Articles by Scott
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The networking disaster that forever changed how we build relationships
The networking disaster that forever changed how we build relationships
By Scott Gerber and Ryan Paugh Seven years ago our year-old company, YEC, was gaining traction as a valuable membership…
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Why B2B Membership Communities Are The Next Frontier For B2C Media Companies And Publishers
Why B2B Membership Communities Are The Next Frontier For B2C Media Companies And Publishers
Today’s readers demand more from publishers than ever before. The number of people using ad-blockers is on the rise.
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Why 'Be Passionate' Is Awful Advice For Anyone Who Wants To Start A Business in 2018
Why 'Be Passionate' Is Awful Advice For Anyone Who Wants To Start A Business in 2018
I always enjoy reading fiction--also known as 90 percent of all start-up how-to guides and articles. The dreamscapes…
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Scott G. shared thisIn troubling and uncertain times, I’m always reminded how important having a community around you is. Not the surface-level kind. Not just a network of contacts or followers. A real community. The people who answer when you call. The ones who tell you the truth when it’s uncomfortable. The ones who show up—consistently—when things get hard. Because uncertainty has a way of exposing everything. Your business model. Your mindset. Your resilience. But most importantly—it reveals who’s actually in your corner. No one builds anything meaningful alone. Not companies. Not careers. Not families. The strongest operators, founders, and leaders I know all have one thing in common: They’ve invested deeply in relationships long before they needed them. So when things get shaky, they’re not starting from zero. They’re surrounded by people who help them think clearer, move faster, and stay grounded. If there’s one thing worth doubling down on right now, it’s that. Your community isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s the foundation.
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Scott G. shared thisFraud is showing up far too often in startups. Not exaggeration. Not optimism. Fraud. There’s barely a week that goes by without another story of manipulated numbers, misleading sales processes, exaggerated traction, or founders claiming to have a product that either doesn’t exist yet or doesn’t actually work. And when the truth comes out, the most astonishing part is often the reaction. Some people seem genuinely shocked that they’re being held accountable—especially when shareholder capital or customer trust is involved. Recent examples make the point. The founder of clothing-tech startup CaaStle recently pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme involving more than $300M after prosecutors said investors were misled through fabricated audits and false financials. We’ve seen similar patterns before—from Theranos to the collapse of FTX to the implosion of Terra/Luna. Different sectors. Same underlying problem: trust being abused. And even this week there are new conversations circulating around startups like Delve, where allegations about fraudulent compliance documentation and misleading representations to customers are being debated across the ecosystem. But this isn’t only a founder problem. Investors, advisors, and board members share responsibility too. We can’t celebrate “growth at all costs,” demand hockey-stick metrics, and then act surprised when ethics get sacrificed along the way. Young founders need to hear something clearly: Growth should never come at the expense of honesty. A real company starts with a real product. Not a pitch deck. Not a narrative. Not a story about what might exist someday. Even the best sales pitch in the world must be backed by something real and valid in the market. And this brings me to something personal. Years ago, I wrote about the idea of “fake it till you make it.” It was a widely celebrated startup mindset—including by me in my first book. But “fake it till you make it” was never supposed to mean lie your way to the top. It meant having the confidence to step into the market before you feel fully ready. Believing in your ability to build something meaningful. It was never supposed to mean misleading investors. It was never supposed to mean deceiving customers. And it was never supposed to mean fabricating reality. Somewhere along the way, parts of startup culture twisted confidence into dishonesty. We need to correct that. We need to mentor founders better. We need to teach leaders better. And we need to expect more from them. Because trust is the foundation of entrepreneurship. And when trust disappears, the entire ecosystem starts to break.
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Scott G. shared thisEvents companies have never been hotter. Multiples are up. Attendance is up. And many of the best operators are winning because they’re convening cohorts that are incredibly specific—and historically very difficult to bring together. For years the model was “pray and spray”: Get 5,000+ people into a room, sell sponsorships, set up trade show tables, and hope the right people connect. Today the model is very different. The strongest operators are focused on getting the right 100–500 people in the room—the kind of audience you simply can’t assemble anywhere else. When you can do that, you can charge a premium and create a far more engaged experience. The next phase is the hybrid model. Events that successfully evolve into 365-day digital communities, while still delivering high-impact tentpole gatherings, will create far more value than events that only exist for a few days a year. Historically, this transition has been difficult for event operators. Their platforms were built around short windows of interaction—moments where people convened briefly and then disconnected. The value proposition was the event itself, not an ongoing relationship. Shifting that behavior won’t be easy. The real question becomes: how do you help members see value in the community itself—not just the event where they gather, but the broader sphere of influence they are part of? Making that shift will require new tools, new thinking, and a broader thesis around why the community exists in the first place. But when it works, the model flips. The event is no longer the product—the community is the product, and the event becomes one of its most powerful benefits. Operators who get this right will build programs that are incredibly difficult to replicate. And that kind of platform will command higher multiples, stronger value propositions, and significantly greater long-term spend.
