Your sneak-peek inside Founders House before we open June 1

Over the last eight months, Louisa Li and I have been building Founders House: NYC's first work and wellness club for founders. And next month we’re opening at 22 Vanderbilt, right next to Grand Central.

We started running private tours of the space a few weeks ago. They filled up almost immediately, and we kept getting the same message: "I couldn't get a slot, is there another way to see it?"

So we're opening it up.

Starting now, we're releasing daily sneak-peek co-working slots inside Founders House before we officially open on June 1. Come work from the space for a day, see it before anyone else, and feel what we've been building.

Book a Cowork Visit → 

Apply to Join Founders House →

How this started

Louisa and I met through mutuals at a backyard sauna event last year and connected almost immediately over the same belief: founders shouldn't have to choose between building something meaningful and taking care of their health. The most inspiring founders I know are proof that those two things go together.

I started my community as a run club, a few founders meeting every Tuesday morning to run through the city. Louisa left her job in management consulting and started Shanti House, rooted in the teachings of yoga. Last year we started collaborating to bring founders together outside the traditional networking happy hour scene.

After 100+ events, we decided to join forces on the next chapter of both communities: a physical space where founders could work, recover, connect, and genuinely support each other through the highs and lows of building. Apply to Join Founders House →

What's happened since

Since we announced the concept last fall:

• 600+ applications with $0 in marketing spend

• Almost 100 founding memberships pre-sold (to our early believers, thank you)

• 20+ spaces toured across NYC, plus leases negotiated, and a lot of late nights with advisors, investors, lawyers, contractors, and designers

Learn more about Founders House here: https://foundershouse.nyc

What you get as a founding member

The space is built around how founders actually use a day. Three spaces under one roof:

• A workspace built for founders — dedicated coworking, soundproof phone booths, a conference room, and a member lounge. Access 7 days per week.

• An on-site wellness club — full gym, showers, lockers, yoga and a wellness studio with weekly programming.

• A founding member community — peer-to-peer workshops, demo days, panels, and members-only programming.

Book a Sneak Peek Visit → 

How to apply

Applications are now open. Here's how it works:

1. Apply on the form. Tell us what you're building and where you are in the journey.

2. Louisa and I read every application personally.

3. If it's a fit, we'll be in touch to confirm your founding member spot.

Who we're looking for

We're looking for founders building seriously, scaling teams, and working on real products. But who also think about work, health, and community as a complementary system, not three separate things to balance.

We're being intentional about this first cohort as it sets the tone for everything that follows. We'd rather have the right 50 founders than the wrong 200.

Apply to Join Founders House →

See you there,

Damian & Louisa 

Co-Founders, Founders House

If you’re not a founder, reply to this email with how you'd want to get involved. Or apply to join as a member.