Matthew Brimer, Founder of General Assembly, on Creating Amazing Community Events
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Matthew Brimer co-founded General Assembly and Daybreaker. General Assembly started in 2009 in New York City during the recession to create a community for the burgeoning tech scene. Daybreaker started in 2013 to create a positive morning dance party experience. Brimer discusses 5 lessons on building brand and community: activate a core group of early adopters, connect people through introductions to build the network, establish clear brand values, create meaningful offline experiences, and balance curation with openness to new people. Both organizations focus on building community which strengthens their brands.
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Matthew Brimer, Founder of General Assembly, on Creating Amazing Community Events
- 1. Building Brand, Building Community: Lessons Learned from General Assembly & Daybreaker Matthew Brimer CO-FOUNDER GENERAL ASSEMBLY CO-FOUNDER DAYBREAKER
- 2. About Me ■ Graduated from Yale, moved to NYC ■ Previous startup failed, never had real “job” ■ 2009: Founded General Assembly Now: $50MM in funding, 500+ employees, campuses in 14 cities globally ■ 2013: Founded Daybreaker Now: 8 cities globally and counting, tens of thousands of participants @brimer
- 4. New York — 2009 ■ Recession hit NYC, tech was transforming every industry ■ The New York tech scene was burgeoning but disjointed and ad hoc ■ People were seeking new career paths, new skills, new inspiration @brimer
- 5. The Answer? General Assembly
- 6. The Answer? General Assembly @brimer Let’s create a community nucleus for the startup ecosystem in NYC — housed in a real, physical place! A place of social interaction, professional collaboration, and shared learning.
- 8. New York — 2013 ■ Always loved music and live entertainment, but frustrated with nightlife in New York ■ Dance culture and ‘going out’ were inevitably linked with drugs, alcohol, exclusiveness, escapism, etc. ■ Mornings as a space & time were boring! @brimer
- 10. The Answer? Daybreaker @brimer Let’s create an exhilarating, positive, values-driven morning dance party experience that will start off your day unlike anything else.
- 11. 5 Learnings on How a Strong Brand Supports a Strong Community 1. Activate the core 2. Give karma, get karma 3. Establish clear brand values 4. Create meaningful offline experiences 5. Balance curation with openness @brimer
- 12. 1 / 5 Activate the core
- 13. Activate the core @brimer ■ Focus your early efforts on building a powerful core of true believers ■ Examples: ○ 1:1 coffees ○ Group dinners ○ Space tours ○ Manually building email list ■ Early adopters you cultivate become evangelists
- 14. 2 / 5 Give karma, get karma
- 15. Give karma, get karma Give! Be as useful as possible. Connect, inspire, support. @brimer ■ Well-placed intros add value to the ecosystem — everyone benefits ■ The karma you send out inevitably comes back to you ■ Try to make 2-3 intros per day as a habit ■ Focus on increasing network density around you
- 16. 3 / 5 Establish clear brand values
- 17. Establish clear brand values Codify the founding principles of the brand early to shape the community ethos (and ultimately the business) @brimer ■ GA: culture of reciprocity through a “I’m offering / I need” bulletin board ■ Daybreaker: culture of positivity and warmth in our music, check-in process, and closing remarks at each event
- 18. Establish clear norms and values @brimer 1. People before the machine 2. Learning by doing 3. Journey over destination General Assembly Daybreaker 1. Camaraderie 2. Wellness 3. Self-Expression 4. Mindfulness 5. Mischief
- 19. Create meaningful offline experiences 4 / 5
- 20. Create meaningful offline experiences @brimer ■ Think offline UX design! Create experiences that are magical and memorable. Engage people IRL. ■ Examples: ○ Take people to the edge of their comfort zone (7 am sober dance party, what?!) ○ Surprise and delight! Unexpected performances, spoken word, new locations ○ Intimate fireside chats with amazing people at General Assembly ■ People connect far more deeply offline than online ■ NPS (Net Promoter Score) as your north star
- 21. Balance curation with openness 5 / 5
- 22. Balance curation with openness @brimer ■ A tightly-curated membership yields quality, yet can be unwelcoming / too “clubby” to the outside ■ Examples: ○ GA: Workshops/events open to public, but membership/courses were selective ○ Daybreaker: Invite-only, password-protected events, avoided all PR… until we felt the community was strong enough, then opened it up more publicly
- 23. The Future of General Assembly & Daybreaker
- 24. The Future of GA & Daybreaker @brimer ■ General Assembly & Daybreaker are both about creating community at their core — and are doing so by focusing on building strong brands ■ Both organizations are empowering people transform their lives for the better, connect with like-minded peers, and pursue their inner calling ■ Without a strong brand, the communities wouldn’t be as loyal. Without a strong community, the brand wouldn’t be as valuable.
- 25. @brimer
- 26. ga.co @GA MATTHEW BRIMER CO-FOUNDER, GENERAL ASSEMBLY CO-FOUNDER, DAYBREAKER #hustlecon@brimer Twitter: @brimer Facebook: /brimer Instagram: /brimer daybreaker.com @dybrkr Thank You!