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Scott G. shared thisI want to talk about something uncomfortable. I agree with Sam Altman’s view that in the coming months, we’re going to see more and more companies use AI as a scapegoat for workforce reductions. And that’s where leadership matters. There’s no question AI will dramatically reshape the workforce in the months and years ahead. It will change workflows. It will eliminate certain roles. It will create entirely new ones. That’s reality. But there’s a difference between real structural change and PR spin. Over-hiring during COVID. Staffing up for growth that never materialized. Chasing strategies that didn’t pan out. Now suddenly it’s framed as: “AI efficiencies.” AI is powerful. It’s transformative. But in most organizations today, it’s still augmentation before annihilation. The idea that massive portions of teams became obsolete overnight because of breakthroughs in the last 24 months is, in many cases, a convenient narrative. The harder truth? Sometimes leadership made the wrong calls. Letting people go is brutal. I’ve had to do it. My executive team has had to do it. It’s never fun. It’s never clean. It’s never something you celebrate. It’s a responsibility — and when it happens, you own it. You don’t blame a technology trend. You don’t spin it to juice the stock. You don’t pretend it was always part of the master plan. Markets may reward optics. But leadership isn’t about optics. It’s about integrity. And while we’re on the topic — the Twitterati narrative doesn’t help. Every day it’s: “This company is cooked.” “That business is done.” “AI just ate their lunch.” Yes — AI will absolutely take a bite out of companies that are slow, rigid, or unwilling to adapt. That has happened in every technological shift in history. But AI is not going to eat every company on earth overnight. It’s not going to replace every function instantly. Not every business is “cooked.” There’s a difference between disruption and extinction. As leaders, we have to learn to separate signal from noise. We have real companies to run. Real products to improve. Real clients to serve. And most importantly — real people who built these organizations. My advice? Deploy AI inside your teams. Empower them. Augment them. Make them faster, smarter, more effective. I would rather protect my team and supercharge their output than use AI as a reason to remove them. If efficiency needs to improve, consider a hiring freeze before a hiring purge. AI will absolutely change the workforce. That’s inevitable. But leaders need to be honest about whether they’re responding to long-term transformation — or correcting past decisions under the cover of innovation. AI is a tool. It is not a scapegoat. And people can tell the difference.
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Scott G. posted thisAfter coming back from a tourist destination, I’m always amazed at how poorly executed so many licensing deals are. When a brand is just a name slapped on a storefront or product, it’s obvious. Painfully obvious. You walk into a restaurant that should feel high-end and elevated… and it looks and feels like an Applebee’s. That disconnect alone should tell you everything you need to know about where (and whether) to spend your money. I’m a huge believer in licensing. It can be one of the most powerful brand extensions and revenue generators in business. But licensing for dollars instead of for ethos is where things fall apart. When the extension doesn’t match the heart of the brand… When the operator behind the scenes can’t actually deliver… When the experience isn’t protected… You don’t get scale. You get erosion. A thousand paper cuts. Each poorly executed extension chips away at trust. And trust is the entire asset. Licensing only works when: 1. It makes strategic sense. 2. The operator can actually execute. 3. The customer experience is protected at all costs. Otherwise, it’s just brand dilution disguised as growth. Buyer beware.
