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Online interaction has taken over much of our social lives, but offline connection is making a quiet comeback. A new wave of IRL social clubs is emerging, tapping into a basic human need for real-world interaction. These spaces aren’t just cultural experiments - they’re becoming meaningful investment opportunities, reshaping how we think about community and connection. They're also a sign of where culture is heading next. But why now?
Religion's role as a cultural and community institution is shrinking. When I say religion, I mean it in the traditional sense (a particular system of church-based faith and worship) as well as in the looser sense (a framework for shared beliefs and values, meaning, and personal transformation). In previous decades, Sunday worship was a pillar of community building and served as a pseudo social club, of sorts. Gen Z and Millennials are now not only shying away from religion as a community (church attendance is down) but also the same institutions that brought our parents together - think country clubs. Instead, we are chronically online, turning to the internet and social media to fill leisure time instead of seeking out face-to-face interaction. The result? Increased isolation, loneliness and depression.
When the internet first came along, we thought that we could build new communities online that would replace the ones built IRL. That's the transitive property of the internet - since it is really good at some things, like delivering goods and content quickly and with little consumer effort, we thought it would be good at everything, like building community and making us feel happy and fulfilled. Wrong. Social media allows us to be more connected than ever before, but each connection is worth less. Time spent online displaces real, in-person interactions, and the lack of those interactions turns us into assholes. In order for offline to fight back, new IRL communities need to be more enticing that the digital world. Our DNA, shaped by millions of years of evolution, is hardwired for direct human connection, and the internet can't replace that fundamental need.
In the last few years, we have seen an explosion of IRL social clubs and non-secular institutions that seek to replace the functions which organized religion once served - community building, creativity, and personal and social transformation. These twenty-first century communities, organized by identity and/or interest, are attempting to reverse the unhealthy side effects of switching from the church to the chatroom. They all offer some combination of place, programming, and a sense of belonging to a generation of members who grew up on the internet, and span across both web2 and web3. Here are a few standouts:
Soho House - the OG private members club and a global network of social spaces, catering to individuals in the creative industries. With over forty locations worldwide and a public market cap of $1.1b, Soho House is probably the most well-recognized player in the cohort of interest-based social clubs that are the relatively "old guard" of the relatively nascent industry.
Timeleft - a unique social platform facilitating serendipitous dinners among strangers, creating opportunities for new connections. Timeleft users take a personality test, which is then fed into an algorithm to match them with other participants who share compatible traits. The company organizes dinners in cities worldwide, where guests can engage in meaningful conversations in a relaxed, pre-arranged setting. It aims to create an atmosphere for individuals looking to expand their social circle.
Parlor Social Club - a membership-based social and networking hub designed for professionals to connect in an informal, yet refined, atmosphere. Offering exclusive events, private parties, and a creative space to unwind, Parlor Social Club caters to entrepreneurs, creatives, and business leaders looking for a blend of socializing and networking opportunities.
South Park Commons - the tech world's answer to the French salon. SPC, first a co-working building in the Bay Area, has created a space for pre-idea exploration that brings together tech entrepreneurs, engineers and other professionals to foster creativity and entrepreneurial growth. Unlike traditional co-working spaces, SPC integrates a social club aspect, organizing events and dinners where members can build relationships, share ideas and collaborate.
Junto - a social club focused on cultivating high-quality thinking, communication, success, and deep friendships. Modeled after Benjamin Franklin's junto club for mutual improvement.
Friends with Benefits - a decentralized social club that blends digital and real-world experiences for its members. Focused on fostering creativity, collaboration, and community within the web3 space, FWB operates through blockchain technology, offering access to exclusive events, networking, and online spaces.
Bored Ape Yacht Club - a prestigious collection of NFT avatars that also functions as an exclusive social club. Membership is granted through owning one of the digital Bored Ape NFTs, which serves as both a status symbol and access pass to real-world events, parties, and private gatherings. BAYC is known for its strong community culture, offering members opportunities to connect, create, and network in both virtual and physical settings, including private events and luxury experiences.
222place - an exclusive IRL social club that focuses on connecting people for high-quality, curated experiences in both intimate and group settings. It offers a variety of events and activities that foster organic networking and personal connections, all while maintaining an upscale and discreet environment.
Founder Sports Club - a membership-based social and sports club that caters to entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals who are passionate about fitness and networking. Members can participate in various athletic activities, ranging from group workouts to individual sports, while also engaging in networking events and social gatherings.
