In September, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Contrary added another space to the list.bills itself as a"Soho House for techies." It's a members-only club where entrepreneurs, coders, and folks in the broader tech world can congregate.
Since it opened, Contrary has hosted comedy shows, brunches for founders, and brought in speakers. It's already drawn famous personalities like Serena Williams. "You leave college, and you live a pretty atomistic existence, you pretty much are confined to your co-workers or your roommates and the people you interact with," Laufer said.Until recently, the space has mostly been accessible to people already associated with the firm— investors, founders, and fellows. Now, they're opening up applications to the broader community.
"There are people out there who I feel like, drop 500 people into a Slack group, and call it a community, right?" Tarczynski said."For us, I think community is like this living breathing organism where people feel a sense of home and purpose and with their tribe."
Yeah, ‘cause when I think “techies”, Serena Williams leaps right to the front of my mind…