Frequently Asked
Questions

Hampton is an exclusive community for founders and CEOs.

Our main feature is your monthly Core group, which is a monthly meeting with eight other founders led by a Hampton paid and trained moderator.

We also have plenty of IRL events in your city, on a chapter level, and a wider network of 1000+ other members that you can tap into via our digital community (AKA, get an answer to any question you have within 30 minutes... the stuff you can't post online or ask others).

Hampton is for actively operating founders, CEOs, or owners of businesses.

Your current business(es) must be generating >$3M in revenue, OR you must have raised >$3M in venture capital, OR you must have had a previously successful exit (>$10M).

And finally, you must live within one of our Chapter Cities.

Those are our bare minimum requirements.

We then interview potential members. Our founders watch each interview and make the final call whether to extend an invite or not. 

Anyone can feel free to apply through this application. 

After that, here's what happens:

Step 1: First screen.
Our membership team reviews your application, LinkedIn, company site, Crunchbase - anything they can find. They’re checking:

• Is your company doing at least $3M in revenue?

• Is it in tech, internet, or a related space?

• Are you in a city where we’re accepting new members?

Step 2: The interview.
If you look good on paper, we then move to the interview. This is a vetting interview to understand how you think, what you’re building, and your energy.

Step 3: Community veto.
After the interview, current Hampton members can veto applications. Why? Because Hampton is self-policing - if someone’s had unethical dealings with you, they can block you from joining. That keeps the community high-trust.

Step 4: The invite.
If there are no objections, our Core team reviews your file. Then our founders give the final green light. If approved, you’ll get an invite email. You’ll have ten days to accept and pay dues.

Step 5: You’re in.
You’ll get immediate access to Hampton’s digital community and local chapter events. Core group placement takes ~90 days - it’s a meticulous process and can’t be rushed.

Yes, it’s a lot. But Hampton only works because we’re obsessive about curation. It keeps churn low and trust high.

Your Hampton membership covers everything that makes the community valuable:

• Core Group – A small, curated group of peers who meet 10 times per year, professionally facilitated, to act like your personal board of directors.

• Local Chapter – Access to chapter dinners, events, and a dedicated city lead who acts as your concierge for intros in (and out of) your city.

• Slack + Digital Community - A private, always-on network with 1,000+ members across the country. Think curated channels, quick intros, and daily advice from people who get it.

• Retreats + Events – From intimate dinners to big gatherings with authors, investors, and founders of $100B+ companies, plus member-and-family-friendly events. Some events, like retreats and overnight adventures, we require additional payment (we don't profit from events - just break even).

In short: Core, Chapter, Network. Everything else ladders up to those three pillars.

Once you've secured an invitation and your membership starts, our membership and curation team will begin the process of forming your core group.

All Core members:

• Run companies doing $3M+ in revenue

• Are founders in tech, internet, or digital-first industries

• Meet in person in your city (Core is never virtual)

From there, we curate groups using the Mirror, Mentor, Mentee model:

• Mirror – Founders at a similar stage who hold you accountable. They’re in the same trenches and will call you out if you’re slipping.

• Mentor – Someone ahead of you in certain areas - maybe they’ve exited, scaled faster, or solved problems you’re still wrestling with.

• Mentee – Someone behind you in other areas. Teaching and supporting them sharpens your own thinking.

It’s not a rigid ladder. Someone might be richer than you but never sold a company. Another might have smaller revenue but be ahead in balancing family or managing stress. Everyone is a mirror in some ways, a mentor in others, and a mentee in others. That mix makes the group dynamic powerful.

Each Core has ~8 founders and a professional facilitator. The goal: every meeting you’ll get perspective, give perspective, and stay accountable - not just as a founder, but as a person.

We can't tell you all the members for privacy reasons (but we do have a member directory that you can see after joining), but here’s a snapshot of Hampton:

• Stage – All are founders of high-growth companies. Some are bootstrapped, some have raised capital through Series C, D, or E, and others have gone all the way through IPO.

• Scale – On average, Hampton member companies generate $23M in revenue.

• Industries –

  • 25% SaaS

  • 13% Agency

  • 12% DTC

  • 9% Marketplace

  • 7% Services

  • 5% Media

  • 5% Fintech

  • 23% Other

Members are all tech-first or tech-enabled founders. If you make it to the interview round, we’ll happily answer more questions about the types of founders in your city and Core. 

We have over 1,000 members.

We’re so confident in our thorough vetting process and product that we’ll put our money behind it.

Members who attend their first three Core group sessions in their entirety can receive a refund of their Annual Fee. No questions asked. Read our Hampton Guarantee.

Hampton charges an initiation fee of $2,500. The annual dues are $9,500. Many members deduct their Hampton membership fees as a business expense.

We priced Hampton to make it a no-brainer because we know one connection or one breakthrough conversation will give members 10x value of the membership dues. 

Some events, retreats, and adventures, like surfing with a professional surfer in Costa Rica or rally car racing, cost extra. We don't make a profit on events.

A member who was part of YPO and EO said it best: "I loved those communities, but it was a lot of real estate folks. I wanna be around more people who have internet startups... not someone who owns 15 apartment buildings in south Florida."

YPO, EO, and Vistage - they're great! 

But our members are a bit different. They're younger and their businesses are all tech, digital, or internet related.

If you use Twitter, love deconstructing how different companies work, wanna talk with others about digital marketing, hiring talent, and, well, are still getting after it... AND you have a digital/tech business... Hampton's your place.

Core groups meet 10 times per year - about three hours per month. Everything else (chapter events, retreats, Slack) is optional. Most members spend a few hours a month in Hampton, but the ROI tends to compound far beyond the time investment.

Membership is billed annually, but Hampton isn’t meant to be a one-year experiment. The value comes from staying with the same people for years - often a decade or more. These are relationships that compound over time.

If you move cities, we’ll help place you into a new Core so you don’t lose that continuity. The expectation is long-term membership and long-term accountability.

No. We have a strict no-solicitation policy. We monitor for this and encourage members to flag any infractions to the team. The first time anyone breaks this policy we send a friendly nudge, the second time there is an official warning, and the third time we remove the member from the community. Our full no-solicitation policy can be found here.

Hampton only places members into in-person Core groups. If we’re not in your city yet, you’ll need to wait until we launch there. 

Apply above so we have your information and we'll let you know when we open new chapters!