I help founders build & launch highly engaged communities that scale their business | Founder of Community Coach | 10 yrs exp Community Building
What I'm building now →
Joined January 2021
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Want to see an amazing community in action? Follow @RamenClubHQ - supporting founders in London.
We threw a launch party for Ramen Space - the London founder co-working community from @RamenClubHQ!
An evening of music, drinks, pizza, pool and a tonne of laughs. With friends old and new.
(Ordering ramen for 100+ people is logistically challenging, but we'll work it out someday...)
Our first co-working session (then called 'Weekend Club') was way back in 2019, in a Whitechapel space called Ministry of Startups - a fun but short lived event series before COVID hit.
6 years later, we finally have our own space we can call our home - right in the heart of Dalston.
The evening felt like a culmination of many years of work, trials and tribulations.
And I can safely say all of those challenges were worth it.
Here's to our community members old and new - plus to the next 6 years, and beyond. 🍜🍜🍜
This is what I mentioned in yesterday’s tweet - curated communities are booming!
Social clubs in NYC are booming.
10+ clubs have opened in Manhattan just in the last few years.
My theory:
People are fatigued with traditional nightlife—bars, restaurants. clubs.
If they’re going to go out and drop $$$, they want more value:
- Curated communities
- Immersive entertainment
- Alternative experiences (e.g Othership)
The bar has been raised (pun intended).
After taking some time out to relocate to the other side of the world and get myself settled, I'm now ready to get back into things.
I'm launching a new community in Dubai!
There's a few reasons why I'm dipping my toes back into actually building again (vs. focused on mentoring others):
1) I've been noticing people *need* closed and trusted networks more than ever. Dealing with bots, AI generated comments and fake profiles generated by AI has meant humans are craving authentic connections with other humans more than ever. Members need to be vetted - highly curated communities is key.
2) The developments happening in AI are insane. I've been enjoying learning how to use AI tools for a while but now I want to use them to solve some of the "older" problems I had when building communities over the years. I can now see how to scale certain community manager activities that previously felt like they were impossible to scale - which has got me pretty excited to be back in the community building space knowing my time will be spent differently.
3) The Dubai (and UAE) community scene here has so much potential. There are ambitious people from all over the world here that value the power of networks and there are tons of communities that exist here. The energy level here is off the charts - yet there is still so much opportunity for passionate community builders to improve the community experience for members (especially online based communities). I plan to play up to my strengths and see if I can deliver value to people in this part of the world.
So excited to share my journey building a brand new community in 2025!
If you want to follow my community updates on Instagram, I've just launched the account and will be posting more updates here on X on how I go from a community pilot concept to launch: instagram.com/crewcluboffici…
When hosting an in-person event, are you continuing the conversation online afterwards?
I see this mistake happen over and over again.
People put so much effort into a one-off event, but miss a huge opportunity to continue engaging those people afterwards by building a community.
It doesn't take a lot: an easy win would be to throw a QR code on the screen (that links to a website to join your online community).
It's interesting to me how brands still don't pay attention to what is being said about them in communities.
If their product sales are down, there is a growing chance that someone has mentioned a negative experience in a community they belong to.
People are more likely to trust comments/discussions in their own communities vs. paid advertisements.
I love the holidays! It's so warming to see so many people celebrate festive cheer together. It's what you want to see in your community all year round!
I love witnessing holiday events that bring people together:
* Every year I host a mulled wine gathering with friends
* Dinners with fun rituals such as christmas crackers/bonbons
* Watching a Christmas themed movie together (Die Hard anyone?)
* Completing a Christmas themed jigsaw puzzle (what happens in my family).
The ultimate holiday themed community swag:
Create your own crackers/party poppers/bonbons with your community themed swag (or other relevant gifts) inside!
I want to provide value to my followers. If you have anything in your wish list - comment and let me know.
How to engage people in your community:
Recognise those people as individuals who need to feel seen and heard - and deliver value to them.
This is the time that I'm usually hosting my "end of year" community highlights event!
How are you celebrating the end of year with your community?
Having empathy is an attribute you hear often as being of great importance when building a community.
Here's how to know if you have empathy:
When interacting with someone:
Are you thinking
"What's in it for me?"
or
"How can I help them?".
If you're focused on the latter, chances are you are high on empathy.