Building the Dream Community Team with Holly Firestone

In this episode of Masters of Community, our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, hosts a solo episode where he discusses why he is stepping down from CMX and Bevy, his future plans, and what he thinks will happen with the CMX community. Who is this episode for? CMX community, Bevy community, community builders, community managers, community leaders, and community members. Timestamps: (00:48) - I'm stepping down... (03:35) - I'll still be present in the CMX community (05:01) - Pausing the Masters of Community podcast (07:06) - My feelings and thoughts about CMX (11:21) - What's next? (14:35) - Leave me feedback about the podcast (18:03) - Why should you take pauses in your life? (22:44) - Thank you all for your love and support, and see you soon Notable Quotes: “I'm really excited for the first time in my career to take a real step back, to take a breath, to see what the universe has to offer, and just learn more about myself” “I think that's the hope for a lot of community builders that it becomes sustainable, you build a great community, and it will live on without you needing to pour your energy into it” “I believe that CMX is set up to continue to grow and be really successful without me. And I can still play a role, just in a different way.” “I just think it's important to be able to take pauses in your life”

In this episode of Masters of Community, we speak with SJ Morris, Senior Manager, Developer Community at HubSpot. Our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, moderated the conversation. For the past fifteen years, SJ has been growing and nurturing developer communities at various stages of growth, like Context IO, Keen IO, Shopify, Intel, and Mailchimp. Now, she leads Hubspot's broader developer community strategies. Today, SJ shares what she's learned from working with these brands and the differences between the different kinds of developer communities that she's built. She also talks about how to get started in a community role, DEIB in building developer communities, and the balance of community capitalism. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, developers, and developers advocates. Timestamps: (00:49) - Intro to SJ and her experience with developer communities (12:31) - Building a community from the ground up versus managing an existing one (16:55) - The difference between a developer community program and a developer advocacy program (19:06) - Setting up a healthy developer community based on context and the company (24:28) - How the developer community program at HubSpot stands out (28:18) - Why the community team should be the guiding light (35:00) - Auditing and improving a developer community program (48:33) - Working in a community in the world of capitalism (52:46) - Investing in DEIB in developer ecosystems (59:03) - Rapid-fire questions Notable Quotes: “The first question you need to ask is: does the developer community even make sense for this company?" “I feel like the community strategy is more about enabling developers to connect with each other, creating the spaces and clear pathways for that to happen. But, also understand what are the actions that you want to see developers taking in your community to get them more value and to bring more value back to the company.” “When the customer is the driver of the narrative, it's very hard to plug developers into that. But I think once you find that sweet spot and start to tell stories about how developers are impacting our customer's businesses, they love that too.” “I think community plays a big role in making things more equitable across the company because you're representing a good experience and a good journey for anyone in the community” Answers to rapid-fire questions: What's your favorite book to gift or recommend to others? The Business Value of Developer Relations by Mary Thengvall What's a community product you wish existed? Slack for communities. Who in the world of the community would you most like to take to lunch? Evan Hamilton, Director, Community and Customer Experience at Reddit What habit has had the most positive impact on your life? I think the habit of knowing when I'm done for maybe not the day, but at least for the hour. And just like slapping that laptop closed, stepping away, getting a break, drinking a glass of water. What's the weirdest community you've ever been a part of? So, I don't know if this is weird, but the way I kind of went about it was weird. So this is like 2002. I had been in love with pugs my whole life and I never had one. So I established the Montreal pug meetup group. What's one community engagement, tactic, or conversation starter that you like to use in your communities? “Where are you from?” If you could condense all of your life lessons into one Twitter-sized piece of advice to the rest of the world on how to live, what would that advice be? Care less about the things that you don't need to care about as much. Care about what matters because you only live once.

In this episode of Masters of Community, we speak with Jason Hitchcock, Founder, and GP at 4 Moons. Our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, moderated the conversation. Jason is known as a "crypto sensei" and was among the few to be early to Ethereum, Helium, CryptoPunks, and Alchemix. Today, we talk about crypto, Web 3, and DeFi, so that you can understand them, how they work, and how you might be able to get more involved. Also, Jason shares how he built Yieldopolis, a DeFi and NFT community, and how you might be able to find a community like that for yourself. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, DeFi, crypto, and Web 3 enthusiasts. Timestamps: (00:48) - Intro to Jason and his experience with crypto and DeFi (08:22) - How the Yieldopolis community can teach you about DeFi and NFT (17:08) - Why you should be an active stakeholder to understand a community (21:26) - What is DeFi (26:14) - Top 3 blockchain tools and applications (41:54) - What are the DeFi community dynamics (44:06) - Rapid-fire questions Notable Quotes: “I also think one reason why Yieldopolis is successful, it has always been self-serving for me. Like, I need this to be useful for me a hundred percent. And making it useful to me, it became useful to everybody.” “When I'm referring to DeFi and like NFT investing, I think there's just a more nuanced, practical, realistic conversation. It doesn't feel like hype.” “I don't think you can understand communities without being a stakeholder yourself” Answers to rapid-fire questions: What's your favorite book to gift or recommend to others? All Star Superman by Grant Morrison What's a community product you wish existed? We need a directory of some sort that populates easily and is rich with information so that people in a chat that's growing big or a discord that's growing big can have more context on who's there. What habit has had the most positive impact on your life? I think just showing up for things like bringing my passion along with me on things I'm passionate about. What's the weirdest community you've ever been a part of? There is a Facebook group I'm in where everyone pretends to be ants. What's one community engagement, tactic, or conversation starter that you like to use in your communities? Sometimes I will have a really interesting thought, and it's completely isolated on its own. And I don't know how to talk about this or even have a conversation about it. And so I will sort of say, I've noticed that people like this on Twitter or Discord, I will put my complete thought that is standalone. And then I'll tell people the thought that led to me thinking that, and then I'll ask them, like, what would you think about this? If you could condense all of your life lessons into one Twitter sized piece of advice to the rest of the world on how to live, what would that advice be? Being a snob will not benefit you. And if a lot of people are excited about something, you should check it out.

