Hampton
Most founder communities start with a mission statement. Sam Parr did the opposite. He launched Hampton without writing down any values, then watched what behaviors emerged naturally. Only after observing how the company actually operated did he name them: speed, pride, and fun.
The approach mirrors what Sam calls the “Jack Smith baby naming” method - getting to know the thing before labeling it. It sounds backward until you consider how many companies hang inspiring posters on their walls while operating in ways that contradict every word.
What Hampton Actually Is
Hampton is a membership community for founders whose companies generate at least $3 million in annual revenue. Think of it as YPO for entrepreneurs who haven’t yet cleared YPO’s higher thresholds. Members meet in person through 13 geographic chapters across the country.
As of late 2024, the company has roughly 20 employees, with 11 based in New York City. Sam commutes three days a week from about an hour away.
The positioning fills a specific gap. YPO targets larger, more established companies. Most other founder communities skew virtual. Hampton occupies the middle ground: in-person peer groups for the $3-30 million revenue range where founders face similar scaling challenges.
Speed as a Competitive Moat
The clearest expression of Hampton’s culture is how fast they respond to applicants.
Submit your information at joinhampton.com and someone from the team will call you within 15 to 60 minutes (Masterclass: How to go from founder to CEO). Not an automated email. A real person named Helen or someone on her team, ready to answer questions and walk you through the process.
Most membership organizations take days or weeks to acknowledge applications. Hampton treats the application itself as a product experience. The speed signals something about what membership will feel like.
Sam described it this way: “Helen, who works at our company, is going to call you right now… You’re going to get a phone call from someone who works at our company and all they’re going to do is say, ‘I see you, thank you for applying. We have to review the application, but I’m here and you can text me if you need anything.’”
The Virtual-to-IRL Pivot
Hampton started with virtual meetings. The data looked fine. They could sell it. They could make money.
Sam scrapped it anyway.
The virtual format “didn’t feel good” to him. He couldn’t take pride in it (Masterclass: How to go from founder to CEO). The numbers worked but the product didn’t match what he wanted to build.
This is the kind of decision that makes investors nervous and founders successful. Data told him one thing. Pride told him another. He chose pride.
The in-person model is harder to scale and more expensive to operate. It also creates something virtual meetings cannot: genuine relationships between founders who face similar problems.
Events and Programming
Beyond the core peer groups, Hampton hosts events featuring speakers like Rob Dyrdek. Sam mentioned traveling to LA to interview Dyrdek in front of members (The 2024 Milly Awards).
The events serve multiple purposes. Content for members. Recruitment tool for prospective members. Differentiation from communities that only offer Zoom calls.
The Focus Factor
Shaan Puri has publicly stated he would bet his entire net worth on Sam, citing Hampton as evidence of his approach (The 2023 Milly Awards).
The reasoning: “I’ve come to appreciate focus and seriousness. Many of our friends have ‘shiny object syndrome,’ but you take things incredibly seriously - whether it was the early Hustle blog posts, events, or now Hampton. You do one thing and you stay focused on it. Steady, serious people win bigger than talented people who are all over the place.”
Sam built The Hustle into a business worth acquiring by HubSpot. He’s applying the same focused intensity to Hampton.
How They Treat People
Hampton pays vendors same-day despite having net-90 terms. They provide above-market severance. These operational choices reflect the pride value in action.
Most companies optimize for cash flow management. Hampton optimizes for being the kind of company Sam wants to run.
Current Tech Stack
The back-end runs on Airtable connected to HubSpot through automation (Sam described it as “basically glorified Zapier”). Andrew Wilkinson suggested building an LLM-powered member database for queries like “who would be a good speaker in LA” or “who runs a business in this space.”
The infrastructure is functional rather than sophisticated. For a relationship-driven business, that priority makes sense.
The Business Model
Hampton generates revenue through membership fees from founders meeting the $3M+ revenue threshold. The 13-chapter geographic structure allows for localized peer groups while maintaining national brand.
The model depends on three things working simultaneously:
- Attracting high-quality founders
- Facilitating genuine peer relationships
- Delivering enough value to justify ongoing membership
Get any one wrong and the community hollows out. Get all three right and you have a business that compounds through reputation.
Related
Sources
Primary research from My First Million podcast episodes:
- “Masterclass: How to go from founder to CEO (without imploding)”
- “The 2024 Milly Awards”
- “The 2023 Milly Awards (#531)”
- “I run a $180M+ company…here’s how I’m using AI on a daily basis”