Building a "Community" for Entrepreneurs - StartupTalky

4 long years filled with more than 35000 hours of moderations, filters and the never dying urge to get the best for StartupTalky, We’ve come a long way. I still remember way back in 2015, when I added the first member to the Group, and today we’re a family of more than 115000 members. “More members, more ideas, more engagement was my goal, initially because a community thrives on people and I’m happy that we were able to achieve the feat over the years. Shoutout to the community for making this happen, I’m sure many of you think that we don’t see all the posts, and many members might think that their posts go unnoticed by me or the StartupTalky management team, but let me tell you, our team of Admins and Moderators not only goes through things posted in the group, but also all the comments, likes and shares in the group as well. We’ve been consistently filtering members and membership requests as well, to make sure that only the best of people thrive in the community. More than 9700 blocked members speaks volumes about the same.

We wanted to make StartupTalky as the largest self-driven community for Entrepreneurs, Doers, Startup Enthusiasts and Businesses. It is the vision and mission that I and my team wake up to, every single day. However before jumping on to the vision, let me tell you my definition of a community :

A community is like a family where we share ideas, happiness and pains, all under one roof. You can add your friends, family members and your near and dear ones to get better and personalized suggestions.

A community is like an institution to gain knowledge and learning to build communication, connectivity and interaction at a personal level, Appreciating someone's efforts will bring the best out of them.

A community is like a society where we try to live happily and peacefully. The right direction leading to the right paths with adequate feedback can do wonders!

A community is a democracy. Report any issue which you find offensive we will do our best to punish evil elements.

A community is a world where every member tries the best to make it a better place to exist and grow, in their own ways.

A community is your shop to get business with your skills and actions. Don't ask admins to refer you even for a commission without any proof of positive feedback.

And finally community is a place where you live and you won’t like to live in a place which does not help you grow in positive manner.

Some untold rules of a community that people won’t tell you :

1. Try to follow rules, regulations, principles and guidelines as initiated by the community, for the community.

2. Respect other members for no reason.

3. If a member is contributing/sharing something and your liked his idea/views, put a thumbs up or drop a positive comment. This will encourage him to contribute more and share more, which in turn will be helpful for you and the community. If you will ask me, liking a post is the same as silently high-fiving the speaker after his speech. If you genuinely like a post it, Leave a comment. Tell them how it made you feel.. What ideas it planted in your mind? How it  made you rethink about your point of view ?

4. If someone is giving his/her time and efforts to help you personally (even if it wasn’t helpful for you), be grateful to them and actively try to take their advice/suggestions. Appreciate him/her  for his efforts and helping you. You won't lose anything, But the concerned person will gain a lot, from you. So let’s not hesitate and build meaningful and real relationships.

Be the change that the community needs, to get better and bigger in their own terms.