How SXSW created programming *with* its community 🎨Todd Hansen, SXSW & Artist Rescue Trust

“The journey is not so much about how many people respond. You can just impact one person and they can impact you back.” - Bruce Muchelule

When Bruce became a dad, he wasn’t quite sure how to know if he was doing things right. He reached out on Twitter to see if there were any support groups or places for dads to find peer mentorship. He couldn’t find one, but he did receive DMs from many fathers looking for a community like Bruce.

DADing Different began as a space for young and first-time dads to exchange notes, share experiences, and support each other on their journeys. Bruce has found vulnerability to be key to meaningful sharing, and he designs the community to encourage that. Too many structures and processes can be off putting for a community. Bruce opts instead for serendipity and asynchronicity in a WhatsApp group.

We talked with Bruce about creating a space that is “member-led” not “leader-led” and opting for a small group of engaged, eager members. 

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• You can’t fake the funk. How Bruce started DAD-ing Different.
• Peer-mentorship. A space to learn together.
• Watering hole. WhatsApp as a home for conversation and a place to connect 1:1 with other dads.
• Getting started. Building confidence at the outset of organizing.

👋🏻Say hi to Bruce and learn more about DADing Different.

✨Say hi to Whitney, “Get Together” correspondent.

📄See the full transcript 

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“It's way better if members are passionate and loud than dispassionate and quiet. The fact that they care enough to yell is really a gift.” - Evan Hamilton

Reddit is the mothership for sub-communities known as “subreddits,” each of which covers a different topic from ask historians to cats standing up. Subreddits are each managed by a team of volunteers.

Thus as the Director of Community at Reddit, Evan Hamilton doesn’t have just one community to cultivate. He has hundreds of thousands of very distinct communities he’s tasked with serving. 

These “Redditors” have a history of being candid with their feedback. In July 2015, thousands of Reddit moderators shut down a significant portion of the site’s subreddits to collectively boycott the company. Evan has been instrumental in rebuilding and sustaining trust with volunteers in the years since.  

We talked with Evan about how Reddit builds with transparency and empathy at such significant scale.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• History of Reddit. How Reddit has evolved over the years with its user base.
• Evan’s story as a Redditor. “Redditors relish in learning about the real world and the mundane.”
• The community as a stakeholder. Reddit considers thier community not just as an asset, but also stakeholders.
• Road show. Asking for and receiving hard feedback from the community.
• Community council. A close circle of 50 moderators that Reddit builds with Reddit under NDA.
• Scaling. Separating signals from the noise. “If you only think at scale, you will fail.”
• Future of Reddit. Growing the user base.

👋🏻Say hi to Evan!

📄See the full transcript 

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we've worked with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“If you're going to go to your community and build with them, realize that you're going to have to support and prop them up. It's not a part-time job. It's a full-time thing.” - Todd Hansen

In the Spring of 1987, a group of music fans and journalists organized a small live event in Austin, Texas. Around 700 people showed up. By 2019, South by Southwest (SXSW) had become a 10-day conference and festival with over 28,000 attendees heading to Austin each March.

Each year the conference receives 5,000+ proposals and the programs team, which Todd Hansen led, was tasked to sift through and find the 600 sessions to schedule for the final event. 

Though SXSW was canceled last year, that didn’t slow Todd down. He and conspirators saw their artistic friend’s opportunities disappear in the wake of the pandemics—canceled tours, exhibitions, premiers—and responded by creating the Artist Rescue Trust, which dolls out monthly $500 checks to folks who are working full time as artists. 

Outside of running programming at SXSW for 10 years, Todd has also run a record label, he’s the person responsible for Rich Kids of Instagram, and once owned and operated an early coach surfing website.

