- The Five Club
- Cities
- Paris
An entrepreneurs club in Paris, around one table.
The Five Club brings carefully chosen founders together in Paris. Five or six around a table for the Founders Dinner. Once a month, around twenty for the Banquet. Business comes up, but it isn’t the whole conversation.
Updated on November 9, 2026
Apply in five minutes. An answer within five days.
- 5 to 6
- founders at the table for the Founders Dinner
- Every month
- Banquet, around twenty entrepreneurs
- 1,500+
- founders accepted into the club
- 1 in 4
- applications accepted, roughly
In short
Looking for a business club, a founders club or a CEO club in Paris? The right choice depends on what you want: business referrals, an address to work from, or founders to meet over dinner. The table below compares the city’s main private clubs.
What happens in Paris.
The Founders Dinner takes place at a different restaurant each time. You pick your date in the app, we build the table, and you see the profiles and the address shortly before. No pitches, no forced icebreakers, nobody to work the room.
The Banquet is the club’s signature format: around twenty entrepreneurs at one table, once a month. Every edition has a new venue, a new chef and a new cuisine.
In between come private cocktails, brunches and other gatherings. After each event you add the founders you want to see again to your circle, and find them at your next table.
What people say about it.
“It’s refreshing and it’s new for the Paris market. I don’t think anything like it exists.”
“I didn’t know what to expect, and when I got there I said: wow, this is really, really cool. It’s completely relaxed.”
“We’re all entrepreneurs, and at some point we’ve all felt that isolation. […] We talk business, but not only business.”
“Sometimes something clicks in a conversation that has nothing to do with your work, and it makes the difference on a problem in your business.”
Interviews recorded in French and translated here.
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t.
The Five is for founders building or running a company that has launched and has revenue, who want a stronger circle around them. Every application is read by a real person.
If your main goal is finding clients, this is probably not the right room. The same goes if you see a room of founders as a list of prospects.
Entrepreneurs clubs in Paris, compared.
This page is written by The Five Club, which is one of the clubs compared. Figures come from each club’s website or the press, with sources at the bottom of the page. Checked on November 8, 2026: details can change, so confirm them with each club.
| Club | In Paris | Who it’s for | How to get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Five Club | Founders Dinner of 5 or 6, Banquet every month | Founders of a launched company with revenue | Application, roughly 1 in 4 accepted |
| we are_ | Private house at 73 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré (8th), workspaces, restaurant, 250+ events a year | Leaders and creators in the creative industries and innovation | Application, membership committee |
| Soho House Paris | Club, restaurant and hotel in Pigalle | Creative industries | Application, membership committee |
| Frenchfounders | Events, industry clubs, introductions; Paris is one of its offices | French-speaking leaders with an international outlook | Application and a call about your project |
| BNI | Local chapters, one meeting a week, often at 7 or 7:30 a.m. | Freelancers, professional services, small businesses | One member per profession in each chapter |
| Le Galion | Peer meetings, think tank, member-owned fund | Tech founders who have raised from a VC fund | Sponsored by a member |
| APM | Clubs of 20 to 25 leaders, one meeting a month with an expert | Company leaders | Co-optation |
| CJD | Local sections, working groups, training | Company leaders | Through your nearest section |
Mostly after business referrals? BNI is built for that. Want an address to work from and host people? we are_ or Soho House. Expanding abroad? Frenchfounders. Want a circle of founders you’d actually like to see again? That’s what we do.
Building a company in Paris.
Paris ranks 13th, tied, in Startup Genome’s 2026 world ranking. Station F, in the 13th arrondissement, describes itself as the world’s biggest startup campus. So meeting entrepreneurs here isn’t hard.
What’s harder is getting beyond big parties and seeing the same people often enough for it to matter. That’s the whole point of an entrepreneur dinner of five or six.
The questions we get asked.
Is there a business club in Paris?
Yes, several, with very different goals: BNI for referrals, we are_ for a place, APM or CJD for growing as a leader, The Five Club for meeting founders at table.
How do I meet entrepreneurs in Paris?
Campuses like Station F are a good start if you’re in tech. For something that lasts, join a founders network or a private club: five or six around a table gives you time to really talk.
Where do the dinners take place in Paris?
Always at venues we choose ourselves, in easy-to-reach neighborhoods: a new restaurant for each Founders Dinner, somewhere more unexpected for the Banquet. You get the exact address shortly before.
Can I come alone?
Please do. Most people come alone. The whole experience is designed to make that feel natural.
Will I know who’s at my table?
We reveal the profiles and the venue shortly before. Early enough to know where you’re going. Not early enough to overthink it.
How does selection work?
You tell us about your company, your numbers and what you’re looking for. We read every application ourselves and answer within five days. We accept roughly one in four.
How is this different from a business network?
A business network exists to generate referrals. The Five exists so you meet founders you’ll want to see again. Business is part of the conversation, but it isn’t the whole conversation.
Sources, checked on November 9, 2026
- we are_, page Membership
- Soho House Paris, informations pratiques
- Frenchfounders, page d’accueil
- Frenchfounders, Le Club
- BNI, une seule profession par groupe
- Me Valentin Simonnet, avocat, 10 décembre 2025
- Maddyness, 2 mai 2024
- La Libre, 11 janvier 2026
- CJD, site officiel
- Startup Genome, Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2026
- Station F, stationf.co
Your next table is in Paris.
Tell us what you’re building. We’ll take care of the rest.