Who can attend the dinners?

Thunderview CEO Dinners are open to startup and bootstrapping CEOs and VCs. The goal is to provide a space for CEOs to build community and help one another.

Is this just for tech CEOs?

Definitely not! Running a business looks similar across a variety of industries. Whether you’re selling software or books, VR glasses or clothing, you’re likely dealing with capitalization, management, marketing and loads of other common challenges. The only requirement is that you aren’t selling hours (like lawyers, designers, consultants, etc).

What if I’m a founder, but not the CEO?

Due to size constraints, only CEOs are invited at this time. In the future, we may hold additional events that create opportunities for all founders to connect with one another.

What if I’m a consultant or service provider to the startup community?

Consultants provide an invaluable service to the startup and small business community, providing resources that early-stage companies couldn’t afford full-time. For the time being, though, only CEOs of companies that sell a tangible product or software-based service are invited to attend. First, consultants tend to have a different set of issues and, second, we want our attendees to feel confident that no one is selling them during dinner.

Why are VCs invited?

That’s a great question! VCs have a unique view across entire markets, and not just from a capital perspective. CEOs typically suffer from survivorship bias — they’re surrounded by articles about the winners and they don’t get to see how ugly it is, even for those companies that look successful from the outside. VCs can provide a unique level of context for our CEOs and they are warmly welcomed for that purpose.

What if I’m a CEO who previously sold a startup and now provides consulting services?

Dammit! Yes, you can come. Your experience growing and selling a company is powerful and we want you around to guide our less experienced CEOs. Plus, one of them just might inspire you to jump back into company building. Just, please, leave the sales outside of dinner. We’re here to help each other, not canvas for new clients.

What’s the deal with “an Ask, a Brag and a Challenge”?

As a community, we help each other, celebrate wins and try to solve big problems. An “Ask” is generally a simple request for help — an introduction, a suggestion for a product to use, a request for a sounding board. Anything except a request for investment (because, really, we all need investment). A “Brag” is a business or personal win that we can celebrate as a group. A “Challenge” is a problem at work that requires in-depth conversation to solve.

How do I purchase a ticket?

Apply for a spot here. Fill out as much info as you can because the more we know about you the better we can slot you in for the optimal dinner experience. We’re striving for a balance of early-, mid- and late-stage startup CEOs, successful bootstrapping CEOs and investors, all from a diverse set of backgrounds.

Once you’ve been approved, you can purchase a ticket at the Mercury Cafe website.

How do I secure a followup invite?

Once you’ve attended a dinner, you’re part of our community. The more you offer support, the faster you’ll have the opportunity to attend again. The best ways to do that are 1) help the community grow by referring new CEOs and 2) help a CEO with an Ask.

After each dinner, we’ll circulate the attendees’ Asks via email to the entire community, so even if you weren’t present, you can still help the community out.

Why’s the event called Thunderview?

Eric’s house in Boulder is on the side of the foothills with a view all the way from Golden to Fort Collins. During the summer, storms roll in from the east and park themselves over Denver, offering regular lightning shows at night, and the house is called Thunderview in the storms’ honor. For many year, Eric held monthly dinner for his clients at Thunderview where they could be part of a larger community of CEOs.

Why is the site so basic?

Squarespace, baby! Where else can you have an idea and 24 hours later have a full site up and running? It may not be sexy but it gets the job done.