Founders Club sells the introduction you can't Google

Felipe Corrêa da Silva and Diogo Maximo had already become business partners before they met in person. One lived in Joinville; the other, in Rio de Janeiro. In September 2023, Founders Club brought them into the same community. Diogo had technical expertise. Felipe had retail experience and a previous startup sale behind him. They found a reason to talk. Their company, Futuriza, would later attract investment from Antler. The first useful thing the club supplied was rather less glamorous than venture capital: another person.

That is a sensible place to begin with Founders Club. Startup communities are generous with nouns: innovation, disruption, ecosystem. Here, the interesting question is a verb. What happens after someone joins?

01The consultancy became a room

Marcelo Wagner began with a more familiar arrangement. Having sold Suiteshare to VTEX in 2021, he started a startup consultancy. The legal company dates to July 2022; the wider founder community emerged in 2023. Its history describes the subsequent partnership with angel investor Anderson Diehl as the turning point toward continuing acceleration, from pre-seed businesses through scale-ups.

The diagnosis was specific. In 2024 reporting, Wagner described founders seeking capital with inadequate pitches, sometimes without revenue or a grasp of how investors thought. Others had traction and needed help accelerating it. A single prescription would be awkward. He wanted Diehl’s connections to investors and large companies, and a hub that could serve businesses at different stages.

The other partners added operating experience: Bianca Six in sales, partnerships and customer success; Felipe Barão in growth and product-led selling; Rafael Wainberg in business development and education. Together, their proposition became an ongoing place to ask questions, rather than a consulting assignment that eventually ends.

02A cofounder, then a cheque

Futuriza makes the mechanism visible. After the initial club introduction, its founders formalized their partnership in January 2024 and secured Arte Óptica as their first customer. They applied to Antler after completing a minimum viable product. The club’s account says Antler invested US$125,000; the two founders finally met face to face during that program.

“Nos conhecemos pessoalmente só quando iniciamos o programa da Antler.”

Felipe Corrêa / Futuriza
“We only met in person when we started the Antler program.”

In January 2026, technology association ACATE confirmed a R$6.5 million seed round led by Quartzo Capital, with JoinVC and Antler participating. ACATE also traced the Quartzo relationship to Startup Summit in 2024 and described Futuriza’s incubation at Softville Ágora. The club was one important setting in a longer journey involving customers, an incubator, investors and execution.

03A launch post finds its buyer

A second club case turns on a smaller gesture. Alexander Martins La Espina posted the launch of Licitei, a public-procurement platform, in the founders’ group. Diehl noticed the opportunity and used his network to help pursue a deal. The club reports a sale to MTEC for R$6.25 million, five months after the MVP, with roughly 2,000 users and R$15,000 in monthly revenue.

The useful detail is the launch post. A network can do little with a business nobody explains. Here, sharing created something another member could evaluate, introduce and negotiate around. The reported exit is an individual case, with its own buyer and circumstances. It would be a peculiar membership promise to put on autopay.

04The subscription has to earn its keep

Prime packages the community with live masterclasses, mentoring, investor opportunities, corporate challenges and in-person experiences. Founders Academy supplies the recordings, including sessions on sales, fundraising and leadership. Its public FAQ says access continues while someone remains a member. Questions asked live can therefore become material someone else watches later.

As checked in October 2026, the hub’s Prime page advertises R$1,990 for twelve months, payable upfront or in twelve installments of R$165.83. A separate Acelera+ page advertises R$549 annually for approved owners of online or offline businesses, with a WhatsApp group, monthly classes and Academy access. These are distinct published offers; plan and promotional terms matter.

Software credits and discounts add a more measurable proposition. The hub lists cloud and business tools including AWS, Google Cloud, OVHcloud and HubSpot. A founder can compare an eligible benefit with an existing bill. The sensible calculation is money actually avoided, after checking eligibility and usage. A catalog’s headline value cannot pay salaries.

The partner program adds another commercial relationship: supporters are offered brand exposure and access to the startup network. Founders Club sits between education, founder networking and the investment ecosystem. Accelerators and angel groups can be collaborators or alternative routes to help. The club’s distinction is putting several kinds of assistance inside a continuing membership.

05Bring a problem worth sharing

The habit a reader can copy is pleasantly unromantic. State the problem clearly. Find someone with relevant experience. Offer something useful in return. Follow up. Futuriza’s complementary founders and Licitei’s visible launch are better examples than a large contact count. The club’s stated values include “give first,” “give back” and cooperation; its partners’ letter expects entrants to contribute.

This arrangement needs an active business and an active member. Someone seeking guaranteed funding, automatic customers or a library they will never open has little reason to expect the same value. The company’s subscription terms make no promises of profit or target attainment. Even a good introduction leaves the pitch, product and next conversation to the founder.

The 2026 Growth Challenge gives that philosophy a more structured form: six months of development, publicly supported by Notion, Magalu Cloud and other partners. The announcement scheduled a June 29 welcome session with Antler’s Carolina Strobel. Founders Club’s continuing experiment is whether proximity can become a working habit. The test arrives when the meeting ends and somebody does something.