Investment and time are required to establish a foundation for lasting community; members need to feel as if they have a shared emotional connection, not just an affinity toward a product or brand, but with each other. It’s rare to come across this collective third space that blends together the public and private, Gát said.

To spark your community, you got people together and helped them start talking. Stay with it! The missing ingredient in many would-be communities is dedication. We put on one-off events or annual fundraisers, but we don’t give potential community members the chance to keep showing up or to raise their hands to take on responsibilities.

I used to feel like a weird outlier for being so ambitious and optimistic — but when I go to things like the YC alumni reunion I feel surrounded by my people. @ycombinator is a community of builders who want to pull and lift humanity up, no matter how difficult or long the… Show more