Next: Tue 06:30 / Waterfront

Run with founders building the future.

Weekly runs. Real connections. No fluff. A community built for the high-density founder ecosystem.

145
Community members
40+
Flagship attendance
Weekly
Community touchpoints
Partner with us โ†’ Join the next run
runners

Sponsors fund trusted access to elite talent.

We aren't a casual social club. We are a high-leverage network of builders who choose movement over mixers.

View Partner Pack (PDF) โ†’
โ†—

VC Host Partner

A leading seed fund sponsored food and drinks for a 40-founder flagship event. ROI: direct deal-flow discovery in an un-pitched environment.

Case study 01
โ–ฆ

Season Finale

$500 Christmas party sponsorship by a local fintech scale-up. Unlocked brand presence across Auckland's most technical founder groups.

Case study 02
Direct from the community
The highest-leverage hour of my week. No pitching, just running and real talk with people who actually get it.
Alex H.
Founder, Carbonscale
Consistency is what sets this apart. We see the same high-caliber operators every Tuesday. It's built on trust.
Sarah Chen
Partner, EarlyStage Ventures

Access the hub of Auckland's startup ecosystem.

Limited sponsorship slots available for Q3 & Q4 2026.
Download Partner PackBook a call
Value Proposition

Sponsor trusted access to Auckland's most engaged founder community

Sponsors don't fund a run club. They fund direct access to high-leverage technical founders, operators, engineers, and investors who actually execute.

145
Community members
40+
Flagship attendance
Weekly
Founder touch-points
View pricing tiersDownload partner pack
founder

Who runs with us

Not generic runners. High-leverage builders.
โš™

Founders & CTOs

The builders shaping the next generation of Auckland's technical powerhouses.

โ–ค

Operators & Product

GMs, VPs and product leads executing at scale.

>_

Engineers & Design

Senior technical leads moving the needle on real innovation.

โ–ฅ

Investors & LP networks

Angels and VCs looking for deal flow in founder-first environments.

Proof of appetite

VC Host Partner

Direct deal discovery

A leading seed fund sponsored food and drinks for a 40-founder flagship event. Uncovered 3+ deal opportunities in a low-friction environment.

Fintech scale-up

$500 Christmas Party

Christmas party sponsorship unlocked brand visibility with Auckland's most technical decision-makers and founders.

Flexible packages

Built for your strategy, delivered with zero fluff.

Weekly Run Fuel

Tier 01
~$250 / week
  • Sponsor a single Tuesday run
  • Weekly brand mention
  • Distribution of runner swag
  • Newsletter featured partner
Get started

Flagship Owner

Popular
~$2,500 / event
  • Exclusive flagship sponsorship
  • Co-branded event materials
  • Dedicated speaking slot
  • Strategic founder introductions
  • Food & drinks covered together
Reserve slot

Custom Season

Tier 03
Custom
  • Annual partnership commitment
  • Bespoke benefits & co-naming
  • Permanent physical billboard
  • Custom engagement dashboard
  • Hiring priority access
Contact us

Why sponsors trust us

No fake attendance. No bots. No pitch-heavy events. We're founder-led, founder-operated. Consistency + authenticity = real ROI.

โœ“ 145+ MembersReal people with weekly skin in the game. No deal-making lists.
โœ“ Founder-ledNo corporate overhead. Operated by builders, for builders.
โœ“ Direct accessActual human connection, not just audience reach or display ads.

The depth is the value.

Unpolished / Unfiltered / Unfair advantage

Access the hub of Auckland's startup ecosystem.

Limited sponsorship slots available for Q3 & Q4 2026.
Download Partner PackBook a call
โ— Upcoming: Weekly cadence

Events

A small crew of founders and operators, every Thursday morning, jogging the Auckland waterfront or the Domain โ€” and grabbing a cuppa after. Plus the flagship nights that pull the whole ecosystem together.

