A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline

A small number of founders are successfully creating companies that are being acquired by larger companies, such as Brynn Putnam, who sold her connected-fitness company Mirror to Lululemon for $500 million. Putnam, a trained ballerina, built a chain of boutique studios and then transitioned to creating Mirror, which was later acquired. This trend suggests that some founders are finding success in creating companies that bring people together offline.