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.

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

3. New York — 2009

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.

7. New York — 2013

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

9. The Answer? Daybreaker

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!