how to build a community team within a larger company

1. Building a Community Team
Cindy Au, VP Community, Kickstarter // @shinyee_au

2. What makes for a
great Community
professional?

3. 42%
19%
22%
17%
Teaching Waiting tables
Writing Worrying
=
Community professional

4. A brief history of Community
at Kickstarter, 2009-2014

5. 0M
3M
5M
8M
10M
13M
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Kickstarter users
Community team
7
14
18
23
30
2

6. Who is Kickstarter’s
Community Team?

7. 0 2.25 4.5 6.75 9 11.25
Literature
Music
Gender Studies
Film
Political Science
History
Art
Journalism
Communications
Psychology
Library Science
Law
Computer…
Design
Culinary School
Invented Major
Dropped out
College Majors
English majors
=
Unemployable,
or highly
qualified
community
professionals?

8. Founded companies // worked at literary
agencies //
published cookbooks // created award-winning
RPGs // waited tables // composed space
operas // played roller derby // programmed self-
playing musical instruments // coached chess //
drawn comics // written a thesis titled “Good
Bush, Bad Bush”
Collectively, we have:

10. What do you look
for
in a community
hire?

11. Outstanding
writing &
communication
skills

12. Humility,
Empathy,
Adaptability

13. Intellectually
curious &
creative

14. Sense of
Humor

15. Part of
your
Community

16. Meet Natalie, from our
community support team (also
pizzercise expert)

17. How will your
community team
evolve over time?

18. Community
Support
Editorial Events
Outreach &
Marketing
Communication
s & PR
Project
Review
Fresh Direct
Trust &
Safety
From all of this...

19. Community
Support
Community
Engagement
Trust & Safety
...to this

20. Community
Operations
Support
T&S
Payments
?
Community
Engagement
Education
Teams/Mentors
Events
?
Community
Content &
Policy
...to this

21. ?
to…

22. What is the future of
community in your
company?

23. Community is a
discipline and a
practice

24. Community
is a core
value

25. `
Community is still in
flux

26. It’s in your hands.