A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline
- ID
- 26516
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 20 Sep 2026, 11:00 PM
- Fetched
- 21 Sep 2026, 12:28 PM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/20/a-small-but-growing-number-of-founders-are-betting-that-bringing-people-together-is-its-own-industry/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 4.5
- Created
- 21 Sep 2026, 12:30 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- saas_foundersstartup_founders
What happened
Brynn Putnam (sold Mirror to Lululemon for $500M) and Tristan Walker (sold Walker & Company to P&G) are both building new companies centered on offline human connection. Putnam's Board makes a 24-inch touchscreen table for group gaming; Walker's Heirloom is acquiring and scaling fine-craft trade schools, starting with a San Francisco leatherworking school. Walker is also running Collaborative Holdings, a fund from Collaborative Fund designed to back profitable, cash-flow-positive businesses without forcing venture-style returns.
Why it matters
Walker's fund model is the most actionable detail here: it validates a path for founders running profitable businesses who don't want to chase VC-scale growth. Malaysian founders who are bootstrapped or cash-flow positive should note that this funding category is emerging and may reach SEA — structure your financials and narrative around profitability rather than growth-at-all-costs if that's your actual model.
Discussion angle
Is there room in Malaysia for a fund that backs cash-flow-positive businesses instead of chasing unicorn outcomes? What local businesses (trade schools, physical experiences, niche manufacturing) would qualify?