Former Exit Founders Bet on Offline Connection as New Industry Vertical

Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker share a pedigree uncommon among entrepreneurs: both sold their previous ventures to industry giants. Putnam, a former ballet dancer, built Mirror, a connected fitness platform, which Lululemon acquired for $500 million in 2020. Walker founded Walker & Company Brands, a men’s grooming label that Procter & Gamble purchased five years later, with reports valuing the deal between $20 million and $40 million.

Having experienced leadership roles within these larger corporations, both founders found the environments unfulfilling. Putnam departed her general management role at Lululemon, while Walker left P&G after five years to pursue independent ventures. Their new companies, Board and Heirloom, differ significantly in product but share a unified mission: facilitating in-person human connection.

Board, Putnam’s latest venture, is a 24-inch touchscreen table designed for group interaction. The device identifies physical game pieces and gestures, allowing users of varying ages and abilities to play together without the steep learning curve associated with traditional controllers. For Walker, Heirloom focuses on acquiring and expanding fine-craft trade schools, beginning with a leatherworking institution in San Francisco established by Hermès’s first American artisan ambassador. He operates these initiatives through Collaborative Holdings, a fund structured by Collaborative Fund to support profitable, cash-flow-positive businesses without the pressure to chase hyper-growth venture returns.

The timing of these ventures aligns with growing global concern over isolation. In June of last year, the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Connection labeled loneliness a defining global health challenge, estimating it affects one in six people and contributes to approximately 870,000 annual deaths. Consumer behavior data supports the commercial viability of this focus; a Harris Poll sponsored by Marriott Bonvoy earlier this year found that two-thirds of Americans are prioritizing experiences such as travel over material goods, with an equal share citing retail shopping as feeling increasingly generic.

This trend is seeing increased participation from East Coast entrepreneurs. Alongside Putnam and Walker, figures such as Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn and Audrey Gelman, former co-founder of the social club Wing, are targeting social connection. Dunn’s company, Pie, has evolved from a friend-matching app into a “social life operating system” anchored by “Community Homes” for recurring groups like run clubs. Gelman, following the collapse of Wing during the pandemic, now runs the Six Bells Countryside Inn in the Hudson Valley. The 11-room guesthouse hosts monthly murder-mystery dinners that encourage guests to socialize extensively, with New York Times features noting attendees often linger past midnight.

Putnam emphasized that her pivot from Mirror to Board was driven by her life as a mother of five in a blended family. She identified a lack of products enabling multi-generational play, stating her goal was to use technology to unite people rather than isolate them. Similarly, Walker cited anxiety over AI’s impact on community and work as his motivation. He argued that the U.S. had abandoned the master-apprentice model for 50 years, offshoring production and devaluing manual skills. Heirloom aims to reverse this, targeting a demographic where more than half of Gen Z and Gen Alpha respondents indicate they do not desire a four-year degree. Walker noted that a significant portion of capacity at his first San Francisco location is filled by young tech workers seeking a “phones-down creative outlet.”

Funding for these connection-focused startups remains modest compared to broader market trends. Board has raised $35 million, Pie has secured $24 million, and Six Bells has raised approximately $3.8 million. Heirloom, founded eleven months ago, has not disclosed its funding. A notable outlier is Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork, whose residential real estate venture Flow has raised over $450 million, largely from Andreessen Horowitz, based on a similar premise of combating loneliness through physical space.

It remains uncertain whether “togetherness” will emerge as a distinct, large-scale investment category. Unlike software, facilitating physical gatherings is inherently less scalable. However, the track records of Putnam, Walker, Dunn, Gelman, and Neumann provide investors with confidence. Having previously guessed correctly on market shifts, these founders are now betting that the desire for offline connection represents a sustainable commercial opportunity.