Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dave Lee. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Dave, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I wish I could say this started with some big vision for a brand or a national community—but it didn’t. It started with a very simple idea: create one place where people could show up, run, and meet other people without it feeling forced.

At the time, I wasn’t thinking about building FFP Running Clubs. I was just trying to start one consistent, welcoming weekly run.

The idea came from noticing two things. First, running can be pretty isolating. Second, most social environments for meeting new people—bars, networking events, apps—don’t always feel natural. I kept coming back to this thought: what if there was something in between?

So instead of overthinking it, I picked a simple format. Every Tuesday night, we’d meet at a local Irish pub. People could run whatever distance or pace they wanted, and then we’d all come back and hang out afterward. That was it. No pressure, no expectations—just show up.

The next step was scrappy. I texted a handful of people and said, “I’m starting a casual run group on Tuesdays, at a pub, where we can grab beers afterwards and perhaps meet new people. You in?” Several immediately said yes—and that was enough to get started.

What surprised me was what happened next.

That very first run, about 25 people showed up. The second week, it doubled to around 50. There was no marketing strategy behind it—it was purely word of mouth. People were inviting friends, coworkers, roommates. Something about it just clicked.

From there, it kept growing organically. Within a few months, we were consistently seeing well over 150 people show up every Tuesday. And within about nine months, there were nights where 300+ people would come out.

That kind of growth forced me to shift quickly from “just show up and run” to “how do I make this work at scale without losing what made it special?”

I had to figure out things in real time:
How do you keep something inclusive when it gets big?
How do you organize the run without making it feel rigid?
How do you make sure a first-timer showing up alone still feels comfortable walking into a crowd of 200+ people?

But through all of that, one thing never changed—consistency. Same place, same time, every Tuesday. People began to rely on it, not just as a run, but as a core part of their weekly routine.

And that’s when it really clicked for me—this wasn’t about running. It was about creating a consistent, low-pressure environment where people could connect.

Only later did I realize that what we had built could exist in other cities. But in the beginning, there was no grand strategy—just one run club, one night a week, at an Irish pub, that happened to grow because it gave people something they didn’t even realize they were missing.

The biggest lesson for me was simple: you don’t need to start with scale—you need to start with something that works. If you create an experience people genuinely enjoy, they’ll do the marketing for you.

Dave, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve spent most of my career building and scaling companies across a pretty wide range of industries—digital media, recruiting technology, biotech, and now consumer brands. At the core, though, the common thread has always been the same: building things that bring people together and create meaningful value.

FFP Running Clubs wasn’t something I set out to build as a business—it came from a much simpler place. I had recently moved to a new city and experienced firsthand how hard it can be to meet people in a genuine way as an adult. At the same time, I was new to running, and like a lot of people, I found it to be pretty solitary.

That combination led to a simple question: what if running could be more social?

What started as one weekly run out of a local pub quickly evolved into something much bigger—not because of a business plan, but because it solved a real problem. People are craving connection, but most of the traditional ways we try to create it today feel transactional or forced.That first run club offered something different—a consistent, low-pressure environment where people can show up, be themselves, and naturally build relationships over time.

Today, FFP Running Clubs is a growing network of social run clubs, but at its core, we provide something much simpler: a repeatable community experience. Whether someone is new to a city, looking to expand their circle, or just wants a more enjoyable way to stay active, FFP creates an easy entry point. You don’t need to be fast, experienced, or know anyone—just show up.

What sets us apart is that we are community-first, always. We’re not a race training program, we’re not performance-driven, and we’re not trying to turn this into something overly structured or intimidating. The magic is in the consistency and the culture. Same day, same place, every week. Inclusive, welcoming, and social by design.

We’ve also intentionally built FFP in a decentralized way. Instead of controlling everything from the top, we empower local leaders to create their own versions of FFP in their cities, while staying true to the core ethos. That allows each club to feel authentic to its community rather than manufactured.

What I’m most proud of isn’t the growth—it’s the stories. It’s hearing about friendships being formed, people finding their social circle in a new city, relationships starting, or someone showing up alone for the first time and feeling like they belong. That’s the real product.

If there’s one thing I want people to understand about FFP, it’s that it’s not really about running. Running is just the vehicle. What we’re actually building is a platform for connection in a world where that’s becoming increasingly hard to find.

And for me personally, this has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever worked on—because it’s simple, it’s real, and you can see the impact immediately, every single week.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One moment that stands out wasn’t a big failure—it was when things were actually working, but I wasn’t sure they would keep working.

In the early days, after rapid growth—25 people, then 50, then quickly into the hundreds—I kept wondering: is this just a moment, or is this real? It’s easy to get people to show up once. It’s much harder to get them to come back every week.

There were nights with bad weather or low energy where I thought, “this might be the week it drops off.” And when you’re the one organizing it, you feel that responsibility. If the experience isn’t right, people won’t return.

So resilience, for me, wasn’t about one big setback—it was about consistency through uncertainty.

Every Tuesday, no matter what, I showed up early. Making sure things were organized, welcoming new people, connecting people who didn’t know each other. Small things that made a big difference.

Thankfully, I wasn’t doing it alone. Early on, I had friends stepping in to help, including my co-founder from my biotech company, who jumped in without hesitation. And as the group grew, people from within the community started reaching out, asking how they could be part of it. That shift—from something I was running to something we were building—was a turning point.

There was no playbook for managing something that quickly grew from 20 to 200+ people. We had to figure it out in real time while protecting what made it special—keeping it simple, inclusive, and consistent.

Over time, that consistency turned something fragile into something durable. It became part of people’s routines and social lives.

That experience reshaped how I think about resilience. It’s not always about pushing through failure—it’s about continuing when you don’t yet know if what you’re building will last.

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t starting—it’s showing up again the next week.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think our reputation was built far less by what we said and almost entirely by what people experienced.

From the beginning, we focused on consistency and the actual experience. Same place, same time, every week. No barriers to entry, no pressure—just show up. That reliability built trust quickly, and trust is what drives word of mouth.

The second piece was being genuinely community-first. We never focused on monetizing directly from participants. The priority was always creating an environment where people felt comfortable showing up alone and leaving with real connections. My belief was simple—if we built something meaningful and large enough, other local businesses would naturally want to be part of it. And that’s exactly what happened.

Another big factor was organic growth. We didn’t rely on heavy marketing. Our club membership grew from 25 to 2,000+ people in the first year, almost entirely through word of mouth. That gave it credibility—it felt real, not manufactured.

And lastly, we empowered others early. As people in the community started helping and eventually leading, it created a sense of ownership that extended beyond me. That made the experience feel authentic and sustainable, not something being pushed from the top down.

At the end of the day, our reputation wasn’t built through branding or campaigns—it was built one Tuesday at a time, through consistent experiences that people genuinely valued.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ffprunningclubs.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ffprunningclubs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ffprunningclubs
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ffp-running-clubs/about/?viewAsMember=true
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXOUhMUKYon5smyQJIMDtoQ

Image Credits

Sofia Van Der Dys