Founding Curator — Converge

The stance

Twenty people. One year. Your city.

Yelp's top-10 is whoever showed up loudest. Google Maps is whoever paid the most. The recommendations you actually trust come from the same three friends — the ones with the eye, the ones who know where to go on a Tuesday.

Converge is built around those people.

you're the one your friends ask. now there's a board for it.

"A Founding Curator isn't an influencer. Isn't a top-saver. It's someone whose boards you'd read before a Friday night because you trust their taste cold."

Twenty of them. Ten in DC. Ten in LA. That's the number — not because it's a marketing trick, but because we'd rather have twenty people whose taste actually means something than two hundred people racing to save the most spots.

If that sounds like you, the door is open. If it doesn't, the app is still yours to use — and the curators are about to make it a lot better.

The bar

Sharpness over volume.

We're not looking for the person who saved the most spots. We're looking for the person whose boards you'd actually want to read before a night out.

01 / Diversity over density. Curators whose boards span the long tail score higher than those clustered on the top-10 global venues. If your saves look like a Yelp top-10 list, that's a signal against.
02 / Point of view. Not "Places I've Been." Something sharper — a vibe, a moment, a type of evening. The best boards read like a recommendation from a friend who knows the city cold.
03 / Active curation. Boards that grow, not static. We want people who are out there finding things, not archiving memory.
04 / Genuine taste, not algorithm taste. We can tell the difference.

The roster

What a curator's board looks like.

The cohort is still forming. These are the shapes — the kind of boards we're looking for. The expert lists from the friend who knows.

The Index

Eight boards already curated.

01 —
The brunch authority of Cap Hill Where the bottomless is actually bottomless.
02 —
Underground only — no 14th St DC after dark, off the main drag.
03 —
Every speakeasy worth the walk From Petworth to Capitol Hill. Address on request.
04 —
The slow wine bar list Low light, low BPM, high acidity.
05 —
Post-rave breakfast specialist Where you go at 7am when the night is still happening.
06 —
The only one who knows where the actual sets are Not the public ones. The good ones.
07 —
Fancy date when you're trying Restaurants that say "yes, we're serious."
08 —
The homecoming list Five spots that will impress the friends who moved away.

// 8 boards by founding-cohort applicants this week

The arc

Three cohorts. One door at a time.

We're running this in named rounds. Each cohort opens, fills, and closes. The founding twenty keep their status permanently — that doesn't get diluted by later admissions.

01 /

Open now

Cohort 1 — Founding

20 seats (10 DC, 10 LA). Open through Summer 2026. Reviewed bi-weekly. Status is permanent — founding curators keep the title regardless of what comes after.

02 /

Fall 2026

Cohort 2

Opens in September. Cap expands modestly. Bar stays high. Cohort 1 members help review applications.

03 /

2027

Cohort 3 and beyond

New cities, new rounds. The founding twenty are the seed. Everyone after is building on what they shaped.

What you get

Status now. Real perks layered over time.

Phase 1 is intentionally status-only. We want curators who do it because they have taste — not because there's a payout in week one. Then we build on top.

Phase 1 · Status

Live now

The badge and the platform

Founding Curator badge — inline on your profile, every board you publish, and your shareable board OG cards
Board of the Week — one board featured at the top of every user's following feed
Discovery priority — your profile surfaces first in "people to follow" and find-by-taste search
Founding member status — permanently. The twenty don't get diluted.

Phase 2 · This year

Rolling out

Tangible perks

Curator-only merch drops — made for the cohort
In-person curator nights in DC and LA
Early access to every new feature
Direct line to the founder

Phase 3 · Soon

Planned

Venue partnerships

Comped tabs at partner venues when hosting
Curator-hosted nights — your taste, our partner's room
Standing invites to soft openings

Phase 4 · The path

In design

Earnings, on your terms

Sponsored boards when the fit is right (your call)
Affiliate splits on bookings driven by your boards
Revenue share when your board anchors a campaign

Apply

Four questions. Three minutes.

Applications are reviewed manually, bi-weekly. If it's not a yes on the first read, you'll get specific feedback. The door isn't closed.

Tell us what your taste is known for and point us at the three boards that show it best.

Your handle

What's your taste known for? 0 / 280

One sentence. Be specific — this is how we read your taste before we read your boards.

Your top 3 boards (IDs or names)

The boards you'd want featured. Not the ones with the most saves — the ones that show your point of view.

Why do you want in? (optional) 0 / 600

✦

Application submitted.

We review applications bi-weekly. You'll hear back — and if it's a no, you'll get specific feedback on what to work on. The door isn't closed.

Most apps reward popularity. We reward taste.