The Breakfast Club

Where real conversations lead to real connections.

Our Agora Breakfast Clubs are casual, high-impact gatherings designed to help early-stage female founders build relationships, get targeted advice, and move their ventures forward. Whether you're a founder or an expert-in-residence (EIR), here’s how to make the most of your morning:

Timing

We keep things informal—doors open at 8am and folks are welcome to hang until noon. Plan to arrive a bit before your first meeting and stick around after for more coffee and casual conversation. We recommend coming for the entire four hours to chat and cowork: Some of the best connections happen before and after office hours kick off!

Who’s in the Room

Founders: Early-stage female founders from across the DMV—often with early traction and big ambition.

Mentors: A curated mix of later-stage founders, investors, and experts offering their time and expertise. Learn more about our EIRs here and our investors here.

This isn’t about panels or pitches. It’s about high-quality 1:1 conversations that meet founders where they are.

For Founders: Getting the Most Out of Your Meetings

You’ll meet with up to four mentors for 30-minute sessions. Here’s how to prepare:

  • Do your homework: Research who you're meeting with in advance. Know their background and how it relates to your business.

  • Come with a clear goal: Open each meeting by naming what you want to get out of it—whether it’s refining your pitch, troubleshooting a hiring plan, or asking for specific advice on fundraising.

  • Be specific, not scripted: 30 minutes goes fast. Ground the conversation in a challenge you're actively working through and don’t stay stuck too long in introductions.

  • Take notes: Mentors are volunteering their time, and the burden of tracking any follow ups should be on you. Further, it signals to mentors that you value their time and advice.

For Mentors: What to Expect

Most of the founders you’ll meet are in the early stages of building their business—think MVP, early customers, or early fundraising.

Typical topics founders want to discuss include:

  • Refining their pitch or deck

  • Fundraising strategy and investor targeting

  • Hiring their first key team members

  • Scaling and growth strategies

Our goal is to create a space where founders feel safe asking hard questions—and where your expertise has real impact.

A Loving Reminder

When someone cancels last-minute, it’s not just a missed meeting—it usually means reshuffling the schedule for multiple people. Please arrive on time and try not to cancel unless absolutely necessary (we totally understand that things come up—just don’t do it willy-nilly). We're all volunteers running this alongside full-time jobs, families, and everything else and we love doing it… but go easy on us, please!