Why We Built betaHackers

john
Wed, 06 May 2026 23:38:53 +0000
Community News

There are plenty of places on the internet to “hang out.” Very few are actually built for people trying to build something real.

As builders, creators, and entrepreneurs ourselves, we kept running into the same problem over and over again: building can feel incredibly isolated. Most startups begin with a tiny team, sometimes just one person sitting behind a laptop trying to figure things out in real time. You bounce between coffee shops, co-working spaces, random Discord servers, Reddit threads, LinkedIn posts, and events hoping to find people who actually understand what you are working through.

Some spaces help, but only partially.

Co-working spaces can create energy and occasional collaboration, but they are not necessarily communities built around building companies together. Stack Overflow is amazing if you are a hardcore engineer, but not everyone building a startup is a deeply technical developer. Reddit has everything under the sun, which is also the problem. Hacker News moves fast, but conversations are scattered across news, debates, and trends. Discord communities can be great, if you happen to know the right one to join. Facebook Groups often become noisy and unfocused. Accelerators and incubators promise collaboration and support, but many founders eventually realize they are still largely figuring things out on their own.

We kept asking ourselves:

Where is the space for builders who are actively trying to create something from zero?

Not just networking.
Not just content consumption.
Not just another social platform.

An actual community centered around building.

That is why we created betaHackers.

The name is intentionally a little edgy because it reflects the reality of building. Early-stage founders are constantly hacking through problems, testing ideas, improvising solutions, iterating quickly, and trying to turn rough concepts into something people actually want. Whether you are building software, hardware, AI tools, consumer brands, media companies, or side projects, the process is messy, experimental, and deeply creative.

That “beta” phase is where some of the most exciting things happen.

betaHackers is designed to be a place where builders can connect with other builders who are in that same phase. A space to share ideas, ask questions, find collaborators, exchange feedback, talk openly about wins and failures, and help each other move faster.

But we also believe the best communities cannot exist only online.

Real relationships are still built face-to-face. Some of the best conversations happen after an event, over coffee, during a casual meetup, or while showing someone what you are working on in person. That is why betaHackers is being built to transcend online and offline.

We will be hosting in-real-life events in both Los Angeles and San Francisco where builders, founders, creators, developers, and operators can actually meet, collaborate, and build genuine relationships beyond profile pictures and comment sections.

Because building is hard enough already.

You should not have to do it alone.