These are just a few examples, but they represent the bifurcation of the URL and IRL worlds - we are increasingly spending our time and money on goods and information online, and on experiences and community offline. These companies, and others like them, have the same vibe of the tech community over a decade ago when the internet first came into the spotlight - excitement, openness, and a non-zero-sum outlook in service of building something transformative. The cultural and psychological tailwinds powering the rise of social clubs are strong, but it could be macro forces that actually force an industry which looks like a toy at first into the zeitgeist. There are two trends worth noting:
1) The rise of the experience economy. US consumer spending has nearly doubled from $11T in 2014 to $19.5T in 2024. Despite the growth, ecommerce makes up less than 5% of that total spend, so the growth is coming from something else - expenditures on experience-related services. Makes sense, since experiences help us learn, grow and connect with each other. Gen Z and Millennials are increasingly valuing experiences over possessions. IRL social clubs tap into this shift by offering curated, story-worthy moments that people want to be a part of. The experience economy's growth reflects a demand for intentional, shared moments, not just passive entertainment provided by social media. Consumers are willing to pay for membership, exclusivity and identity-driven access. The experience economy is not just about doing something, but about feeling something real, and IRL social clubs are positioned to deliver on the emotional ROI.
2) The popularity of remote work. Work has defined who we are for a long time, but its role as a community center is lessening. Since we are increasingly WFH, and are switching jobs with greater turnover, work is no longer a catchall that provides identity, salary, friends, and belonging. Prior to Covid-19 and the WFH movement, our co-workers became our friends because we saw them every day, and employers built environments and programming that encouraged employees to be in the office more than not. With remote work and higher turnover, we are in need of a "third place," separated from work and home that provides community, fun and growth.
We have undeniably shaped, and been shaped by, the internet, and while it isn't a great replacement for building community, it makes getting some things done remarkably easy. The north star for IRL social clubs should be building towards equilibrium - striking an appropriate balance between the things we do offline and online. Don't get me wrong, I think we should still do basic work online - one-click shopping and information retrieval are truly great. I love how easy it is to buy an item on Amazon Prime or complete a search query on Perplexity. After that, though, let's sign off and gather in offline spaces where we can just hang out, have fun, strengthen our communities and build new ones.
IRL social clubs are having a moment, and as much as they are important to the fabric of offline culture, there is skepticism about whether or not they are investable (i.e. venture scalable). TL;DR - I think they are. The general consensus is that venture capital is the right fit for high-growth software, hardware, and other businesses that require high initial investment but have the potential for near-zero costs at scale. With that said, VCs have also invested in place-based businesses (remember WeWork?), direct-to-consumer brands and media platforms. I'm of the opinion that there isn't any single "right" industry or business model for venture investing, since the whole point of the asset class in the first place is to target industries where there are a lot of unanswered questions and attempt to answer them, with capital.
In general, businesses considered “venture scalable” tend to have many, if not all, of the following characteristics - they target a large total addressable market, harness technology for scale, have the potential for exponential growth, involve high upfront investment but low marginal costs, can develop defensible moats, and are positioned for significant liquidity events like an IPO or acquisition. Because venture capital follows a power law dynamic, investors need to believe each company has the potential to return 10x - or even 100x - their initial investment. To achieve that, the company must either reach revenue, growth, and earnings levels comparable to those of companies that have gone public or been acquired at high valuations, or possess some uniquely valuable asset or strategic advantage that could justify a premium acquisition price beyond traditional KPIs.
What's tricky about IRL social clubs is that there aren't many great comparable transactions that investors can look to for reference. Soho House and ClubCorp show that large exits are possible—even for capital-intensive, place-based businesses. In cases like WeWork, investors were willing to apply software-like multiples to physical businesses when the growth story and community narrative were compelling. Clubs that can scale revenue without needing to scale square footage may present strong VC opportunities. The key is leveraging community not just to fill space, but to create products, networks, and high-value memberships that can grow independently of physical expansion.
The opportunity lies in the convergence of a massive, growing market and a deep societal need. As traditional institutions like religion fade and remote work rises, people are searching for new ways to find belonging. Clubs that generate recurring, high-dollar membership revenue, especially with employer subsidies, can build capital-efficient businesses if they retain members through strong community, unique spaces and programming. Scarcity creates desirability, lowering acquisition costs and increasing margins, especially when the space itself becomes a core part of the product. When executed thoughtfully, investing in IRL clubs can resemble funding a highly efficient customer acquisition engine, unlocking scale through brand, loyalty, and culture.
Moral of the story, IRL social clubs play an increasingly important role in shaping offline culture and are an exciting investment opportunity for those looking to capitalize on the external forces at play as we collectively decide how we will interact with one another going forward. Have a great weekend!
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