Greg Isenberg

A scene with language, rituals, and a rising census — creators in a new tool, a job title that did not exist, a subculture going mainstream.

1. 01Watch where screenshots and in-jokes start repeating.
2. 02Ask whether these people already pay for status, tools, or access.
3. 03Prefer niches with a clubhouse gap — lots of content, no home.
4. 04Skip scenes you are unwilling to hang out in.

Start with the gathering. Software is optional until the gathering has a repeated job. Media can be the first product.

1. 01Host a room before you ship a feature.
2. 02List the jobs the scene still does in spreadsheets and group chats.
3. 03Charge for belonging or for a workflow — be explicit which.
4. 04Keep the first version social enough that members recruit members.

YouTube, Twitter, and conversations as the radar and the invite. Pre-launch is hanging out in public.

1. 01Publish the map of the scene so people can find themselves in it.
2. 02Invite operators, not tourists.
3. 03Let the audience name what they want built.
4. 04Collect emails / Discord joins as the real waitlist.

Open the clubhouse. A product launch without a room is just a landing page. A room with a SKU is a business.

1. 01Launch to the people who already talk there.
2. 02Make members the first case studies.
3. 03Use unscalable onboarding — intros, roles, rituals.
4. 04Avoid performance-marketing a community that is still forming.

Scenes evolve. Stay the clubhouse while spinning products. The studio model is just this, repeated.

1. 01Protect culture or the moat becomes a list of emails.
2. 02Spin the next product from repeated jobs, not from boredom.
3. 03Keep a public radar so new people can still arrive.
4. 04Measure belonging (retention, contribution), not just top-of-funnel.