Happenstance for Founders

What it gives you

Groups let members pool their connections into one searchable network. The company's founders page gives an example group with 106,000 searchable people across 44 members, and says its largest groups make more than 380,000. Those are the company's figures, and the example is not a typical group. ^{[2] [4]}

Founders who want warm introductions to investors, hires or customers get the same search as everyone else. The difference is the size of the pool, which depends on how many members join the group and connect their accounts. ^[2]

What it costs you

Groups are free, and so is the free plan. Pro costs $24 a month billed yearly on the web, or $288 a year. The Team plan costs $24 per seat a month, and the company's pricing page shows no annual seat price. ^{[1] [2]}

Before you buy seats, ask whether each seat carries every Pro feature. The pricing page does not say, so a seat bought for a teammate may not do everything your own Pro account does. ^[1]

Your first three months

Month one, free. Connect Gmail and Calendar, then join one group. Change the public-profile default first, since a public profile shows named connections unless you turn that off. ^{[5] [6]}

Month two, test the pool. Run a few searches for the roles or people you need this quarter, and count how many results come with a route through a member you know. ^{[3] [8]}

Month three, decide on Team. If the cap on the free plan stops your team in the same week, price the Team seats. If it does not, stay free and keep the groups. ^[1]

Growing it without giving away your network

Groups are only as useful as their members. Pool only with people you trust, because anything you pool is visible to the group, and visibility is limited to you, accepted friends and joined groups. ^[5]

Founders who build on the API should read the credits first. A search costs 2 credits and a Chat turn costs 1 to 3, and no dollar price per credit is published. ^[7]

Protecting your network, and reaching beyond it

The privacy policy and the security page disagree on AI training, and the policy's California section says the company may have sold personal information in the last twelve months. Ask both questions in writing before you pool a contact list that includes investors or candidates. ^{[6] [5]}

Should a founder use it?

Yes, for the free groups and a search of your team's combined network. Skip the Team seats until you have checked that a seat carries the features you need. Skip it entirely if your main need is a pipeline or CRM, since the company's comparison pages list no CRM import. ^{[3] [1] [9]}