We talked with Todd about sourcing and supercharging leads of SXSW’s session and how he recognized a need and energy to support artists through the pandemic.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• The History of SXSW. From humble beginnings of 700 attendees in 1987 to 28,000+ in 2019.
• Building with. How SXSW uses the PanelPicker system to co-create the content of the festival.
• The beginning of Artist Rescue Trust. Todd and friends came together to support artist affected by the pandemic.
• You can’t fake the funk. Tood’s innate feeling to share ideas.

👋🏻Say hi to Todd and learn more about the Artist Rescue Trust.

📄See the full transcript.

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“The question is ‘how do I keep my volunteers on track?’ because they're hugely motivated.” - David Lyford-Smith

If you spend a lot of time working with spreadsheets, you know they have a special power to rule the world. You can do almost anything with them from creating a shopping list to financial planning and analysis. Spreadsheets' powers lie in the fact they are accessible to people who aren’t programmers and coders. But if even just one cell is wrong, it can wreak terrible havoc.

David Lyford-Smith works for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. In the 1990s, ICAEW started a tech faculty to serve as internal experts researching matters of technology and automation affecting accountants. In 2013, it was apparent that the excel content was the most popular, and a collective of “excel warriors” was spun up into its own community. 

David raised his hand to help steer the direction of the work and joined several thousands of chartered accountants and others seeking to mitigate spreadsheet risk in workplaces around the world. They’ve created accessible materials like twenty principles for good spreadsheet practice as a guide for those who use spreadsheets daily and for those without special spreadsheet skills.

We talked with David about the power of spreadsheets and the way in which he is channeling the enthusiasm of excel warriors to help each other and to help the public mitigate spreadsheet risk.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• The spreadsheet ecosystem. The power of spreadsheets and use cases.
• Documentation. What matters most in creating spreadsheets in teams.
• Channeling enthusiasm. Giving volunteers direction.
• Defining “who.” Serving communities needs and creating resources in the public interest.
• Origin story. How a group of excel warriors emerged at ICAEW.
• Content creation. Building with volunteer members and online creators.

👋🏻Say hi to David and learn more about Excel Community

✨Say hi to Mia, “Get Together” correspondent.

📄See the full transcript 

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

"We are a part of their success. We are a part of their team.” - Ashley Hackworth

BTS is a seven-member South Korean boy band. They became the fastest-growing group since The Beatles to earn four US number-one albums, doing so in less than two years. The rise of BTS is in part thanks to a huge leaderless web of dedicated fans who call themself A.R.M.Y. 

People like Ashley Hackworth host accounts that serve as informational and even emotional hubs for millions of fans. They don’t just love BTS’s music, they support each other through mental health issues and other very human challenges, many of which the band sings about in their music. They have banded together to impact the outcome of political movements (including foiling a Trump rally this summer), raised millions of dollars for the Black Lives Matter movement, and flooded social media platforms to drown out racist voices. Members feel like they are part of this big family across the world, a point that Maggie’s 14 year-old sister Mira, a BTS superfan who helped co-hosted the interview, emphasized to us.

Activism is as important as the catchy tunes for Ashley, Mira and their fellow fans. Ashley manages one of the biggest UK fan accounts for BTS. Not only does she report on what's happening with the band in the region, the account also serves as a hub for worldwide BTS news and media requests, translation requests, fundraising, and more.

We talked with Ashley about how fans gather to support each other in many ways without formal leadership and beyond music. 

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• You can’t fake the funk. How Ashley discovered and first connected with BTS.
• Shared values. The music communicates values of activism and mental health awareness.
• Decentralized leadership. Creating a space where any fan can step up and see their ideas through.
• Watering hole. BTS fans gather on Twitter to connect over music and engage beyond in activism.
• Virtual gathering. K-pop and technology have historically been intertwined to bridge gaps across geography.

👋🏻Say hi to Ashley and learn more about the BTS A.R.M.Y.

✨Say hi to Mia and Maggie, “Get Together” correspondent.

📄See the full transcript.

