Businesses of the Future Will Depend on Communities

ver the past few years, digitalization and widespread access to information have been accompanied by a trend toward individualistic consumption. While platforms like Twitter or Instagram allow us to connect with billions of users, our online interactions are largely one-directional—we function as passive consumers. Companies create products, bring them to market, and we either use them or don’t. Our only contribution is to serve as a marketing target.

‍Change is underway.

Today, I want to talk about the phenomenon of companies that rapidly scale their businesses through their communities—what’s known as "community-led growth."

A Paradigm Shift

Prioritizing the community is not an unusual practice for companies. For instance, GitHub allows developers and programmers to easily collaborate on code, fostering a sense of community. Dreamforce is Salesforce’s annual conference that attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees. Apple, aside from launching products, maintains a support forum with a near-cult following.

What has changed, however, is the deliberate effort companies put into positioning their communities as the main appeal of their brands. In the words of Mac Reddin, co-founder and CEO of Commsor:

“…the difference lies in valuing the community as a core part of your business versus adding a forum to your product and calling it a community.”

On these platforms, users become active contributors to their development; connections are fostered, not just transactions. The brand, its values, and its business revolve around constant collaboration. This phenomenon matters for several reasons.

Community vs. Audience‍

First, what distinguishes an audience from a community?

As humans, groups, and organizations, we cannot live or thrive without others' support or the engagement of a united group.

“I think people care more about finding a sense of belonging,” Reddin said.

‍Audiences are groups of individuals looking in one direction. The space they occupy is very defined, like in a theater, where you can only talk to the people next to you about what you’re both watching.

However, a community is more like a roundtable.

These interactions can take place on a social network, a Slack group, or a company-created forum. The platform that facilitates these connections matters very little. What makes a community work is mindset and intentionality. People care about the environment. This is what makes this phenomenon so powerful: interpersonal relationships and the reaffirmation of our values, ideas, and preferences are the true draw, keeping users engaged with the tool.

This distinction creates two types of community: product communities and practice communities.

• A product community is created specifically around a company's product. Members of this type of community typically share tips and tricks about the product, report bugs, or submit queries to the company’s support team.
• A practice community, on the other hand, revolves around a broader concept rather than a specific company product or service. It brings together people with the same specialization or interest.

In both cases, the process involves building a support network that helps users feel like part of the company. This allows them to engage with the organization and contribute to its product by suggesting improvements. Ultimately, it’s about creating value.

What Are Its ‘Real’ Benefits?

A thriving community naturally benefits marketing, sales, and support functions. It offers brands a way to stand out in a fragmented, competitive market, where product features often seem indistinguishable, and traditional marketing channels are expensive.

‍Customers who feel like part of a community are more likely to recommend it to friends and less tempted to switch to competitors. They often become brand ambassadors as well.

In early-stage startups, community members often act as focus groups, providing valuable feedback that companies can use to improve their products, build trust, and foster long-lasting, loyal relationships. The result, in theory, is growth.

Examples of this growth include Notion, Figma, and Duolingo (companies I’ll discuss in depth later). All three have become unicorns—companies valued at $1 billion without going public. Another striking example is Reana, whose charts show a direct relationship between community presence and revenue.

Challenges and Opportunities

‍However, while community-focused companies grow daily, a lack of resources may slow their progress. Measuring a community's success in terms of its impact on company growth is challenging, leading to skepticism and impatience among leadership.

This business model faces a challenge. It’s not just about buying a product but an entire community of people, which truly elevates it beyond just a product.

However, by giving this responsibility to the community, it allows the platform to scale by a much wider margin since it’s the community itself that popularizes and positions it. This also contributes to something much larger: the trend toward technology democratization.

Towards a New Information Culture

‍The solutions companies offer through technological platforms ultimately have a social impact. Some believe that the rise of community esteem will shift the landscape of tech leadership.

“Community-led companies are the future.” - Alexis Ohanian, Reddit Co-founder.

This trend toward connection and collectivity is happening on a large scale in diverse ways, such as through decentralized markets or DAOs (which I’ll discuss in future posts).

Ultimately, we’ll soon see that the most successful companies will be those that place their community at the center of their actions. These companies will build a community that turns customers into promoters, sellers, and eventually shareholders.

Where to find me

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