | Event-focused, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Partial |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Partial |
| Leadership development | Partial | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | No | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Yes | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | Partial | Yes |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Founders Network · LAVA