Founderland Draws 1,000-Plus Founders, Investors to Malibu Ranch

By Daniel Okafor

More than 1,000 founders, investors, retailers and operators gathered at a Malibu ranch this year for Founderland, an event its creators refuse to call a conference. They call it a "founder festival." Buyers from Walmart, Target and Whole Foods worked the same ground as pre-funded startups.

The mechanism is simple. Founders spend years chasing introductions to investors and retail buyers. Founderland compresses that search into a single day at Calamigos Ranch, where startup pitches are judged from an outdoor stage by NBA legend and investor Chris Paul, and deals-in-waiting begin over craft cocktails and product samples.

The three founders behind the event — Sean Kelly, Shannon Kelly and Josh Wand — built it as a deliberately small, curated alternative to sprawling trade shows like Expo West or Shoptalk. Sean Kelly and Wand are also General Partners at The Family Fund & Founder Community.

Why a festival and not a conference?

Shannon Kelly, who has spent 15 years producing events, said the difference between the two formats is "palpable."

"At conferences, people often show up with an agenda; at a festival, you show up as yourself," she said. The outdoor layout, unexpected spaces and loose flow are designed "to get people moving and lower their guard."

The head count is intentional. "We have a very specific balance that we want," Sean Kelly said, describing a guest list that mixes young startups, growth-stage founders, established operators, retailers and investors. "We want a real mix of early, mid-stage founders so that they can benefit from this."

The venue includes a brand exhibition area, stages for startup pitches and panels, and a Retail Den where founders hear directly from buyers at major chains.

"This is an event that we would have loved to have while we were founders," Sean Kelly said.

What did the founders get out of it?

Attendees described the value as proximity. YuChiang Cheng, CEO of Hero Bread, traveled from Washington DC with his dog.

"Being a founder or a CEO is really lonely sometimes," Cheng said. "I just wanted to talk with other founders. My strategy here is to understand what other people are doing, see if I can help them, but also learn from them."

Alli Schaper, co-founder and CEO of functional mushroom brand SuperMush, put the value in plainer terms.

"You're on Zoom calls all day trying to find the people that are here concentrated in one space," she said.

Carlos Santos, founder of frozen empanada brand Nadas Foods, pitched his pre-funded brand on the main stage. "I brought maybe like 150 business cards," he said, "and I've given them all away."

For Ash Baxter, founder and CEO of Takeaways, a three-month-old savory protein bar startup, the day's highlight came when Justin Gold, founder of Justin's, tried her product, liked it, and began telling other attendees about it. For a young founder, a nod from established founder royalty can outweigh a stack of business cards.

What are the buyers doing there?

The retailers run their own reconnaissance. Dee Charlemagne, Walmart's Senior Director of Emerging Brands in Merchandising, said she attends events like Founderland to meet companies early, understand what they are building, and make sure Walmart stays on their radar.

"We're not trying to be first," Charlemagne said. "We're trying to be a really good partner."

She offered founders clear conditions for converting conversation into interest: know your customer, understand where you fit in Walmart's existing category, and know exactly what you are asking for.

Does access guarantee a deal?

Nobody at Founderland promises that a cocktail chat turns into funding or shelf space. The event's bet is narrower: for founders used to chasing introductions and sending cold emails, informal access to capital and buyers in a low-stress setting changes the odds.

"My hope is every entrepreneur leaves Founderland feeling like they've stepped into the center of the consumer, health and wellness ecosystem," Wand said, "surrounded by the leaders, relationships, capital and resources that can accelerate their journey."

If buyers like Charlemagne keep returning, the curated guest list — not the ranch — is the asset that decides whether Founderland becomes a fixture for emerging consumer brands.