Asha Chaudhry – Co-founder & Editor

@ashaonthebeach @therodinhoods

What I learnt while building an online community: some hits, some misses!

Want to build a community? First ask yourself WHY?

Be clear about the purpose!Don’t re-invent the wheel.

Don’t build a community just becauseyou have thousands of users.

The Power of SHARING

Communities offer a wealthof KNOWLEDGE to tap into.

Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal (Founder) started sharinghis startup experiences on TRH in November 2010.

TRH tries to make an entrepreneur’s journey, a little LESS LONELY.

June 2016

11,600+ members 6000+ articlesStartup stories

ShowcasesResources/Insights

LessonsProblems Queries

Communities offer the Power of MANY!

PURPOSE & PEOPLE

Alok meets & mentors one entrepreneur every week day.

Together we’d like to help people and foster entrepreneurship through TRH!

You’ve started a community.Now keep it RELEVANT & ENGAGED!

Identify your ROCKSTARS!

Writers Early Adopters

Experts from different verticalsValidators & Devil’s Advocates

Networkers/ConnectorsEvent Organizers

Startup Evangelist

REWARD them!

SURPRISE them!

EMPOWER them andalways be INCLUSIVE!

(They are your BRAND Ambassadors!)

Rodinhooders ORGANISE Open Houses & Meetups

We create a new organizing team every

time for an Open House and every volunteerhas a unique role!

45+ EVENTS across 11 CITIES!

Live #RodinChats

We all are each other’smini mentors!

Tim Draper was interviewedby a Rodinhooder atDraper University!

Understand your MEMBERS!

“You don't have to be an expertin startups to succeed at one”

“The way to succeed in a startup is not to be an expert on startups, but to be an expert on your users and the problem you're solving for them. Mark Zuckerberg didn't succeed because he was an expert on startups. He succeeded despite being a complete noob at startups, because he understood his users really well.”~ Paul Graham

Engage, Engage, ENGAGE!

Stay CONNECTED!Send out an interesting & unpredictable weekly newsletter!

CONNECT offline through meaningful EVENTS!

LISTEN and Keep your Eyes & Ears Open!

Read & Retain all Startup & Funding news Be a Social Media Observer

Give People Shout-Outs!

Be the CONFIDANT and never break TRUST

Your COMMUNITY becomesyour extended FAMILY!

There’s a Rodinhooder in every city!

Your family becomes a partof this EXTENDED FAMILY!!

DON’T try to do EVERYTHING YOURSELF!

Use tools & templates + how-to-dosSEEK HELP from committed volunteers

Hire interns & build a small team!

You’re not Wonder Woman!(look after your health)

Community Management

is NOT APART-TIME JOB.

Be PATIENT and COMMUNICATE well!

Be lucid in your online communicationShare candid feedback & give useful suggestions

ALWAYS HELP!

Never compromise on QUALITY.Have POLICIES and stick to them.

Be polite, but firm!

You can’t keep everyone HAPPY!(and you are not responsible for people’s issues.)

People come in good, bad, ugly & awesome!Each with their own perspective. Respect that!

It’s gonna take LONGERthan you think…

TRH Open Houses started from 3-7 Rodinhooders…

Reached different CITIES…

And the tribe kept GROWING!

My parting gyan…

“The only way to grow a vibrant and engaged online community is to invest yourself in it; keep your head down and build.”

asha@rodinhood.com

@ashaonthebeach

@therodinhoods

http://therodinhoods.com

I’m an EMAIL or TWEET away!

Thank YOU!