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We Built This: An Event Ecosystem for Service Founders · By Small Table Studio

The table that was missing.

We Built This is a roundtable event series for solopreneurs, fractionals, and consultants who are tired of startup events that weren't made for them.

Find Your Table

What it felt like in the room.

Group photo of attendees standing together in front of the CIAO! sign
the crew
Long oval table set with greenery, candles, place cards, and a CIAO! sign
setting the table
Mid-dinner: founders laughing, eating, candles glowing
mid-course
Close-up of candlelight, the blue Saratoga bottle, and greenery
candlelight
Wide view of the dining room with everyone seated and the CIAO! sign behind
the room
Side view of The Aperitivo Shop with shelves, signage, and founders mid-conversation
the shop

"Loved spending the evening strategizing, laughing, and troubleshooting. Excited to see where We Built This goes next."

Madi Beumee

"Thank you for curating such a special evening. Loved the cozy vibes and sharp thinking. More of this please!"

Lauren Prentiss

"Thank you so much for having me. It was an amazing night, with even more amazing conversations."

Gabrielle Waxenberg

"Such a wonderful idea, venue, and group. I really enjoyed meeting everyone!"

Heather Hardy

"What a good vibe — this is amazing."

Carly Valancy
Why This Exists

Why this table exists.

The Formats

Different tables. Same room.

Each format is built for a different part of a service founder's year — partnerships, press, peer learning, and the ones where you just need to be around your people.

✦ No. 01

Roundtable Dinners.

Twelve service founders around one long table. Find community and seed partnerships and referrals.

✦ No. 02

VC × Operator 1:1 Match.

Speed-round intros with investors and operators who actually work with service businesses. Warm, short, and built for real partnerships.

✦ No. 03

Media Match Day.

Curated intros to writers, podcasters, and newsletter operators covering the service economy. Pitch-free format.

✦ No. 04

Fireside Sessions.

Honest conversations with service founders who've scaled past solo — what broke, what they'd do again, what they'd never.

✦ No. 05

Tactical Workshops.

Capacity planning, positioning, pricing, pitching yourself. The operational things nobody teaches service founders.

Find Your Table

Find your table in your city.

Each event is small and curated.

City No. 01 Event Open
New York, NY
May 14, 2026 · Venue TBA
→ Grab your seat
City No. 02 Event Open
Los Angeles, CA
June 2025 · Venue TBA
→ Grab your seat
City No. 03 Event Open
San Francisco, CA
Q3 2025 · Venue TBA
→ Grab your seat
Stay Close

Never miss a table.

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Manali Hanamsagar, host of We Built This
Your Host

Hi, I'm Manali.

I'm a fractional Head of Growth and the founder of Small Table Studio. A few weeks ago I posted a vent on LinkedIn about how lonely it felt to be a service founder in a city full of startup energy that wasn't really for us. So I started hosting dinners. Boston #1 sold out in days. We Built This is what happened next.

For Partners

Sponsor a table.

If your brand serves founders, fractionals, consultants, or the broader service economy — we're selecting a small roster of partners for our 2026 dinners, match days, and workshops.

  • Tools & platforms for solo operators
  • Financial services & fractional-friendly products
  • Media, press, and creator partners
  • Venues, F&B, and hospitality collaborators
What Partners Get
  1. 01

    Native integration — co-hosted tables & branded moments.

  2. 02

    Honest founder feedback & case-study-worthy conversations.

  3. 03

    Cross-market reach across Boston, NYC, LA & SF.