The High Five Energy Founder Collective · Est. 2026
Surround yourself with founders.
Apply to join a members-only room of 100+ founders who show up for each other every week, in person in Venice Beach and on Zoom. Learning alongside the operators behind $200B in exits and IPOs.
The bar is passion and purpose, not revenue. Any stage.
The KINN · Venice, California
“Any early-stage person who comes to me needing help, I tell them: you have to join the Collective. This is pretty much the best thing you can do for yourself, especially in LA.”
— Darren Berkovitz, co-founder, TeleSign ($330M exit)
Demo Day LA · August 2026
Why this exists
Most founder groups are gated by revenue or title. We wanted the opposite: a room built on passion and purpose, open to founders at every stage — from people who just left their job to folks who've had multiple exits.
Membership
What's included.
Monthly Programming plus ad hoc community events and activities.
Live H5E Founders Podcast +
In-Person All Hands
Monthly · The KINN, Venice, CA
Live podcast taping with founders and operators, followed by in-person All Hands with the LA members.
Virtual Pitch Fest with Top VCs
Monthly · Zoom
Members pitch live to active investors and get real feedback. Past judges include Alpha Edison, Mucker Capital, and Grit Capital Partners.
Founder Fireside & Open QA
Monthly · Zoom
Intimate conversation with a founder featured in the book. No slides, no pitch — just answers.
Virtual All Hands
Monthly · Zoom
Members-only deep dives and sector breakouts.
Plus co-working, popups, partner events, and founder socials. See the full calendar →
Founding members also get a 15-minute kickoff call with Jeffrey to lock in your goals and introductions. This benefit goes away once we hit 150 members.
Built on the Book
The Collective is the book, in practice.
High Five Energy: A Different Kind of Founder lays out 33 behavioral shifts from 18 founders behind $200B+ in exits and IPOs. The Collective is where you put them to work.
#1 New Release in Starting a Business
#2 New Release in Entrepreneurship
#2 New Release in Business Culture
From the members
What founders say.
"The best group for founders and investors in LA."
"People talk about community all the time, but very few understand what happens when the right people are intentionally brought into one another's orbit."
"I want to be surrounded by high energy founders — to learn from them, grow with them, and share with them. That's why I joined."
"Thank you for the introductions already. You weren't kidding about the immediate value."
"Welcome to the Collective — it's incredible."
"I'm moving to LA and I'm so excited to attend H5E events in person."
Founding Member Pricing
Locked for life. First come, first served.
- All four weekly programs
- 15-minute private kickoff call with Jeffrey (founding members only)
- Locked pricing — your rate never goes up, even after general pricing increases
- Private discussions with operators behind $200B+ in combined exits
- Private WhatsApp group for daily member chat, support, and introductions
- Curated 1:1 intros between members — for some, the highest-value part of the room
- Cancel anytime
Questions before you commit? Email me.
The Roster
The room you're walking into.
Anchored by the founders featured in High Five Energy and a network of operators Jeffrey has built relationships with over twenty years. A partial list:
- 01Jim Armstrong4x VC, $750M in returns, led PayPal's first round
- 02Darren Berkovitzco-founder, TeleSign, $330M exit
- 03Jack Dangermondco-founder, Esri, $2B+ annual revenue
- 04Mike Dubinfounder, Dollar Shave Club, $1B exit
- 05Scott Dudelsonco-founder, Prodege/Swagbucks, $1B exit
- 06Eytan Elbazco-founder, Applied Semantics → Google AdSense, $102M, and Scopely, $5B exit
- 07Jeff Hoffmanfounding team, Priceline, $170B market cap
- 08Minnie Ingersollco-founder, Shift, $415M SPAC; Partner, TenOneTen Ventures
- 09Jessica Jackleyco-founder, Kiva, $3B in loans facilitated
- 10Mike Jonesfounder/CEO, Science Inc., behind Dollar Shave Club and Liquid Death
- 11Steve Kauferco-founder, TripAdvisor, $2B market cap
- 12Brian Leeco-founder, LegalZoom, $1.6B market cap; ShoeDazzle; The Honest Company
- 13Mark Mansonauthor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, 20M+ copies sold
- 14Steve Martoccico-founder, GroupMe, Splice, Blade
- 15Adam Millerfounder, Cornerstone OnDemand, $5.2B exit; LA Mayoral candidate
- 16Peter Phamco-founder, Science Inc., $2B+ in exits
- 17Eric Pulier16x founder, $1.5B+ raised
- 18Matt Rabinowitzco-founder, Natera, $25B market cap
- 19Josh Resnickco-founder, Pandemic Studios, acquired by EA; Sugarfina
- 20Eric Salwanco-founder, Firefly Aerospace, $6B IPO
- 21Sam Shankco-founder, HotelTonight, $400M exit
- 22Edward Shenderovichfounder, Knotel, $1.3B peak value
- 23Amos Sternco-founder, Siemplify, $500M Google acquisition
- 24Lynda Weinmanco-founder, Lynda.com, $1.5B exit to LinkedIn
Members and contributors. Not all participate in every session.
Who's running this
Jeffrey Chernick.
A three-time founder and Managing Partner of Yellow Visor Ventures. He co-authored High Five Energy with Alix Gitter, hosts the H5E Founders Podcast, and co-chairs the Los Angeles chapter of Post Exit Founders. Featured in TechCrunch, Forbes, NBC, and the LA Times.
"The Collective is the room I wish I had as a first-time founder."
Co-author
Alix Gitter.
Alix Gitter is an American actress, writer, and producer from Los Angeles, California. Beyond the screen, she is a storyteller fueled by curiosity, compassion, and the conviction that life — like art — is a collaborative effort, one where everyone's role matters.
Co-author of High Five Energy.
