Why Your Community Isn’t Growing

Everyone wants to build a community right now. Founders, creators, investors, and operators are all launching Slack groups, events, newsletters, and founder-led content. But communities do not grow just because they exist. People join, but the right connections do not always happen. Great conversations get buried. Follow-ups fall through. Member needs stay scattered across forms, DMs, spreadsheets, event tools, and Slack threads. Selina Li, Cofounder of Bubble Lab (YC W’26), will break down where most communities lose momentum, why community has become such an important part of startup distribution, and how AI can help turn messy member data into real community infrastructure. We’ll go deep on: Why communities are a key part of startup growth Why product alone is not enough to earn trust and attention How content, events, and community all connect to distribution Why starting a community is easy, but making it useful is hard How AI can make communities more searchable, personalized, and valuable This is not a panel. It’s a founder-led workshop in a bar, designed to go deep on one topic so you leave with real takeaways. Come for the lesson, stay for the conversations after.

Sponsored by Pilot and Rho.

What should I expect? 6:30 to 7:00 PM Arrival, drinks, and casual networking 7:00 to 7:45 PM Founder workshop with Selina Li 7:45 to 8:05 PM Q&A 8:05 to 9:00 PM More chatting, drinks, and meeting people

Who is this for? Anyone who wants to learn how great communities actually get built. Lots of people come solo, so don’t be afraid to do the same. You’ll meet people.

About the Speaker Selina Li is the Cofounder of Bubble Lab, an AI platform that helps communities organize member data, surface the right connections, and automate the operational work behind high-trust networks. She previously worked as a Quantitative Researcher at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Selina studied Computer Science at Cornell Tech and was a student athlete at the University of Pennsylvania.

About the Sponsors Pilot is the accounting platform built for startups. From bookkeeping and tax filings to CFO support and financial planning, Pilot helps founders stay on top of their finances without building an in-house finance team, giving them the clarity and confidence to focus on growing their business. Rho is the all-in-one banking platform for startups and the accountants supporting them. With banking setup in minutes, up to 2% cashback cards, and powerful tools for managing spend, paying bills, and closing the books, Rho helps high-growth startups move fast and stay focused, backed by support that goes to the end of the earth to help you win. Rho is a fintech company, not a bank. Checking and card services are provided by Webster Bank, N.A., member FDIC; savings account services are provided by American Deposit Management Co. and its partner banks.

🧠 About Founders on Tap Founders on Tap is a workshop series in SF's coolest spots. Each session goes deep on one useful topic, such as community, GTM, fundraising, automation, or getting your first customers.

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Do I have to be 21+? Yes. You must be 21+ and present a valid ID to enter the venue.

Will this event be photographed or recorded? Photos and short video clips may be taken for promotional purposes. By attending, you consent to being photographed or recorded.

Accessibility We want Founders on Tap events to be as accessible as possible. We provide live subtitles at all of our events and choose venues that are wheelchair accessible. If you have specific accessibility needs or questions, please email Lyvia at foundersontap@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to support you.