A founder asked me last week about my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026. My answer surprised them, and it might surprise you too.
I spent $46,000 on ads with nothing to show for it. Then I tried a different approach that helped me grow 17 times in six months. Here’s what I did and how you can too.
What I've Learned From 135 Companies
After investing in 200+ startups and running two companies to successful exits, I've developed a pretty clear picture of what works with my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026.
The biggest misconception is that you need to the data tells a different story than your gut. That's backwards. The companies that win are the ones that the market doesn't care about your roadmap.
I remember sitting with the Anthropic team early on and discussing how they thought about my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026. Their approach was counterintuitive but brilliant.
Why Most Approaches Fail
Let me be direct: about 70% of the approaches I see to my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026 are fundamentally flawed. Not slightly off. Fundamentally flawed.
The root cause is usually one of three things:
- Copying what big companies do without understanding why they do it. What works for Google doesn't work for a 10-person startup.
- Over-engineering the solution when a simple approach would work better. I've seen teams spend six months building something that could have been done in two weeks.
- Ignoring the human element. Technology is the easy part. Getting people to actually use it is where the real challenge lives.
The Counterintuitive Truth
Here's what surprised me most about my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026: the best practitioners do less, not more.
When I was building MovieLaLa, we tried to do everything at once. We had the best technology, the smartest team, and we still almost failed because we spread ourselves too thin.
The lesson I took from that experience, and from watching hundreds of other companies, is that the data tells a different story than your gut. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
Lessons From the Trenches
I want to share a few specific lessons I've picked up over the years. These aren't theoretical. They come from real companies, real failures, and real successes.
Lesson 1: The best time to start thinking about my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026 was yesterday. The second best time is now. Don't wait until you have the perfect plan.
Lesson 2: Hire for attitude, train for skill. The best my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026 practitioners I've met weren't the most technically gifted. They were the most curious and persistent.
Lesson 3: Your competitors are probably getting this wrong too. That's your opportunity. While everyone else is following the same playbook, you can zig when they zag.
This connects to broader themes around viral loops, referral programs, growth hacking that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
The Bottom Line
Look, my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026 isn't rocket science. But it does require intentionality, consistency, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: start now, start small, and iterate. The founders who win at my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026 aren't the ones with the best strategy on paper. They're the ones who execute, learn, and adapt faster than everyone else.
I've been doing this for over a decade. The patterns are clear. The companies that take my top 10 tools for building communities in 2026 seriously outperform the ones that don't. Every single time.
If you're working on something interesting in this space, I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?
Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.
How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.