{"type":"video","version":"1.0","html":"<iframe src=\"https://www.loom.com/embed/3360a8bf4ba2445789e80910f3b6e249\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>","height":1440,"width":1920,"provider_name":"Loom","provider_url":"https://www.loom.com","thumbnail_height":1440,"thumbnail_width":1920,"thumbnail_url":"https://cdn.loom.com/sessions/thumbnails/3360a8bf4ba2445789e80910f3b6e249-df41d50d8acf2e6f.gif","duration":3992.221,"title":"4 Types of Communities OGC","description":"Bri Leever led an interactive masterclass defining community and a simple matrix (free vs paid, education vs connection) to help designers align community strategy with business models. The session reviewed four community types (Agora, Nurturing, Transformative, Nexus), their pros and cons, and real examples, and then moved into member questions about measuring value and global trends. Next steps and resources were shared, including a launch roadmap, a short workshop series, platform recommendations, and follow-up content links.\n\n### Meeting introduction 0:00\n\n- Bri Leever opened the session, confirmed the recording, welcomed participants, and described the format as interactive and discussion-based.\n- Bri introduced herself as a community strategist and founder of Ember who helps coaches, consultants, and community entrepreneurs launch and grow community-powered businesses.\n- Bri explained the session goals, which include defining community, presenting the four types of communities and their business implications, and addressing two common myths while noting this talk is part of a larger masterclass with follow-up resources.\n\n### Community definition framework 7:25\n\n- Bri defined community as people who have identified as members of a group that gathers for connection, education, and a common purpose, and emphasized the importance of shared identity in the definition.\n- Bri clarified what community is not by stating that an audience, following, email list, webinar series, or standalone Q&A forum do not by themselves constitute a community.\n- Bri introduced a simple two‑axis framework for business-aligned communities: free versus paid, and education‑centric versus connection‑centric, and she advised builders to consider where their community sits on both axes relative to their business model.\n- Bri explained that education value comes from a guided curriculum and connection value comes from the container (rituals, cadence, events), and she noted that beginners often need education while more mature members often seek connection.\n\n### Connection-centric communities 17:47\n\n- Bri described Agora communities as free, connection-centric spaces that support loyal customers and fans, and she noted that these communities are low friction to join but often difficult to drive commitment, technology adoption, and to prove ROI.\n- Bri gave examples of Agora communities, including BuyNothing, Slumberkins, and the Lego Ideas community, and she observed these communities frequently live on social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Slack, or Telegram.\n- Bri defined Nexus communities as paid, connection-centric memberships or networking groups where the connections between members are the product, and she said these communities are sticky when they work, are easier to monetize, and are harder to measure for member impact and to launch without an existing group.\n- Bri used OGC and The Upside as examples of Nexus communities and highlighted that Nexus communities often resist new technology until they are clearly delivering strong value.\n\n### Education-centric communities 23:23\n\n- Bri described Nurturing communities as free, education-centric groups that often sit under customer success for product-based businesses and that are easier to join and to track for specific learning outcomes but can struggle to generate sustained peer engagement.\n- Bri noted common examples of nurturing communities such as Notion, HubSpot, Figma, and Etsy seller communities, and she suggested these communities can be good partnership opportunities for coaches and consultants.\n- Bri described Transformative communities as paid, education-centric cohort or cohort-based programs where communal learning is the product, and she said these communities are easy to market on outcomes, are highly measurable for impact, and are the most willing to adopt new platforms. \n- Bri cautioned that transformative communities can create member dependence on the creator or curriculum and that cohorts are often time‑bound by design; she cited Alt‑MBA, Maven, and The Lab as examples and accepted Christine Alemany's example of an AI learning community that uses a free workshop funnel into further paid offerings.\n\n### Q&a and next steps 56:42\n\n- During Q&A participants asked about geographic differences in paid community trends, and Bri responded that paid communities are increasing especially in more post-industrial nations while acknowledging variability by region and by the nature of the organizing group. \n- A participant asked how to evaluate whether a paid or free community meets promises, and Bri recommended members pick two concrete outcomes they expect, use those to guide participation, and prompt reflection at 30 days and at a longer interval to assess change. \n- Bri offered practitioner guidance and resources, announcing Ember's free newsletter and a five‑milestone launch/pivot community roadmap, plus an upcoming three‑workshop series called Couch to Connection which functions as a short accelerator. \n- Bri shared platform guidance by naming Circle and Heartbeat as the two platforms she builds on most, mentioned clients using Mighty Networks and Kajabi, and pointed participants to her YouTube playlist comparing community platforms and to specific podcast episodes for deeper reading."}