Harnessing the Power of Curated C-Suite Communities with Greg Raiten of The Suite

Greg Raiten, a former lawyer and a co-founder at The Suite, a curated community-based platform for C-suite executives, joins Erik Torenberg to share the evolution of The Suite, from a side project that grew into a revenue-generating model through membership and sponsorships. They also discuss the process of building and scaling community-based businesses, effectiveness of paid memberships, and exploring future community expansion into other C-suite roles. — 🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse. — RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ Unpack Pricing - Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg __ SPONSOR: METAVIEW Metaview is the AI assistant for interviewing. Metaview completely removes the need for recruiters and hiring managers to take notes during interviews—because their AI is designed to take world-class interview notes for you. Team builders at companies like Brex, Hellofresh, and Quora say Metaview has changed the game—see the magic for yourself: https://www.metaview.ai/heretics _ LINKS: Explore the GC/legal community: https://www.lsuite.co Explore the CFO/finance community: https://www.fsuite.co Company website: https://www.thesuite.com Subscribe to the Media Empires Newsletter: https://media-empires.beehiiv.com/ — X / TWITTER: @eriktorenberg (Erik) @gregraiten (Greg) — TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (00:58) Greg's background and early career (03:17) Evolution of The Suite  (05:51) Vision and expansion (11:32) Business model (13:45) Community engagement and events (17:46) Online membership experience (20:22) Sponsor: Metaview (21:29) Sponsorship and revenue model (22:55) Challenges of future of events (28:44) Expanding professional communities (34:16) Building a network (35:49) Pricing strategies for community memberships (42:08) Scaling and fundraising (45:05) Future of paid vs. free communities (47:37) Successful community models (50:22) Wrap — This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.