A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline
Founders Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker are launching new ventures focused on offline, in-person experiences rather than digital-only platforms. Their companies, Board and Heirloom, aim to foster human connection through physical gaming and traditional trade skills.
Why it matters
This trend reflects a growing counter-movement among tech entrepreneurs against the digital-first paradigm, prioritizing physical community and tactile engagement.
Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker have already done something that most founders only dream about: created companies so compelling that bigger outfits bought them. Putnam, a trained ballerina with a small chain of boutique studios, built the connected-fitness company Mirror and sold it to Lululemon for $500 million in cash less than three years later. Walker, who interned at Twitter while at Stanford business school, built the popular men’s grooming brand Walker & Company Brands, selling it five years later to Procter & Gamble for undisclosed terms (reportedly in the range of $20 million to $40 million).
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