IRL meetups in SF and other cities. Follow us on Luma for updates!
Special collaboration with PostHog for our July Meetup,
Featuring PostHog tech talk on building MaxAI
Followed by fireside chat w/ their Co-CEO James Hawkins
Plus, community demos you don’t want to miss.
Hey fellow builders!
You might know me from hosting the AGI Builders Meetup. Well, I recently co-founded a startup and blasted off into the unknown. No matter how prepared you think you are, startup life hits like a meteor shower.
I thought I had it figured out, but real space is messier, crazier, and way more intense than any simulation could have prepared me for.
That's why I'm launching JumpStars.
No polished success stories or "5 easy steps" guides. Just real, messy takeaways from someone actively building. If you're planning your own leap or have already launched, consider this your co-pilot sharing what's actually happening. These are the insights that might help you dodge asteroids and conserve resources.
Ready for the first mission report?
Health Insurance Requires Two Full-Timers
Want group health insurance? You need at least two full-time W-2 employees to qualify. Solo founder? You're stuck with expensive COBRA or individual marketplace plans until you hire someone.What this means for you:
Factor this expense into your personal budget, as it is larger than you might expect.Physical Space = Insurance Required
Got an office or co-working space? You need General Liability Insurance. It protects you if someone gets hurt in your space, and it's also a requirement for landlords and B2B clients.What this means for you:
Plan for this early. It secures deals and prevents disaster.B2B Means Compliance from Day One
If you're selling to businesses, they'll eventually ask about your security practices. Start thinking about SOC 2 or HIPAA compliance from the beginning, since it's much easier to build in early than add it when you’re under pressure.What this means for you:
Connect with a compliance automation vendor early to build the right foundation from the start.
Honestly, it's all boring and probably seems obvious. Hope you already knew this stuff. If not, I hope this saves you some headaches.
Found this useful? Subscribe to follow along. I’ll share more practical startup tips as I navigate this journey.
Last month's AGI Builders Meetup at GitHub HQ brought together over 150 builders and researchers from 550+ registrants. The room was packed with people genuinely excited to share what they're building and learn from each other.
Ben from Freestyle Cloud took on a wild challenge: "vibe code" an entire AI app builder live in 20 minutes. We watched on the edge of our seats as he battled slow AI, misplaced files, and finicky API keys, all while narrating with humor. He missed it by a hair, one final step standing between him and victory.
Melissa from Langflow blew our minds with her multi-agent resume helper. Imagine multiple AI agents working together like a dream team. One analyzed your resume, another suggested improvements, and a third rewrote sections on the spot. It was one of those perfect "aha!" moments that made you realize just how fast we can build multi-agent systems now. The recording below captures it better than I can describe.
The lightning round was honestly a blast. Six amazing companies hit the stage: Epsilla (YC S23), ContextQA, VibeFlows, NomadicML (PearX S24), AlphaAI, and Velin. It was inspiring to see what they're building, and that energy carried right into the fantastic conversations at the networking session. If you'd like to see what sparked all the buzz, you can find the recordings of the talks and demos here.
Inspired by what you saw? Come present at our monthly meetups in SF! It’s a great chance to showcase your project with a welcoming crowd that truly gets it. Ready to share what you've been building?
A night like this is a true team effort. Our deepest thanks go to GitHub for the beautiful venue, Langflow for providing the pizza, and a special, heartfelt thank you to my friends, Chelsea and Bobbie, for being the magic behind tonight. Want to be part of the group that makes nights like this happen? We're looking for community builders who are passionate about bringing people together.