I'm Thomas

For the last few years, I built Solaris, where we helped ~1,000 builders move into the same square mile of SF to start startups.

Within that square mile, Solaris opened up a handful of coliving houses and two offices for founders. Our members included startups such as Exa, Friend, Roboflow, Browserbase, Cal AI, and many more notable startups—their collective valuation now exceeds $3B.

We also built San Francisco's most prominent housing directory for founders @ directorysf.com (check it out if you need housing).

In the 2 years of operating, we reached $125k/mo in revenue. And unfortunately hit a wall and couldn't scale this way of life further.

Some have told me I should pay myself on the back for this, but I just can't seem to. My ambitions are higher. Much. Much. Higher.

I still believe deeply in the core of what Solaris was: a new way to live in an environment of people who deeply share the same values. And I think most people will be able to live this way once more within the next 100 years.

So what am I doing now? In short, I'm exploring once again. I'm exploring defense technology, financial markets, and still of course how we can coordinate people and build new cities. If any of these topics interest you, shoot me an email or DM and lets chat.

I'm also putting together a small group of founders exploring stuff in SF and NYC. If you're interested in learning more, shoot me an email or DM for that too.

Stuff I've shipped recently

Gotham Eye - Open crime maps of New York City and San Francisco.

Older work

DirectorySF - Find sublets, coliving houses, and roommates in SF. This is still active.

Together Casa - Coliving marketplace and tool kit. We helped start 15 coliving houses in 2021. A standout one was Edyfi, led by Benjamin Laufer and Luke Piette, which got acquired by Contrary. The marketplace is no longer operating.

Fast - Yes, the one-click checkout company. I was the founding product designer. I also did the brand redesign that everyone is familiar with.