The Online Course Show 216: Community 101: The Founder of Circle Joins the Show (Featuring Andy Guttormsen)
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Jan 9, 2024 
Andy Guttormsen, co-founder of Circle and former Teachable product strategist, discusses building engaged online communities. He covers onboarding rituals, making community the core product, balancing cohorts vs ongoing memberships, pricing choices, and product features that streamline member activation. Short, practical takes on starting and scaling paid communities.
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How Circle Emerged From Teachable
- Andy and his co-founders left Teachable after seeing top creators pair courses with community experiences.
- They noticed high-value creators used communities (Facebook, Slack, group chats) to boost lifetime value.
Seed The Community Intentionally
- Expect to invest time initially; communities don’t run themselves and need active seeding and moderation.
- Start with ~30 founding members and engage them one-on-one to ignite activity, advises Andy Guttormsen.
Limit Scope With Rituals
- Reduce scope and pick two or three repeatable rituals (office hours, expert Q&A, wins posts) to drive engagement.
- Andy Guttormsen recommends starting with a few signature offerings and layering on later.