Miami founder communities include open tech communities, paid founder-led memberships, vetted networks, physical hubs, selective cohort programs, and confidential peer advisory groups. The city has credible options in every category, and each is built for a different job. Refresh Miami connects you to the broader tech community. Miami Made builds recurring founder relationships. Grow305 and Founders Club curate their membership by qualification. The LAB pairs community with a physical home. Endeavor Miami and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses run structured programs.
The question that sorts them: which of those jobs do you need done right now?
Founders waste time and money when they expect broad networking to provide confidential advice, or expect a selective cohort to become a permanent peer group. In the founders we work with, the pattern that holds up is two or three deliberately chosen memberships, each assigned to a specific need.
The Miami communities, side by side
Facts verified July 2026 against each organization's official pages; where an organization does not publish pricing, the table says so rather than guessing. Categories describe each organization's primary job, and several span more than one.
| Organization | What it is | Who it serves or who qualifies | Cost (published, July 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh Miami | 501(c)(3) nonprofit running events, tech news coverage, a job board, newsletters, and the Miami Tech Pod podcast; states 16,000+ members, the largest figure on this list | Anyone in South Florida tech and startups; its stated mission is to educate, inspire, connect, and grow the region's tech community | Events free to low-cost |
| The LAB Miami | 16,000+ sq ft innovation campus and membership clubhouse in Wynwood; its sister space The DOCK serves early-stage entrepreneurs | Growth-stage startups, executives, and investors, by application | LAB membership not published (by application); The DOCK published from $250 per month |
| Miami Made | Founder-led technology community, 150+ dues-paying founders; Thrive Together Tuesdays (first Tuesday monthly, The Glassbox at Miami Ironside), dinners, trainings, member-led events | Technology founders who want a recurring, founder-led membership community | Published: $99 per month or $695 per year |
| Founders Club | Private network of 1,000+ vetted founders across Miami and other cities, founded by Chris Meade and Aaron Spivak | Roughly $1M+ annual revenue, or about $3M for service businesses; Forbes reports roughly 3,000 applications a month | Not published by the club; Forbes reports $9,500 per year |
| Grow305 | Private, vetted community for Miami entrepreneurs; events of about two hours in local venues, built around sharing business obstacles | CEOs or founders of companies doing $3M+ in annual revenue | No membership fee; a minimal charge covers food and drinks |
| Founders Network | Global network of full-time tech startup founders with a Miami chapter; peer mentorship, founder forums, pitch practice with VCs | Full-time tech startup founders; admission by nomination and membership committee | Published: annual dues begin at $499.95 |
| Startup Grind Miami | Miami chapter of the global Startup Grind community; the chapter lists 10,495 members and hosts local networking events; Startup Grind's separate global Startup Membership adds mentorship and office hours | Founders and anyone in the local startup community | Events free to low-cost |
| eMerge Americas | Global tech conference and expo (20,000+ attendees, 60+ countries) with year-round programming: an AI School, community series, a startup accelerator and showcase | The broader tech community; startups seeking accelerator and showcase access | Conference passes ticketed each cycle; year-round program costs not published |
| Endeavor Miami | Selective organization for high-impact entrepreneurs; reports 77 Endeavor Entrepreneurs across 55 companies; also runs the separate EndeavorLAB and Endeavor ScaleUp cohort programs | Entrepreneurs selected through each program's own process | Not published |
| Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (Miami Dade College) | Cohort business education program | Owners or co-owners, two or more years in operation, $75,000+ recent-year revenue, at least two employees including the owner | Free |
| EO Accelerator | Structured program for founders below EO's revenue qualification line | Operating businesses with $250,000 to $999,999 in gross annual revenue, by application | Published: $1,750 per year globally, plus any local chapter fees |
| 305Founders | Our private growth community: peer advisory tables we chair, the Founder Blueprint operating system, Performance Edge sales systems, and private Founder Breakfasts | Miami founders and CEOs, by application | Discussed openly in a private conversation before any commitment |
Sources, all checked July 2026: refreshmiami.com · thelabmiami.com/membership · miamimade.org · foundersclubofficial.com · grow305.com · foundersnetwork.com (dues from its FAQ) · startupgrind.com/miami · emergeamericas.com · endeavormiami.org · mdc.edu/10ksb · eonetwork.org/accelerator. Third-party attributions: Forbes (Founders Club application volume, membership figures, eligibility thresholds, and reported annual pricing).
Open tech communities
Refresh Miami, Startup Grind Miami, and the year-round eMerge Americas orbit give founders broad access to people, information, and events.
Refresh Miami states the largest membership of any community on this list, and its happy hours, meetups, masterclasses, news coverage, job board, newsletters, and podcast create several ways to participate. A founder hiring locally, learning the market, or meeting people across the tech community may get more value there than from a private community, ours included.
Startup Grind Miami offers a similar broad-access benefit through its local networking events, with the reach of its global parent behind it; Startup Grind's separate global Startup Membership adds mentorship and office hours. It fits founders who want approachable events and exposure beyond Miami.
eMerge Americas operates at a different scale. Its conference connects Miami to a global technology audience, and its AI School, community series, accelerator, and showcase provide year-round entry points. It fits better than 305Founders when a company wants conference exposure, showcase access, or contact with a large international tech audience.
