(Re)Introducing The Glue Club
Joining the Glue Club is investing in yourself. It has something for everyone – whether you are early in your career or an experienced senior leader – and I guarantee you will learn countless applicable lessons to your current and future roles, build an influential network of likeminded people, and be proud (and feel lucky) to be part of such a valuable community. I cannot say enough good things about the Glue Club!
Penelope Talbot-Kelly, GM, Platform & Services, Doordash
A little over a year ago, we launched an experiment — bringing startup leaders (Glue People) together to learn from each other and from people like me. Over the past year, this experiment has grown into a powerful community — a home base where the strongest startup leaders in the world come together to find sanity, opportunity, and growth amidst the chaos of building a company. Today, we are re-launching the Glue Club.
As a startup leader, there’s nowhere you can go right now to learn what it takes to run a company well. All of us have learned mostly through experiential learning — trying, failing, doing it better the next time — or if you’re lucky, you got to work for an exceptional leader like Lexi, Claire, Corley, Jay, Geoff, Don, etc. But there is no clear place that helps you build your skillset and your confidence regardless of what company you are in. That is what we aim to be.
“The place to go when you know something is holding you or your company back but you can't quite place your finger on it or figure out how to solve it.”
Jonathan Grant, CFO, Elite Business Ventures
The last year has reinforced that being a Glue Person is a leadership mindset, not a title. Our community has Engineering and Product leaders, Customer-facing leaders, Finance and People leaders as well as Operations leaders. Being a Glue Person is a way of approaching building a company — Glue People are always thinking about how the whole thing fits together as well as what needs to happen next. They are the ones who hold up the walls and the ceiling through the storm of building a startup. They are the folks who everyone relies on to fill in the gaps and make sure the right things happen — to glue things together. Glue People are indispensable to the success of a startup; if you don’t have one, your startup will feel like the pieces of a car duct-taped together with no engine.
The Glue Club helps you find “your people”. They’ve experienced your particular intricacy of co-founder dynamics, built a review process that addresses the gaps in yours, or navigated a career transition that is relatable and close to home. The personal and professional development that the group has collectively gone through over the last year has been meaningful to watch.
Michael Mizrahi, VP Operations & Enablement, First Round
If the description above sounds like you, then come find your people here in the Glue Club. We’ve published all the dates for our New Member cohorts for the rest of the year. To join Glue Club, you fill out an application and then, if you’re accepted, go through our Foundations Program. This program is a 2-month experience with a group of peers that includes regular “Lessons with Molly” and chances to connect with other Glue People. It also includes a 6-month membership to the Club. Our application criteria are over here, but generally, our community is filled with startup leaders. They typically have 10+ years of experience under their belt. Their titles could be Founder, CXO, VP, or Director/Head, but most importantly, they are strategic leaders and decision-makers at organizations, typically owning 2 or more functional areas.
I truly feel like Glue People was a pivotal moment of transition in my career — it gave me not only a community of high-impact role models and co-conspirators, but practical tools, mentorship, and support to step into a COO role far more effectively.
Robin Bot Miller, COO, EOS
One of the things I get asked a lot is whether I do executive coaching. The answer is that I am pouring my coaching and mentorship energy into the Glue Club. To that end, we’ve also introduced a new tier for our existing members that I’m really excited about. As a startup leader, there are often moments when you feel stuck, confused, exhausted, overwhelmed, and you don’t know who to turn to for help. Our Super Glue tier includes something we’re calling a “Magic Wand Wave.” It gives every Super Glue member the ability to wave a magic wand when they’re feeling stuck, and we will help unstick them. We have not met a problem yet that we can’t help with — taking over a new function, finding their next role, tricky bosses, firing employees, negotiating compensation, etc. Magic Wand Waves are a combination of coaching and advising from experienced leaders who care about you as a person and just want to see you succeed — The Glue Team.
As a startup executive facing new challenges and building new functions, having the Glue Club in my arsenal has accelerated my growth and the impact I've been able to make. The tactical content, high-quality speakers, and how I've leveraged the community to find peer mentors all have been invaluable.
Danielle DeLeon, Head of Operations, Middesk
Building this community has been one of the greatest joys of my life. The team I get to work with every day is extraordinary — Kate, Ashley, Sara, Alice, and Tracey — and we are deeply invested in helping this community and its Glue People thrive. Those who know me know that there’s nothing I love more than challenging people and watching them grow. It has been a gift to find a way to get to know groups of such talented leaders and then be able to challenge them, teach them, learn from them, and help them succeed. My personal goal is to make being a startup leader less lonely, and to make it easier for more people to know what good looks like when it comes to building and running companies.
Come join us!