Lunchclub for Founders

Not for a first conversation now

A founder who needs an introduction to an investor, an adviser or a first customer should not start with Lunchclub. The App Store version has not changed since 3 March 2022. Fortune reported on 11 Nov 2025 that growth plateaued in 2022, that the founders moved into what became Lighter, and that about 80% of the team went with them. ^{[1] [2]}

Fortune does not say whether the networking service stopped. Lighter's own site describes a perpetual futures exchange and does not mention Lunchclub. ^{[2] [3]}

The early figures are the company's own claims

In 2019 Lunchclub set up warm introductions for one-to-one lunch or coffee by email, across seven cities, and its profile data came mostly from public sources. In July 2020 the CEO cited “tens of thousands of meetings” a week, which is a company figure. ^{[4] [6]}

A Lightspeed partner who spent about 40 meetings learning how matching worked said matching weighs factors beyond sector and seniority, without naming them. That is one investor's account, not an independent test. ^[5]

The money model was never settled, which matters for a founder

In 2020 the CEO floated fees on executive hires, on founder-to-investor introductions and on selling employee connections at large companies. None became a settled model. A service whose founders moved to another product in 2025 is a poor place to get a reliable first meeting. ^{[6] [2]}

Boardy is free to start, and Happenstance costs $288 a year

Boardy's FAQ says talking to it and getting introductions is free, with some paid extras and daily caps that have no published numbers. Its homepage says it targets founders, investors, hiring and job seekers, which is its own claim. Confirm the caps and extras before you commit. ^[7]

Happenstance Pro is $24 a month billed yearly, which comes to $288 a year. Its homepage says it searches your connected Gmail, Calendar, LinkedIn and X accounts to suggest warm-introduction paths, so decide whether you want that access before you connect anything. ^[8]

The full list, with dates, is on the alternatives page.

Should a founder use it? Not for a first meeting

Not now. Spend the first week on a service you can test today, and treat each introduction as a test of whether the match fits.