The test for this category: do you need broader awareness, new contacts, public programming, or current information about Miami tech?
Founder-led membership communities
Miami Made is the clearest local example: a founder-led, dues-paying community of 150+ technology founders. Its signature event, Thrive Together Tuesdays, runs the first Tuesday of each month, 7:30 to 10:00 AM, at The Glassbox at Miami Ironside, and members organize themed events, dinners, and trainings around it.
That recurring cadence builds belonging. Miami Made may fit better than 305Founders for a technology founder who wants a founder-led community with a published, accessible price and frequent member-created activity.
Ask yourself whether you want recurring relationships in a community where members shape the programming.
Vetted founder networks
Founders Club, Grow305, and Founders Network all curate who gets in, with different gates and formats.
Founders Club serves founders past a meaningful revenue threshold, and its multi-city network appeals to founders who want vetted access beyond Miami. The application volume Forbes reports points to a selective funnel. It may fit better than 305Founders for someone who meets its revenue standard and wants a larger, multi-city private network.
Grow305 is local and focused. Qualification starts at $3M in annual revenue, events center on operating obstacles, and the absence of a membership fee makes it an unusual option for qualified Miami founders who want a vetted table at minimal cost.
Founders Network is built for full-time tech startup founders, with peer mentorship, founder forums, and investor pitch practice at the center. Its nomination and committee process provides the curation, and the global network extends the reach. It fits a tech founder seeking startup-specific peers outside Miami as much as within it.
The qualifying questions: do you meet the standard, and does the group curate for the kind of founder you need to meet?
Physical hubs
The LAB Miami is the one option on this list built around a physical place. The 16,000+ square foot campus in Wynwood houses a membership clubhouse focused on growth-stage startups, executives, and investors, and its sister space The DOCK gives early-stage entrepreneurs a related option.
A physical hub can become part of a founder's weekly rhythm, creating repeated contact through presence, programming, and shared space. The LAB may fit better than 305Founders when workspace, a clubhouse setting, or regular proximity to operators and investors is the primary need.
Ask whether a physical place would change how often, and how naturally, you show up.
Selective cohort programs
Endeavor Miami, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at Miami Dade College, and EO Accelerator support founders through structured, time-bound programs.
Selection as an Endeavor Entrepreneur brings ongoing support inside a recognized network; EndeavorLAB and Endeavor ScaleUp are separate cohort programs with their own selection. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses offers free cohort education to owners at least two years in, with $75,000 or more in recent-year revenue and two or more employees; for an eligible owner seeking education without membership dues, it is a strong no-cost option. EO Accelerator serves operating businesses between $250,000 and $999,999 in annual revenue, which makes the stage fit straightforward.
Ask whether you have a growth objective that matches the cohort's stage, curriculum, and selection criteria.
Confidential peer advisory groups
A confidential peer group is a separate decision from the community search. It relies on a small, consistent, non-competing group working through company and leadership decisions over time, with committed attendance, and it is the category we chair inside 305Founders.
We compare every serious Miami option in that category, including EO and YPO, in our guide to choosing a CEO peer group in Miami. If that is the decision in front of you, start there.
Where 305Founders fits
305Founders is built for Miami founders and CEOs who want a private growth community connected to the work of building the company. The three pathways serve different needs: peer advisory tables provide a chaired setting for consequential decisions, the Founder Blueprint provides an operating system for the business, and Performance Edge addresses the sales engine. Private Founder Breakfasts are the simplest first look at how we work.
An open community gives you wider reach. A physical hub gives you more frequent casual contact. A cohort gives you a defined curriculum. A multi-city network gives you geographic breadth. We are the fit when you want continuity, application to your own company, and accountability around execution, addressed together at one table. If you only need one of the jobs above, one of the other organizations may serve you better, and we will say so in the application conversation.
Choosing your memberships
Start with the problem you want the community to solve. Local visibility points to the open communities. Recurring founder relationships point to a founder-led membership. Curated access points to the vetted networks. Place points to a hub. Structured education points to a cohort. Confidential help with major decisions points to a peer group.
Then assess the people and the cadence. Attend an event where you can. Ask how members use the community after joining, how often the same people return, and what participation looks like in a normal month.
Two or three complementary memberships can cover broad connection, close relationships, and structured support. Give each one a clear purpose, and review what it returns every six months.
A membership earns its place by the job it does for the company, and it deserves the same review as any other line item.
- Miami's founder communities fall into six categories: open communities, founder-led memberships, vetted networks, physical hubs, cohort programs, and confidential peer groups. They are different products.
- Refresh Miami (16,000+ members) and Startup Grind carry the lowest barrier to entry; Miami Made ($99/month), Founders Network (dues from $499.95), and EO Accelerator ($1,750/year) publish pricing; Grow305 has no membership fee but a $3M revenue bar; Founders Club and The LAB do not publish theirs.
- Cohorts (Endeavor, 10,000 Small Businesses, EO Accelerator) are time-bound programs, and a permanent community solves a different problem.
- The confidential peer group is its own decision; our separate guide compares every Miami option in that category.
- Choose two or three memberships, give each a clear job, and review what each returns every six months.
Not sure which problem you are solving? Ten minutes on the free Leadership Scorecard will show you where the pressure is: the founder, the operating system, or the growth engine. That answer is the first input to choosing any community.