How developing a breakaway brand helped Gina Bianchini secure $67 million in funding for Mighty Networks
Gina Bianchini, Founder & CEO of Mighty Networks, a community-building tool, explains how they have grown to a team of more than 70 with an impressive funding raise. Gina discusses how Mighty Networks gives brands and creators a social space with no restrictions, and develops its product based on the needs of their customers. She explains that Mighty Networks isn't just competing with traditional social media by niching-down, but is taking on traditional website builders with features and user engagement they can't hope to match.
Key Points:
- Gina talks about how Mighty Networks adapted when their early customers were enterprise, rather than the SMBs or creators they were trying to attract (01.20)
- I give my thoughts on adapting to changing opportunities, and growth mindset (03:01)
- Gina talks about how they transitioned to their ideal customer base over time (05:00)
- Gina discusses how Mighty Networks specifically avoided competing with major social platforms by niching down and combining e-learning and community building tools (08:06)
- I give my thoughts on the value of having a voice and opinions as a brand (11:13)
- Gina talks about how they improve the product by rolling in requested features which fit their long-term brand strategy (12:45)
- Gina reveals how they have grown - and retained revenue - by building a flywheel of users joining a customer network, and then forming networks of their own (15:11)
- Gina reveals that their main inbound traffic comes from Google searches for website builders, not 'social media' or 'community' (16:34)
- We discuss how to avoid communities becoming ghost towns, keeping engagement high, and the value of a feeling of exclusivity, with additional thoughts from former Lattice VP of marketing, Alex Grech (17:57)
- I give my thoughts on forming breakaway brands which do things differently to create space in a crowded market (23:11)
- Gina discusses their B2B2C business model, and always doing the best for their customers, so they can give their customers in turn the best experience (24:27)
- I give my thoughts on being brand-first as a long-term competitive advantage (26:48)
- Gina talks about encouraging competition in the space to help build awareness among potential customers (28:54)
- Wrap up (32:25)
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