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we've worked with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“Let's bring designers together and first talk about your wellbeing. Then let's talk about the next steps forward for you as a designer.” -  Lewis Kang'ethe

Lewis Kang'ethe was first championed as a community leader in primary school when his teacher asked him to spearhead the mathematics club. When the teacher asks, the answer is either, “yes or yes.” 

Now, Lewis works as a product designer in Kenya. When he’s looking for jobs outside of Africa he often gets asked the question, “are you qualified?” Lewis started the African chapter of The Fearless Community so that designers in Africa can tell their stories. It’s a place for designers like Lewis to find work and a network. 

Members from around the world convene in local Slack channels and attend video podcast series with veteran designers. When COVID-19 became a threat, they launched the #StayConnected series first to talk about their wellbeing and then, the next steps forward for their members as designers. 

Lewis takes a “servant” leadership approach to his role as community lead in Africa. We talked with him about the attention to details when connecting people across cultures and how the community has adjusted to online meetups.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• You can’t fake the funk.
• Getting started. Reaching out to potential members on portfolio websites.
• Bridging the gap. Connecting people across cultures.
• Virtual meetups. Leaning into playfulness and fun of being a designer.
• Servant leadership. Building with and in service of the community members.

👋🏻 Say hi to Lewis Kang'ethe and learn more about The Fearless Community.

✨ Thank you to Whitney Ogutu, “Get Together” correspondent, for bringing the story to us.

📄 See the full transcript

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“The email that I would receive after every single town hall was, ‘I thought I was the only one.’” - Claire Wasserman

By 2016, Claire Wasserman was fed up with men not taking her seriously in the workplace. For years, she’d internalized this marginalization as somehow her fault or her problem to struggle through alone. It was time for that to change.

With a friend, Claire brought together 100 women in a town-hall style event to talk about money and power in the workplace. Out of those conversations, Claire saw the potential for something much bigger.

After that first town hall, she created a Slack group which grew to 6,000 women in the first year. Half a year later, that Slack group had more than 20,000 members from all 50 states. Claire quit her job, incorporated a business, and hit the road hosting town halls around the country.  

Today, Ladies Get Paid has helped more than 75,000 women believe in and advocate for their worth, including a young Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Town hall discussions, conferences, workshops, webinars and more took place across the country before the pandemic, and those sessions have transformed into webinars and more since COVID arrived.

How did Claire get such a massive community and business off the ground? Tune in for the full story.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• Can’t fake the funk. Why this work matters to Claire.
• Origin story. In 2016, Claire hosted a town hall in NYC offering an intimate and vulnerable space to talk about money.
• Town halls. Claire’s tour across America and learning the dynamics of different cities.
• Moderation. Creating community guidelines and an ecosystem where there is no need for moderation.
• Writing the “Ladies Get Paid” book. Centering the book around stories of real women.
• Lawsuit. How Ladies Get Paid was sued and lobbied elected officials to change laws.

👋🏻Say hi to Claire and learn more about Ladies Get Paid.

📄See the full transcript

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“I tell all my staff to have your hearts, your minds and your ears open to new ideas. It doesn't have to come from you to be a great idea.” - Adam Bedoian

Margaritaville isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a real place. Seniors can live out their Buffett-inspired retirement dreams at the three Latitude Margaritaville retirement communities in Daytona Beach and Watersound, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina.

When moving into a retirement community, people care greatly about what their community will be like. The Margaritaville theme communicates a clear identity of fun, food, music and escapism. The theme has resonated. People camped out overnight to be the first to secure spots the Margaritaville development in Daytona Beach.

In this interview, Bailey chats with Adam Bedoian whose team is responsible for bringing the Margaritaville lifestyle to life. Each week they host 10 hours of live music, pickleball games, and a number of programs at their restaurants, fitness centers, amphitheater shell, and pool. Residents have stepped up officially and unofficially to support the community as resident advisors, hostess, and even with behind the scenes aspects of running the community, like accounting.

We were delighted to see how clear Adam and his team took a “build with” approach to establishing the community at Margaritaville and hope you enjoy the story. 

