From: gregisenberg
Building strong communities and networks is a valuable strategy for entrepreneurial success, offering personal support and fostering unexpected opportunities [44:59]. These groups provide a platform for sharing experiences, building trust, and counteracting the isolation that can come with the entrepreneurial journey [49:21].
The Value of Forums: EO and YPO
Entrepreneurial organizations like EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization) and YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) offer a structured “Forum” format that cultivates deep, trusted relationships [42:47].
Key aspects of these forums include:
- Comprehensive Sharing: Members meet monthly to share everything happening in their lives, including personal, family, and business matters [43:40].
- Confidentiality: A critical rule is that “nothing leaves the room,” fostering shared trust and enabling members to speak openly about sensitive issues [45:24].
- Bonding Through Adversity: Over time, members experience life’s challenges together—divorces, co-founder issues, payroll struggles, difficult employees—leading to deeply forged friendships [44:41]. This creates a “bonded Band of Brothers” [44:52].
- Shared Language: Entrepreneurs in these groups often have a “shared language” due to common business experiences, making it easier to connect and offer relevant support [45:46].
- “Everything Tastes Like Chicken”: The problems faced by entrepreneurs, regardless of their industry (e.g., mapping company, popsicle company, puzzle company), are often fundamentally similar [45:04]. Sharing these challenges with a group is highly rewarding [45:06].
“To have 20 or 30 people that are deep trust is like a really unique thing in this day and age… there’s definitely like an epidemic of loneliness where most people can’t name… two or three good friends that they have let alone 20.” [49:23]
New Opportunities in Community Building
The success of established groups suggests a broader opportunity to create more such communities [46:21].
- Targeted Subgroups: Groups can be formed around specific interests or even function as a form of “group therapy” [46:26]. Sam Parr’s “Hampton for entrepreneurs” is an example of a successful group targeting high-net-worth CEOs [46:35].
- Informal Rituals: Antonio Nevs’ “Man Mornings” exemplify a successful informal community that started with coffee and walks, demonstrating the bonding potential of shared morning rituals [47:49].
- Secular Churches: The concept of a “secular church”—a weekly event with a group of people and their families—aims to build community and counteract the decline of traditional social institutions [47:06]. This addresses a societal need for connection in an increasingly online world [47:27].
Beyond Financial Wealth: The “Friend Billionaire” Concept
While these communities may not always be direct money-makers, their value extends far beyond financial profit [49:42].
- Vibrant Life: The true desire for many is not just to be a financial billionaire, but a “friend billionaire”—to have a vibrant life, constantly meet new people, foster deep friendships, and be a “magnet for interesting people” [50:04].
- Opportunity Surface Area: Building a broad group of high-trust friends significantly increases one’s “opportunity surface area” [51:36]. This network can lead to future investors, early employees, or co-founders for new ventures [51:53].
- Positive Outcomes: Generally, “bad things don’t happen when you put yourself out there and you build a great group of friends and high trust” [52:05]. This focus on building deep social capital is considered “far more interesting than making money” [50:41].