Next run: This Thursday

Startup Run Club ๐Ÿƒ + โ˜•

Time & date
Thursday morning ยท [confirm time]
Meet at
Buoy Cafe & Eatery, Auckland
Route
Waterfront / the Domain
After
Coffee & a cuppa, always
RSVP on Luma โ†’ View route on Strava
runner on steps
Flagship eventSpecial edition

Share and Tell Evening

An evening edition hosted at Blackbird โ€” founders and operators sharing what they're building, over drinks. Our biggest community nights happen here.

HostBlackbird
FormatEvening ยท share & tell
WeeklyEvery Thursday

The Thursday Run

The heartbeat of the club. Every pace welcome, every week, rain or shine. Meet at Buoy, run the waterfront, stay for coffee.

CadenceWeekly ยท since 2023
MeetBuoy Cafe & Eatery

Consistency archive

Weekly touchpoints since late 2023. We don't miss a run.

23 May 2026Weekly

Quay St Morning Dash

โ—ท 14 attdโšก Organic

Standard waterfront loop. High density of SaaS founders. Post-run coffee at Remedy.

15 Apr 2026Flagship

Autumn Founder 10K

โ—ท 42 attdโ—ˆ Index Partners

Our first official flagship of the year. 40+ people from across 15 different startups represented.

02 Apr 2026Weekly

The Domain Loop

โ—ท 11 attdโšก Organic

Quiet morning at the Auckland Domain. Focused on deep technical operator discussion today.

12 Mar 2026Special

Mission Bay Sunrise

โ—ท 22 attdโ—ˆ CloudBase

Sunrise run along Tamaki Drive. Sponsored breakfast hosted by CloudBase software.

22 Feb 2026Flagship

Summer Series Launch

โ—ท 48 attdโ—ˆ Blackbird

Our largest turnout to date. VC partners and startup founders joined for a 5km loop of the harbour.

05 Feb 2026Weekly

West Haven Morning

โ—ท 12 attdโšก Organic

Harbour Bridge views. Focused discussion on early-stage hiring strategies during the run.

Load more consistency

Host the next high-leverage hour.

Put your brand in front of 40+ founders, or fuel a weekly run from $250.
View partnership tiers โ†’
Network density

Startup Love

A directory of the companies building the future from the Auckland harbour front. Founders, operators, and early-stage innovators running together.

โŒ•
โฌก
Hiring

Carbonscale

Carbon offset SaaS for enterprise supply chains.
Founder
Alex H.
Website โ†—
โ—ท
Hiring

Kelvin.ai

AI/ML driven infrastructure for climate tech forecasting.
Founder
Sarah J.
Website โ†—
โ–ญ

Nexus Pay

Next-gen cross-border payments for the Oceania region.
Founder
David K.
Website โ†—
โ–ฆ
Hiring

Gatherly

Event management software for community hubs.
Founder
Mira W.
Website โ†—
โœŽ

Prism Design

Collaborative design tools for hardware engineering.
Founder
Leon R.
Website โ†—
โ–ฅ
Hiring

Metricify

PLG analytics for high-growth software companies.
Founder
Anna S.
Website โ†—
โ˜€

Solstice

Local solar marketplace for the New Zealand market.
Founder
Tom B.
Website โ†—
โ™ฅ

Vera Health

Medtech automation for clinical trials and patient data.
Founder
Chloe T.
Website โ†—
โ–ข
Hiring

Oasis

Async collaboration tools for distributed engineering teams.
Founder
Ben L.
Website โ†—
โžค

Stellar

Space logistics and low-orbit satellite deployment.
Founder
Isaac M.
Website โ†—
โŒ
Hiring

Seedling

Agtech sensor arrays for precision vineyard management.
Founder
Maya F.
Website โ†—
โ›จ
Hiring

Layer7

Next-gen cybersecurity firewall built for serverless apps.
Founder
Rick P.
Website โ†—

Run with the founders behind these companies.

Join us every Tuesday at 6:30am for the most high-density hour of the week.
Join the next runPartner with us
Ecosystem board

Opportunities in the ecosystem.

Open roles at startups running with us. We value builders who choose movement over mixers.

