The right community is an essential part of success. Martin Eyerer and Nikita Fahrenholz explain how to build a community from which you also benefit.
Nikita Fahrenholz has founded several startups. He was successful with three, but failed with one: Actio – a social app. More precisely: live courses for Pilates, fitness and meditation via video. Although Fahrenholz had completed financing of 8.5 million euros for his idea in 2020, the business model did not work at the time, as he did in ours Podcast Royal GS (a new episode every Thursday!) says.
So building a community is not as easy as it seems. This is exactly what Fahrenholz and Martin Eyerer (Ex-CEO Factory Berlin, entrepreneur, techno DJ) in the current episode.
What is a community?
For Fahrenholz, a community is a group of people who share a common denominator. This could be a purpose, a goal, a vision or a moral conviction – both in real life and virtually.
Eyerer brings in other aspects that make up a community: According to him, a good community is always curated. “A community also thrives on excluding people,” he says. But it’s not about exclusivity. “You’re excluding those who don’t contribute anything to the experience, but who just want to take.” You can observe this in clubs, for example – especially in Berlin.
Listen to the episode here: Spotify and Apple Podcast
However, according to Eyerer, this does not mean that communities should be completely homogeneous. On the contrary: A community must be colorful and lively. He had these experiences both as a DJ and as the former CEO of Factory Berlin. To stay with Factory Berlin when it was still a coworking space. Many startups had their workplaces there, for example Gorillas. Accordingly, the Factory also offered a program for its community. When Eyerer came to the Factory, his job was to bring in artists to mix up the community more.
What community models are there?
- Social media platforms
- two-sided marketplaces
- Brand loyalty programs
- Membership communities or relationship communities
Eyerer always strives for a relationship community. This aims to “form a community of members who share similar interests and perspectives,” he says. “And the focus here is on member retention. Retention means that people keep coming back and are actively involved.”
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According to Eyerer, the currency of a community is trust between people so that it works. The benefit of a community is: “Connection where you can trust that they won’t waste your time,” says Eyerer.
If you want to build your own community, the first 50 people you bring in are crucial, according to Eyerer. “Good people bring good people,” he says. But first you have to define the values and goals of the community. And Eyerer gives another tip in the podcast: “There are people who have a large network, and there are others who actively connect networks. You need both,” he says. “It may also be that someone who is the best connector in the community doesn’t have their own network.” The ability to bring people with similar interests or goals together is crucial.
