Tightknit

We haven’t been this excited about a commercial since the McRib.

The future of community software is f***ed. It’s a thought I can’t seem to shake. Community has long lacked quality tooling, especially in B2B. This means community professionals spend their days on ops, cobbling together different systems, trying to glue everything they need together, instead of executing toward outcomes. Meanwhile incumbent Enterprise community platforms are cash cows, sucking up all the spend while barely being maintained, let alone innovating. They hold the industry back while blocking upstart alternatives from displacing them. Plus, if you criticize them, consultants hurl themselves forward to protect them like their livelihoods depend on them (because they do). I’ve long assumed they’d go extinct, replaced by options that value quality, UX, and finding better ways of working. But my hope of that is fading. In the midst of the pandemic, hundreds of millions of VC dollars were pumped into community software. Teams raised at comically high valuations and obviously struggled to keep pace. The buzz has long faded, and they’ve all fallen by the wayside. Some got acquired, many went out of business, while the rest quietly repositioned away from community. Now the investors I’ve spoken with think of community as a field where you can't get a return. What seems like a large addressable market is, in reality, a tough one to make unicorn-sized returns. VC funding isn’t the only way of course, but the lack of funding is a big problem. Many startups begin with low-priced offerings but quickly realize there isn’t enough opportunity among SMBs, so they try and go up market. That’s when they need to outcompete the incumbent vendors. While the existing crop of platforms are dreadful, they’ve been at it for decades. They’ve created vast products filled with all the enterprise bells and whistles, which makes them tough to displace. For the startups trying to break through, you have to build an incredible amount of product. And then you have to convince enterprise buyers, do all the hand-holding, plough through the long sales cycles, etc. That all takes time and money, which they don’t have and can no longer get. I’m still holding out for a breakout success that changes the game. Circle has potential. They’ve already achieved success in the creator space and seem to be increasingly eyeing B2B. Gradual is well-placed, too. Likewise, I'm bullish on platforms like Tightknit, which can piggyback off the shortcomings of already huge platforms like Slack. If any of them can mature their platforms and build out the missing features, then they suddenly become viable contenders. I have my fingers crossed because otherwise, we’re stuck with the status woe.

I've seen hundreds of new communities over the last year. Many have been fantastic. Some have been...ahem... lacking. That's why it is an honor to share the CMX stage with the greats Starian Porchia, M.A., M.Ed and Drew Frey to judge which Community steps into the marbled immortal halls of connection and learning ???? And emoji gods, please give me a side thumb to go full Gladiator please ?? ??

Huge shoutout to Cloudflare for featuring us for Workers Launchpad Demo Day. It's been a pleasure for Tightknit to be a member of the Workers Launchpad Cohort #4 and see all the exciting things founders are building using the Workers ecosystem of products. Miss the demos? Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/gVjpimKP

Tightknit. For Free. Forever. ?? To celebrate Women’s History Month, we're giving away 31 free Tightknit licenses to women's communities, one for each day of the month! ?? We've seen firsthand how amazing communities like Women in Sales and The Society of Working Moms use Tightknit to foster meaningful connections, and we want to empower even more women's communities to build thriving spaces on Slack. Who’s Eligible? ? Built on Slack (free OR pro plan) ? 100+ members ? 95%+ female membership ? Fewer than five employees ? Primarily English-speaking (due to product limitations) If you know a community leader who could benefit, tag them below or share this post! The application is in the comments ??

To celebrate Women’s History Month, we're giving away 31 free Tightknit licenses to women's communities, one for each day of the month! ?? We've seen firsthand how amazing communities like Women in Sales and The Society of Working Moms use Tightknit to foster meaningful connections. We want to empower even more women's communities to build thriving spaces on Slack. Who’s Eligible? ? Built on Slack (free OR pro plan) ? 100+ members ? 95%+ female membership ? Fewer than five employees ? Primarily English-speaking (due to product limitations) If you know a community leader who could benefit, tag them below or share this post! The application is in the comments ??

How can I make this any more clear. Our team builds Slack communities and we build community for Slack. What's not to get? ??

You got this Slack! We're rooting for you.

A hidden power of the Tightknit companion site is the ability to embed its pages and components in your own website. Check out the two most recent additions to the list of embed-supported pages: - Home page - Events List page This gives Tightknit customers the unique capability to embed the Home feed, which is an aggregate of all the Tightknit channel feeds, anywhere you want users to see an overview of activity in your workspace. And the Events embed adds a great visual list of Upcoming or Past events in your community. Simply find the "Share" button on the corresponding page of the companion site, select the Embed tab, and copy the iframe code into your website!

?? We're live! Learn & implement community as a growth strategy with me! ?? We'll have group discussions/lectures + 1:1 office hours/async feedback on your specific problem sets and ways to incorporate CLG into your roadmap. Excited to meet and solve problems with you. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dgu5YSfN