Post a job +
Featured
Carbonscale

Senior Software Engineer (Backend)

Building the infrastructure for global carbon reporting. Scale a high-growth climate-tech engine from the ground up.

Auckland / HybridView role โ†’
Featured
Nexus Pay

Head of Growth & Operations

Own the go-to-market strategy for a next-gen B2B payments orchestrator. Fast-paced, high-autonomy founder-led team.

Auckland / CBDView role โ†’
Design
Oasis

Product Designer

Defining the visual language for the next generation of collaborative workspace tools. Clean, utilitarian focus.

Auckland / Remote NZView role โ†’
Operations
Stellar

Operations Manager

Managing complex supply chain logic for autonomous low-orbit freight. Looking for a logistics-obsessed operator.

Auckland / PortView role โ†’
Engineering
Layer7

Fullstack Developer

Securing the enterprise with zero-trust architecture. Join an early team solving high-stakes security problems.

Auckland / HybridView role โ†’
Sales
Vera Health

Sales Lead

Scaling the most successful consumer wellness app out of ANZ. Looking for an aggressive closer who loves the hustle.

Auckland / CBDView role โ†’

Hiring at a startup running with us?

Post your open roles directly to a network of 145+ highly engaged founders, operators, and senior builders.

Feature your listingPremium listings include placement in weekly dispatch

The best hires happen at 6:30am.

Trust is built on the run, not in the inbox.
Join the next run โ†’
The toolkit

Resources

Everything you need to show up and everything the ecosystem needs to keep building. Curated, not cluttered.

For the run
01

Route library & Strava club

Every weekly route, pace groups, and how to find us on a cold morning.

Open โ†— 02

First-timer's guide

Never run with a club? Start here. No, you won't be left behind.

Open โ†— 03

Gear & weather notes

What to wear for an Auckland winter dawn. Spoiler: a layer you can ditch.

Open โ†—
For the founder
04

Auckland fund & accelerator map

Who's writing cheques, at what stage, in the local ecosystem.

Open โ†— 05

Ecosystem events calendar

The other meetups, demo days and conferences worth your time.

Open โ†— 06

Hiring & talent links

Where to find โ€” and be found by โ€” the people on this very directory.

Open โ†—

Got a resource the crew should see?

We curate the toolkit together.
Suggest a resource โ†’
Official merchandise

Club Gear. Community Signal.

Merch is more than fabric. It's a token of belonging and a billboard for our ecosystem. Proceeds fund our community infrastructure.

The foundation collection

SRC Standard Tee

High-wicking technical fabric for Tuesday mornings.

$45Add to cart

Founder Hoodie

Heavyweight cotton for pre-run coffee and post-run builds.

$85Add to cart

Pace Group Cap

Lightweight, packable, and sweat-ready.

$35Add to cart

Ecosystem Vest

Reflective elements for winter starts.

$65Add to cart

Wear your community.
Signal your values.

Every purchase goes directly back into the club. 50% of all proceeds fund our weekly coffee, flagship events, and the infrastructure behind this directory.

50%Of profit reinvested into the crew
100%Founder-owned and operated
Three ways in

Get Involved.

Whether you run, you build, or you back the people who do โ€” there's a way in. Pick yours.

๐Ÿƒ

Run with us

Every Thursday morning, Buoy Cafe & Eatery. Every pace welcome โ€” walk, jog or sprint. Coffee after, always. No need to be fast, or a founder.

RSVP on Luma โ†’
โฌก

Feature your startup

Building something? Get listed in Startup Love, post open roles to the board, and put your company in front of the crew.

Get featured โ†’
โ—†

Partner with us

Fuel a run, host a flagship, or back the season. Put your brand in the room founders actually show up to.

See partnership tiers โ†’

Stay in the loop

One short note a week. No spam.

The weekly dispatch

Run details, who's coming, featured startups and the odd job worth knowing about. Straight to your inbox.

See you Thursday.

Buoy Cafe & Eatery ยท Auckland waterfront ยท every week
RSVP on Luma โ†’See all events