So, you're not building a community?

Well hello there, we honestly weren’t expecting to see you here.

You know, since everybody it's still in carnaval mode or recovering from the celebrations – aka lost somewhere 👯

Let's test how awake you are.

How would you fill in the blanks in the next sentence?

"It's the _______ that leads you to the problem, which leads you to the _______, which leads you to the business."

We're positive we've mentioned this quote from Sahil Lavingia before, so if you are filling the gaps with investor, money, VC, or fundraising, you need an extra day off for that headache Lúcio (hydrate, please.)

The answer? You'll get to it by yourself after this reading – who needs to google it with that brain of yours 🔥😘

Your startup needs a community

Sure, it also needs top engineers to achieve PMF ASAP with zero pressure whatsoever to prove you are the best wine of this vintage…

But what people really want from your startup is a place where they can ask for help from others in the same situation. To solve their individual pains.

👉 Why do you think Adobe bought Figma? It wasn't the pretty interface, but the designer's community that caught their eye.

👉 What's cool about Duolingo besides the killer owl? The learning forum, where you ask questions in the language of Mordor and actually get the answers.

👉 To stay between us LatAm friends, Oso Trava managed to create a successful network for entrepreneurs eager to learn, connect and become cracks in their businesses.

The truth is the next big thing is excelling at community-led development, go-to-market, and growth – and no, Flavia, creating a WhatsApp group is not enough, they'll silence it you know they will.

At Vamos Latam Summit last year, André Barrence (Google for Startups), Camilla Junqueira (Endeavor), and Ian Hathway (ex-Techstarts and current Far Out Ventures) shared some practices to build strong communities.

📌 Here are 3 of them to get you started.

1. Try the "give first" mentality

Believe it or not, when giving, you receive A LOT.

• You refine your own learning while teaching.
• You know exactly which connection to reach for help in the future.
• You build yourself an enlightened (almost holy) reputation within the community.

Receiving help generates a strong impression, and people will always associate your brand with that support they once got. With a community, you provide that support at scale.

2. Spend as much time as you can listening

"Building a community is like building a product," repeats André 3 times a day.

You can't be only talking. The more you listen, the better you understand the problem and know how to help with the right connection, content, or product.

3. Have great leaders and a selection process

People behave as leaders do. But leaders also need the right people to lead. So you need criteria for selecting who'll be part of the community you're building.

At Endeavor, Camilla built a top-notch selection process because curating who entered the community was key for leveraging its quality. The basics to let them in:

• They share the values;
• They believe in the mission;
• They are committed to contributing.

🚀 André, Camilla, and Ian shared 3 more practices they've used to build strong communities.

Want to know what are they about?

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Btw, if you couldn't fill in the blanks yet, you defffffinitely need post-carnaval days off, Esteban 😬

"It's the community that leads you to the problem, which leads you to the product, which leads you to the business."

You're welcome.

⛵ Hot News Ahoy!

(Hot for February 2023)

👏 Watch out!

Jeeves is on the list of Founders Beta Top 100 Tech Companies to Watch For in 2023! Congrats team! Do you see any other familiar faces? 👀

🎠 Neither unicorn nor gazelle

Our fellow Sofia Castillo from Core Code got mentioned in Forbes Centroamérica as an example that "exits" in LatAm are possible, even in the early stages. Check it out!

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-> Every time one of your friends subscribes to our Newsletter, your community gets stronger ✨ So ask them to subscribe!

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