Roundup of events for bootstrappers in September 2026. Online and in-person events are offered at $10.
Roundup of September 2026 Bootstrapper Events
We offer online events for bootstrappers including Bootstrappers Breakfast and Lean Culture. There are also in-person Bootstrapper Breakfast meetings in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Silicon Valley. These events are for “entrepreneurs who eat problems for breakfast.”®
We have nine events this month to help you move your business forward. Join us as your interests dictate and schedule permits. You can sign up here to get the monthly roundup of events for Bootstrappers
Are you an entrepreneur who’d like to share lessons learned? If you’ve a reached a milestone in your entrepreneurial journey and would like to share lessons learned, please contact Theresa Shafer (tshafer@skmurphy.com) to explore scheduling a short briefing at a Bootstrapper Breakfast or a talk at a Lean Culture event. You must have attended a Bootstrapper Breakfast or Lean Culture event to be considered.
Weds Sept 2 8:00 am PDT Mastermind Open House https://www.meetup.com/skmurphymastermind/events/316102245/
Who sees your blind spots first? Clients, customers or trusted peers? Learn how a group of trusted peers can give you an extra competitive advantage in your business. This is an open house meeting to get your questions answered about what’s involved in an SKMurphy Mastermind and meet others who are considering joining. See also “Masterminds Help Founders with Empathy, Feedback, and Follow-Through”
Thurs Sept 3 8:30 am CDT Chicago Bootstrappers Breakfast (Online)
https://www.meetup.com/bootstrappers-breakfast-chicago/events/315567523/
Fri Sept 4 9:00 am PDT Silicon Valley Bootstrappers Breakfast (In Person) Redwood City
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bootstrappers-breakfast-in-redwood-city-for-silicon-valley-founders-tickets-1963668317799
Fri Sept 11 9:00 am PDT San Francisco Bootstrappers Breakfast Startups at CityGroup Center (In Person)
https://www.meetup.com/bootstrappers-breakfast-san-francisco/events/316000643
Tues Sept 15 9:00 am PDT Vegas Bootstrappers Breakfast Roundtable (In Person) The Coffee Press
https://www.meetup.com/bootstrappers-breakfast-las-vegas-startups/events/316116064
Tues Sept 15 8:00 am PDT Silicon Valley Bootstrappers Breakfast (Online)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/silicon-valley-bootstrappers-breakfast-online-tickets-488376135167
Fri Sept 18 9:00 am PDT Mtn View Bootstrappers Breakfast at Red Rock Coffee (In Person)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mountain-view-bootstrappers-breakfast-tickets-262928394907
Fri Sept 25 9:00 am PDT Silicon Valley Bootstrappers Breakfast (Online)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/silicon-valley-bootstrappers-breakfast-online-tickets-48837613516
Some key take-aways from Bootstrappers Breakfast conversations in August
We often have one or more attendees with “ideas” who are trying to decide where to focus their efforts. This is a common challenge that attendees put on the table at a Bootstrappers Breakfast: other attendees are happy to listen as you express your concept and help you brainstorm possibilities. First, because they have been there; second, even if they are wrestling with this for themselves, your problems are easy compared to theirs. There is a lot of value in expressing your ideas and walking around them with a small supportive group. Here are a couple questions to help you clarify where your product may find traction:
- How are potential customers solving the problem or meeting their needs now? Where do you bring the most advantage?
- What would be symptoms you could find before starting a conversation (e.g., is a business getting a number of public complaints about an aspect of their product or service that you could help them mitigate)?
- What is the customer doing three minutes before they decide to use your product?
- What are they doing three minutes after they have put your product away: what are you enabling?
- What is the context of use (e.g., if your product needs a power cord, it may not serve itinerant prospects)
- Where do prospects gather, online or face to face, where you could have discovery conversations?
There has been a lot of focus on textual output from AI tools but graphs, diagrams, mind maps may allow you to compress more information into a single screen and make connections that a long list (or a multi-page hyperlinked repository) may be harder to understand.
Lightning Round Question for September 2026
What keeps you moving forward when things get challenging or uncertain?
Trademarks: “Bootstrapper Breakfast” and “Entrepreneurs Who Eat Problems For Breakfast” are registered trademarks of SKMurphy, Inc.
Image Credits: “Stone-push-overcoming-obstacle” on Pixabay by Schäferle used with permission.
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