When I joined the Young Founders Network in April 2024, the Karlsruhe chapter didn't exist yet. There were chapters in Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Zurich — but nothing in Karlsruhe. A city with one of the best technical universities in Germany and no organized community for young founders. That seemed wrong.
Starting from a group chat
The first thing we did was create a WhatsApp group. That's it. No website, no branding, no strategy deck. Just a group chat and a message: "Anyone in Karlsruhe interested in startups?"
Ten people joined in the first week. Most of them were KIT students. Some had ideas, some had already built things, some just wanted to meet other people who thought about startups the same way they did.
We organized our first meetup at a bar. Twelve people showed up. We talked for three hours. Nobody pitched anything. Nobody networked in the performative LinkedIn sense. People just talked about what they were working on and what they were struggling with.
What worked
Looking back, a few things made the difference:
- Low-pressure events. We never called anything a "networking event." We called it a Stammtisch. The vibe matters more than the format.
- Consistency. We met every two weeks, same day, same time. People could count on it. Most community-building advice overcomplicates this.
- No gatekeeping. YFN's philosophy is that you don't need to have founded a company to join. Some of our most engaged members are people with a half-formed idea and a lot of curiosity. That's enough.
What I learned
Building a community is not a growth hack. It's showing up, consistently, and making a space where people feel welcome. The 1,800+ members across the YFN network didn't happen because of some viral moment. It happened because dozens of chapter leads across the DACH region kept showing up, week after week.
If you're under 25 and interested in startups, check out YFN. If you're in Karlsruhe specifically, come to one of our events. The worst that happens is you meet some interesting people.