How to turn 50 users into 5,000 with Community-led Growth

Once you’ve found Product-Market Fit (PMF), Community-led growth can be an absolute force in accelerating your business trajectory.

When executed effectively, community-led growth can turn 10 users into 100, and 100 into 10,000 - just ask companies like Notion and HubSpot.

After 8 years of launching 5 communities with 45,000 users, owning a co-working space, and working on Startup GTM/growth at one of the top fintech companies in the world, I've learned quite a bit about the power of community-led growth.

At the end of the day, sustainable and community-focused growth is about:

1. Listening to your customers
2. Strategic market positioning

How to grow your startup to 5,000 users with Community-led Growth

A B2B SaaS founder asked me how to use community-led growth and IRL connections to enter a new geo/market. They wanted to grow their user base from 50 to 1,500 in 60 days; with an overarching goal of 5,000 users in 6 months.

While I told them that nothing is guaranteed, I gave them the exact blueprint for what has worked wonders for me in the past.

When entering a new geo-based market, I use the step-by-step guide below.

Let's dive in.

1. Find the super connectors in your target market. Leverage Twitter and/or LinkedIn

• Do a general call of “Going to Miami (example) to do x - who should I meet?”
• Tap on people in your existing network

2. Ask those super connectors for support in finding people that align with your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

• State your intentions and ask for help/recommendations
• Pay respect where it is due and acknowledge the work that’s been done
• Figure out how to amplify that work

3. Design and create a safe space for your people and prospects to gather

• This can be an intimate or larger setting.
• Real, authentic conversations tend to happen in smaller, more curated spaces
• Lean gen at scale can happen in larger settings. Choose your fighter.

4. Use an event management platform for lead gen and effective communications

• Luma is my absolute favorite. I have been using them for 4 years now
• Leverage customized intake forms to help with lead generation, effective management and communication, and post-event follow-up.

5. While at the event, focus on authentic convos and pain points - there's no need to directly sell.

• Take the time to engage in conversation with your guests
• Be intentional about uncovering challenges, desires, and potential opportunities
• The more you know about them, the better you can solve their problems.

6. Use those data points as the foundation for building out your community and value-add offerings

• Aggregate data using frequency-based responses
• Use that data to identify collective problems, challenges, and (maybe even) desires as value drivers for the community

7. Send personalized follow-up notes with a direct CTA or an ask

• Write a genuine and thoughtful follow-up; mention something that happened during the event - avoid being robotic.
• Be sure to always thank them for their time and share how you plan to stay involved. People are busy and the fact that they came to support your event should not be taken lightly.
• The follow-up game must be strong for them to do what you need them to do (sign up for a mailing list, schedule a coffee, learn about your product, etc.)

8. Wash. Rinse. Repeat: Carry out your CTA for continued discovery. Then do it all over again.

• Extend a Calendly link for further discovery
• Carry out your Call-to-Action outlined in your message
• Make it clear that you want to continue to nurture the relationship

TL;DR Conclusion

With the right focus on your customers and strategic market positioning, this community-led growth approach can accelerate your company substantially (huge focus on sustainably).

At that point, you are not just focused on closing the deal, but you are focused on building a relationship with your prospect/customer that ultimately leads to a long-term relationship and a longer-term LTV.

Good luck and let me know in the comments what questions or thoughts come up.