How does one begin hosting founder dinners and getting someone else to pay for them?

🏴

Unless you are already connected to the people with $$$ you are going to have to begin first.  Which means you need to bring something to the table other than “free meal”.

Start by hosting a monthly founders dinner where everyone pays their own way.  Get some retrofunding from /blackflag so you can pay for a couple of drinks or something.  Ensure everyone wants to come back every month.  Document it on social media.

After a couple of months you’ll have the core of a community.  At this point you can start shopping around for sponsors.