In this episode of Masters of Community, we speak with Austin Robey, the co-founder of MetaLabel and Ampled. Our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, moderated the conversation. Austin shares what co-ops and DAOs can learn from each other and the pros and cons of co-ops and DAOs. He details the background of co-ops and their roots in civil rights and agriculture. Austin also talks about his work in going from co-ops and experiencing the challenge of fundraising for a co-op and making it financially sustainable. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, and co-ops and DAOs enthusiasts. Timestamps: (00:49) - Intro to Austin and his experience with FWB (08:55) - What is a cooperative and how you can start one (19:30) - 5 examples of successful co-ops (22:26) - When co-ops meet DAOs (31:49) - Solving co-ops problems from a DAO perspective (38:28) - What are some effective DAO models? (41:09) - Understanding the role of community managers in DAOs (43:49) - Setting up a practical co-op or DAO strategy (47:56) - Rapid-fire questions Notable Quotes: “I think a cooperative model is flexible, but it's also very simple. One of the key defining characteristics of a cooperative is one member, one vote.” “At a core level, the reason for starting a cooperative is different from a traditional company.” “Ownership drives the interest, and interest of an investor who owns a startup is very different from a community using a product or service. And ownership is what drives incentives, which drives behaviors.” Answers to rapid-fire questions: What's your favorite book to gift or recommend to others? Ours to Hack and to Own by Trebor Scholz What's a community product you wish existed? Tools like the Mirror and XSplit What habit has had the most positive impact on your personal life? I adopted a dog, which I like and there are many habits associated with it. What's one community engagement, tactic, or conversation starter that you like to use in your communities? What I did with Ampled was to give everyone my phone number and tell them to call whenever they want. If you could condense all of your life lessons into one Twitter sized piece of advice to the rest of the world on how to live, what would that advice be? Having the guts to do cool stuff results in cool stuff happening.

In this episode of Masters of Community, we speak with Hope Wollensack, Executive Director of Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund. Our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, moderated the conversation. In addition to her role at Georgia Resilience and Opportunity fund, Hope leads a program called In Her Hands, which aims to help black women rise out of poverty and empower them in personal and professional decision-making. She describes how her team developed the program, its purpose, and its impact on the community it serves. We also dive into building more diverse, inclusive, and equitable communities. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, community facilitators, and black women communities Timestamps: (00:48) - About Hope and her community building experience (07:18) - In Her Hands: helping black women thrive and grow supportive communities (13:49) - How to identify the right solution for your community (19:37) - How to determine the success of a community program (24:13) - Start defining and developing your program (31:31) - Making a community more inclusive (38:16) - How to set up and manage the task force (47:10) - Next steps, plans, and goals (48:56) - Rapid-fire questions Notable Quotes: “What are the root causes of economic insecurities, and what can we do about them?” “So many times, decision-makers are the ones farthest from the problem. What if the ones closest to the problem would become the decision-makers?” “When people have additional cash, they can explore saving and investing tools, homeownership, and job opportunities much better. So we view cash as the ultimate choice mechanism.” Answers to rapid-fire questions: What's your favorite book to gift or recommend to others? All About Love: New Visions by Bell Hooks What's the weirdest community you've ever been a part of? Flashmob dancing crew What did education teach you about community? The process is just as important as the outcome. There is no problem that we collectively can’t solve. What's a community product you wish existed? A tool that would enable people to talk about what’s happening in their community. What habit has had the most positive impact on your personal life? Adaptability What's one community engagement, tactic, or conversation starter that you like to use in your groups? “What is the meaning behind your name?” If you could condense all of your life lessons into one Twitter sized piece of advice to the rest of the world on how to live, what would that advice be? What we can do is done if we’re committed to doing the work it requires.

