Inspiring Founders
A community of Bay Area AI B2B founders building toward serious traction — whether that's your next raise or a durable, independent business.
Small, confidential peer groups · Monthly, in person · San Jose
Founders & builders featured on the podcast
Why it matters
At pre-seed, every month brings a decision with no clear answer and no one to check your thinking. Get a few of them wrong and you lose months of runway you can't get back.
You don't have to call them alone. In your peer group, you pressure-test the hard decisions with founders who've already made them — and move with conviction.
Apply to a peer group →Just don't die. You have to get to default alive.Wayne Fenton · Inspiring Founders Podcast, Ep. 05
Three ways in
Small, confidential peer groups of founders building AI-SaaS — meeting monthly to make the hard calls together, wherever you're headed.
Explore the program → 02 — ListenEvery Thursday, real conversations with founders and leaders — from early-stage startups to CEOs scaling past $10M in revenue.
Browse episodes → 03 — AskA YouTube channel just for founders. Ask any question about building a company, and we'll answer it on camera.
Watch on YouTube →
Who's in the room
Peer groups are facilitated by Michael "Mash" Ashley — founder and CEO of Radi8, with 25+ years building, four startup exits, and an adjunct professorship at San José State teaching hundreds of aspiring founders.
No expert-only advice. Just founders who've been in the fire, in a room with you.
More about us →Questions
Inspiring Founders is a community for Bay Area AI and B2B SaaS founders. At its core are small, confidential Peer Groups that meet monthly, in person, in San Jose — facilitated by founder Michael "Mash" Ashley — plus a weekly podcast and a newsletter.
Early-stage founders building a SaaS product with an AI angle, based in the Bay Area and able to meet monthly in San Jose. Most members are pre-seed — past the idea stage and actively building, with a prototype, early users, or first revenue.
No. The groups welcome both paths — founders raising on favorable terms and founders growing toward durable independence. What everyone shares is a real traction milestone they're driving toward.
Membership is $6,000 per year. Groups are 8–10 founders and meet monthly, three hours, in person in San Jose. See how the program works →
Apply through the application form. Mash reviews every application and matches founders into a group by stage and focus.
One wrong call — on pricing, your first hire, or when to raise — can cost months of runway you can't get back. Make the big ones with founders who've been there.
