Quickstart
Welcome to Founder Festival: a community where founders and investors are matched to the right people and the right rooms. Every profile is AI-scored from public signals, ranked on a shared leaderboard, and used to power invitations to in-real-life (IRL) events. This page walks you through the essentials so you can get value in minutes.
What Founder Festival is
Founder Festival blends a public, AI-scored directory of founders and investors with curated IRL events. The scoring surfaces signals of founder and investor caliber so the community can find standout builders and backers, and so events can be filled with the right people. Think of it as a credibility layer for the startup world, plus the dinners, mixers, and family days that grow out of it.
Your profile is AI-scored
You don't have to create a profile from scratch. Our AI evaluates publicly available information and generates a profile with two headline scores:
- Founder score: signals of your strength and track record as a company builder.
- Investor score: signals of your strength and track record as an investor.
A higher score reflects stronger signals of founder or investor caliber. Profiles also earn badges (achievement pills like "Serial Founder" or "Raised $X") and visualizations, a Credibility radar and a Relationship Matrix, that put your strengths in context. Learn more on the Profiles page.
Claim your profile
Claiming is how you take ownership of your profile so you can edit it, manage privacy, and unlock the full experience.
- Find your profile (search the Leaderboard or use "Check My Score").
- Click Claim and continue with LinkedIn or GitHub to verify it's really you.
- Once verified, you're the owner: you can edit details, manage badges, and add family or partners.
Unclaimed profiles may contain inaccuracies, so claiming is the single most valuable thing you can do. See Account for everything you can manage once claimed.
Read the leaderboard
The Leaderboard ranks profiles by founder, investor, or combined score. You can filter by stage, outcome, industry, badges, and more, or search by name or company. Small markers next to each score tell you whether someone is a current, past, or aspiring founder/investor, and a claimed badge shows who has verified ownership.
How scoring connects to event invitations
Events on Founder Festival are invite-by-score: your scores and signals determine which events you qualify for. That's why claiming and keeping your profile accurate matters: a stronger, verified profile opens doors to more rooms. When you're invited, you'll RSVP, join the event Chat, and connect with fellow attendees. Dig into the full attendee experience on the Events page.
Next steps
- Profiles: scores, badges, visuals, and endorsements
- Account: claim, edit, family, and privacy
- Leaderboard: ranking, scores, and filtering
- Events: RSVP, Chat, and connecting