In this episode of Masters of Community, we speak with Douglas Ferguson, President at Voltage Control, a change agency that helps enterprises sustain innovation and teams work better together with custom-designed meetings and workshops, both in-person and virtual. Our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, moderated the conversation. They discuss the structure and various kinds of meetings, how to facilitate effective meetings, and what people are doing wrong when they run them. This will be useful for those who manage people or run meetings within a company or community. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, community facilitators Timestamps: (03:04) - Douglas' intro (07:02) - What is a meeting? (10:39) - How to build a practical meeting artifact (19:40) - Start reviewing your calendar and prioritizing meetings (25:49) - How to drive collaboration across different teams (33:37) - How to effectively run various facilitated meetings (43:20) - Why should every meeting begin with a clear purpose? (54:50) - Rapid-fire questions Notable Quotes: “A meeting can be when we're gathering to accomplish something or solve a problem” “Do not be a slave to your calendar. You are a sentient human being, and you should be the boss of your calendar.” “You need to have a solid vision and purpose of why there should be a community and how people are going to benefit from it. And so meetings are no different.” Answers to rapid-fire questions: 1. What's your favorite book to gift or recommend to others? A More Beautiful Question 2. What's the most obscure group you've ever facilitated a workshop for? Noise rock 3. Should people be on or off mute in their meetings on Zoom? We need a culture for people to feel vulnerable and have psychological safety to unmute and speak at any time. And a facilitator should have the freedom to mute everyone and not have anyone get upset or feel uncomfortable. 4. What habit has had the most positive impact on your personal life? Consistency 5. What's one community engagement, tactic, or conversation starter that you like to use in your groups? Asking people to tell stories about stuff that resonate with them from a place of appreciation. If you could condense all of your life lessons into one Twitter sized piece of advice to the rest of the world on how to live, what would that advice be? Stay curious

In this episode of Masters of Community, we speak with David Siegel, CEO of Meetup, Author of Decide & Conquer, and Host of the Keep Connected podcast. Our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, moderated the conversation. They discuss the best practices and values for CEO and community leaders in decision-making. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, and CEOs. Timestamps: (05:43) - David's intro and his current role at Meetup (09:27) - The Meetup experience (17:57) - Changing the game (26:00) - Decide and Conquer book (36:00) - What is a decision framework (45:12) - Going with an imperfect plan over a perfect plan (49:31) - Building trust when entering a new company (54:15) - Empowering versus micromanaging people (58:01) - The future of Meetup (01:00:05) - Rapid-fire question round Notable Quotes: “I happen to have grown up with an extremely strong sense of community” “Building a community is about building a quality experience” “And I consider one of my most important jobs as a community leader is to be as transparent as possible so that other people around me are not surprised” “Trying to fit a narrative into principles is much less interesting than creating the principles after you already know what's meaningful and less meaningful” Answers to rapid-fire questions: 1. What's your favorite book to gift or recommend to others? How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie 2. If you were to find yourself on your deathbed today, and you had to condense all of your life lessons into one piece of advice to the rest of the world on how to live, what would that advice be? Find joy in your day-to-day life as that joy can help set you off for longer-term success. 3. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would that food be? Sardines 4. Who in the world of community would you like to take out for lunch? Angela Duckworth, author of GRIT 5. What is the most important metric that you look at when looking at the health of a meetup? The number of connections that we create between people. 6. What's the weirdest Meetup group? Hugging groups 7. What's the weirdest community you've ever been a part of? Fantasy baseball

In this episode of Masters of Community, our host, David Spinks, VP of Community at Bevy and Co-Founder of CMX, hosts a solo episode where he talks about how he got fired from his first community job. David admits that it was one of the lowest points of his career and life. He was discouraged, and it took him some time to get back on his feet. Having dealt with these moments, he now shares what he learned from them and how it might help others deal with the hardships of getting fired. Who is this episode for? Community builders, community managers, community leaders, community members, employees, and employers. Key takeaways: (00:49) - Overview about today's episode (02:59) - The context of how David got fired (06:52) - Shifting towards community and Zaarly (12:45) - Facing challenges and problems (21:00) - Getting fired (23:34) - The lowest point of the career (28:00) - Help and hope: meeting Thomas Knoll (29:56) - Starting a new job (31:45) - Getting over being fired (38:56) - David's lessons and bits of advice Notable Quotes: 1. “I think there's a lot of stigma around getting fired” 2. “If you are drowning, if you are overwhelmed, if you're not in a healthy place, it becomes hard, if not impossible, to support other people, to take care of them, and to see what they need” 3. “I started burning out, feeling depressed, I had no idea what to do, I couldn't perform, and I couldn't get results” 4. “If you are in a position of leadership, when you think someone did a great job, tell them cause you never know how it could impact their life” 5. “If you're depressed at work, take a step back, gain perspective, pause, take a breath, take space, take time off, take care of yourself so that you can take care of others, turn to communities”

In this episode, we're joined by Kevin Huynh, cofounder and partner at People & Company and coauthor of "Get Together." Kevin shares insights on three core questions you need to ask before starting a community, the responsibility of community builders to take a stand against racial injustice, and how to be successful as a community consultant working with incredible brands like Nike and Porsche.

Today's guest is Marjorie Anderson. She's the manager of digital communities at Project Management Institute and is also the founder of Community by Association. In this conversation, we talk about how PMI approaches its programming to serve its million-plus community of project management professionals. Marjorie also dives into their virtual events, which they've been running since 2014, and shares insights into how community teams can make sure their work is driving measurable impact.