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• You can’t fake the funk. Adam’s early career in hospitality and transition to community-building.
• Prototyping Margaritaville. Running the idea by the “Parrottheads,” Jimmy Buffett’s super fans, before launching.
• Programs that prompt connection. Listening and having ongoing, open conversations.
• Managing expectations. “I can take care of everything except for who your neighbors are.”
• Supercharging leaders. Unofficially and officially, residents have stepped up and brought the escapism lifestyle to life.

👋🏻Say hi to Adam and learn more about Latitude Margaritaville. 

📄See the full transcript 

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“The strategy is the questions. You have to ask the right questions. If you don’t, you can be walking away from a smile.” - Chris Turner

When Chris Turner was 12 years old he got a metal detector and fell in love with looking for history. Over the years, he would be on the beach or in a park and get approached by a frantic couple looking for their ring. Within minutes, he was often able to help them recover their ring.

These rings represent stories and relationships, and when they are lost, it feels as though the stories are lost with them. Chris started The Ring Finders in Vancouver to help people recover their rings and thus their stories. He documented these generous acts and caught the attention of a man in Illinois who invested in the mission.

Since then, Chris has built an online directory of 500 independent metal detecting specialists in 22 countries that go out in search of rings, most of which do it on a pay as you wish basis. We talked with him about the human nature of this work and spotlighting stories from the searches.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• Origin Story. Why Chris started metal detecting.
• Rework basis. Pay what you wish and pay it forward.
• Spotlighting the stories. A video blog documenting searches.
• Finding Jon Cryer’s ring. The stories that reveal themself after publicity.

👋🏻 Say hi to Chris and learn more about The Ring Finders.

✨Thank you to Mia, “Get Together” correspondent, for bringing us this story.

📄See the full transcript

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we work with organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider as strategy partners, bringing confidence to how they’re building communities. 

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.

“Society is losing something when we don’t share our weirdness with one another. You're losing something when you have someone at your table and they don't share what makes them different. One of the purposes I have in life is to create spaces where people will share what is interesting about them, and why they are different.” - Sophie Mona Pagès

As a Moroccan immigrant growing up in France, Sophie Mona Pagès grew up feeling a bit “weird” in her complex identity. She craved a space infused with diversity, inclusion, intimacy, modernity, and beauty. 

Instead of waiting for such a space to appear, she created LVRSNFRNDS herself. The 20 attendees at the first event in East London were people Sophie found on dating apps who she “would be happy to spend an evening with.” She asked them to fill out a form if they wanted to attend, spend 15 minutes with her on a call, and gathered fun facts about each attendee to spark conversations. The group was diverse across identities and ages, and meaningful relationships were sparked. The night was a success. 

Today LVRSNFRNDS gathers people around the world, to fight loneliness and enable meaningful connections of all kinds. Hand-selected members have access to events where they’re asked to contribute their voice to conversations on intimacy and relationships.

In March 2020, the community traded bars for virtual rooms. We’ll talk with Sophie about developing a playbook that captures shared values, facilitating online conversations, and why this work matters to her.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• Origin story. Finding the first 20 people.
• Can’t fake the funk. “I grew up feeling weird.”
• Going virtual. People showing up and supercharging the why--support.
• Facilitating online. Empowering members to step up as hosts.
• Building playbooks with members. Acknowledging that people mess up and creating a response for when that happens.

👋🏻Say hi to Sophie Mona Pagès and learn more about LVRSNFRNDS.

✨Thank you to Marjorie, “Get Together” correspondent,  for bringing us this story.

📄See the full transcript

This podcast was created by the team at People & Company. 

🔥Say hi! We would love to get to know you.

We published GET TOGETHER📙, a handbook on community-building. 

And we help organizations like Nike, Porsche, Substack and Surfrider make smart bets with their community-building investments.

Hit subscribe🎙 and head over to our website to learn about the work we do with passionate, community-centered organizations.