"Product-led communities vary along two primary vectors: the time horizon (immediate consumption vs. long-term investment) against which the user is seeking to achieve a goal, and the amount of friction required to participate in the community."

"A goal that is far in the distance with long feedback loops, requires greater patience and persistence, making it harder to reach. For high-investment, long-term pursuits, community can provide users with the feedback, inspiration and motivation they need to keep going."

"No doubt communities exist in these categories, but we don’t expect to see as many deeply committed communities built around short-term, consumption-driven pursuits."

"At the heart of the most successful product-led communities is the idea that community makes the product or experience better than the alternative."

"The eBay cafe, built alongside AuctionWeb (eBay’s original monniker) was a vibrant, eclectic community of collectors, sellers, and internet junkies who wanted a place to gather and connect"

"“What we’re doing is building a place where people can come together…they just happen to be coming together around trading”."

"We see this playing out in five major buckets:"

"Health and wellness"

"Professional"

"Education"

"Hobbies"

"Personal life"

"Starbucks, which, of course, sells coffee, but built its business around being the “third place” where people gather and connect."

"UGC platforms often resort to ad-based models"

"Community as the core value proposition"

"In our research, we identified three archetypes for communities: 1) community is the core value proposition, 2) constituents create the core value proposition, community enhances it; and 3) companies create the core value proposition, community enhances it"

"Constituents create core value proposition, community enhances it."

"users come to engage with a product or service, rather than a community of individuals"

"The key difference between this category and the first is that if users of a platform such as Facebook or Linkedin become inactive, their value erodes over time"

"Product creates core value proposition, community enhances it"

"These companies create connections among individuals, usually around a shared goal."

"As well-intentioned as they may be, community-oriented platforms that generate the majority of their revenue from ads will inevitably face tradeoffs between revenue growth and the quality of the customer experience, which eats away at the sanctity of the community."

"The next generation of online communities will not face tradeoffs between creating authentic community and monetizing it."

"Because of their business model, product led communities are better suited to build meaningful communities that deliver value to both shareholders and society."

"Misaligned incentives have led to trust issues"

"These future outcomes can be individual (better health, professional advancement, cultivation of skills or hobbies, or overcoming a struggle, such as an illness, divorce, loss of a loved one, etc.); team-centric (sports, startups, nonprofits, etc.); or societal (changing norms, mainstreaming marginalized ideas or identities, enacting legislative change, etc.)."

"“It used to be that people were born as part of a community, and had to find their place as individuals. Now people are born as individuals, and have to find their community.”"

"Authentic communities provide a sense of trust, safety, and belonging; they are critical for the health of individuals, neighborhoods, companies and democracies"

"What’s unique about product-led communities is that they orient around a product or service that helps people achieve a valuable future outcome."

"As commitment to religion wanes, people are looking for other forms of belief and belonging."

"Consumers are searching for ways to truly connect with others online."

"Young people are comfortable forging online-only or online-first relationships."

"Product-led communities, on the other hand, don’t face the same tradeoffs between creating an authentic community and serving and monetizing it."

"Today’s consumers want to buy from brands that take a stand on social issues they care about and share a similar sense of purpose."