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Scott G. shared thisAssociations are heading toward a massive reset. For too long, many have confused software with community. Buying another SaaS platform isn’t the same as curating a room. Sending another newsletter isn’t the same as developing leaders. Hosting a conference isn’t the same as convening the right people in the right conversations. And now AI is accelerating the pressure. AI can: • Deliver learning and development instantly. • Personalize education at scale. • Connect professionals across industries in seconds. • Provide on-demand insights faster than any committee ever could. If an association’s primary value is information, access to a directory, or lightly structured networking… AI will outcompete that — quickly. But here’s the opportunity: Associations can win where AI cannot — in intentional curation. The future belongs to organizations that: • Carefully select who is in the room. • Facilitate meaningful, high-trust conversations. • Design events around outcomes, not agendas. • Create environments where the right people meet the right people at the right time. Because if the room isn’t special, AI will eat that too. This is the great association reset. Some will evolve into high-trust, high-curation conveners that thrive in an AI-powered world. Others will continue mistaking tools for value — and slowly fade. The question isn’t whether AI changes associations. The question is whether associations are willing to change first.
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Scott G. posted thisIt’s always fascinating to see which Super Bowl commercials truly resonate—and a big reason why comes down to how communities respond to a brand’s creative. Take Coinbase. The spot was intentionally simple. No overproduction, no celebrity overload—just a shared moment that invited people to participate, sing along, and step away from the usual glitz. That simplicity created a communal experience, which is exactly why it worked. Dunkin’ is another great example. They’ve built a fiercely loyal fan base that does the heavy lifting when it comes to amplification. The ads spark the conversation, but the momentum comes from customers, creators, and brand advocates who genuinely care. That’s the real moat: community. The commercial is the catalyst—but the reach, relevance, and staying power come from people who believe in the brand’s ethos, values, and mission. When you invest in community, your marketing doesn’t end at the ad. It multiplies.
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Scott G. posted thisAxios CEO Jim VandeHei did a great job laying out what a serious journalistic reset at the Washington Post could look like on X. His “Mission: Restore @washingtonpost to its glory” reads like someone who actually understands what made the Post great in the first place: reporting density, clear beats, star talent, and real accountability journalism. As Jim put it: “Two reporters on every federal agency…” “Buy Punchbowl to anchor the Hill…” “Two-tier pricing… $1,000+ for insider coverage…” “AI-first for all operations beyond reporting…” That’s a newsroom-first plan. Journalism as the foundation. And he’s right — without that, nothing else matters. Where I’d build on Jim’s thinking is what happens after you’ve rebuilt that journalistic muscle. Because strong journalism isn’t just the end product anymore — it’s the raw material for something bigger on the business side. The real opportunity most legacy media companies still miss is convening community. Once you have reporters deeply embedded across agencies, industries, and power centers — exactly what Jim is proposing — you’ve created trust and proximity to influence. That’s the moment to build meaningful, verticalized communities around the areas the Post already covers better than almost anyone. For example: • Federal agencies & regulation • Politics and the Hill • Defense and national security • Healthcare and life sciences • Technology, AI, and the Silicon Valley–DC crossover • Lobbying, influence, and power • Local Washington business and culture • Sports and civic identity Each of these verticals can support: • Invite-only events and off-the-record conversations • Durable conferences and summits • Private digital communities that extend the room year-round • High-ARR memberships ($2,500–$10,000 per year) for people who need to be in the right room at the right time People will always pay for access to other people who matter, especially when that access is anchored in trust and serious journalism. Jim nailed the journalism side. The next chapter is turning that authority into convening power. The future Washington Post doesn’t just cover influence — it becomes where influence actually gathers.
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Scott G. posted thisAI won’t kill human businesses. Businesses that forget they’re human will. Everyone’s racing to “remove humans” from business because of AI. That’s not innovation—that’s confusion. AI is one of the most powerful tools ever created. But in human businesses, I’m more bullish than ever on humans. Relationships, trust, and real connection don’t scale despite people—they scale because of them. That’s why I’m such a believer in community as a business model. You can’t AI your way into trust. You can’t automate belonging. And no algorithm will ever replace a real relationship when it matters. Use AI. Learn it deeply. Let it amplify your humanity and extend your reach. But the faster you try to remove the human touch, the faster your business hollows out. I’ve seen every platform, tool, and “community software” that claims it can replace people. None do. Not because the tech isn’t impressive—but because the promise is a lie. The lie is that technology can replace human connection. The opportunity is building businesses that double down on it.
Scott G. commented on a post
1mo
Feels like a lifetime ago but at least everything in the book's still relevant
Scott G. commented on a post
1mo
Real question for media leaders and journalists here 👇
If trust is the hardest thing to rebuild in media, why aren’t more institutions using that trust to bring the right people into the same room — off the record, high signal, no noise?
Curious where people think the line should be between journalism, access, and community — and who’s actually doing this well today.
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