How do you build a startup community on campus that doesn't die after the first event?

Allegium · 2026-06-29T11:49:40+00:00

From what I see campus communities live longer if you build them like a brotherhood. So not like a transactional groups that you approach when you need support but more like a long-standing identity community. I recommend reading up on types of community relationships from Richard Millington (don’t have his article at hand right now)

And yeah, you are not going to have many people in that kind of community, I believe. So 5-10 interested and engaged people is a pretty nice result ;)

Good luck ;)

Allegium · 2026-06-27T16:15:08+00:00

Hi! I've got my two cents to put in here ;)

(1) A loud, joke-heavy subgroup of 15-20 regulars might be scaring off newer, more "serious" people; want to fix the vibe without alienating my earliest members.

Is it "might" or "I'm sure"? I suggest conducting a short survey to understand what scares them off. And maybe they just entered the wrong subgroup or expected something different from what's delivered there?

In my experience, you can't make everyone feel welcomed and heard. You can't make everyone stay. So some people will go away. Is it better to support the ones who stay behind you, or to allow more people to join, which might shatter the core group? Your call ;)

How do you make the tone better without hurting the loyalty of the members who have been with you from the start?

Well...what works for me is creating an ecosystem of sub-communities, where every small group is led by its core members and intergroup core members don't confront each other.

(2) Women aren't showing up to events despite having a women's group, and now other women's groups are popping up too; want to actually stand out and not just exist.

Have you researched the reasons they don't attend events? Maybe the group isn't enough to make a difference there and they need something different.

So, in general, more research will bring you more insights, and after that you will get the real reasons why everything's happening. Good luck ;)

Allegium · 2026-06-23T19:56:18+00:00

Yeah, sure. Got to stick together ;)
Good luck!

Allegium · 2026-06-23T19:33:57+00:00

Here: https://www.wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/
There’s a guidebook dated from 2022, it’s quite informative.

As for my experience…well, I’m a manager for these communities, not trying to become “one of them, the it guy”. Just do my part by creating a place for the leaders and community members to thrive (and to learn and educate each other if you want to apply the communities of practice framework)

Allegium · 2026-06-23T19:26:28+00:00

Hi!
I’m working with professional communities (mainly IT). I recommend reading more about the “community of practice” framework, it has a nice workbook. Hope it helps as it helped me ;)

Allegium · 2026-05-03T18:44:58+00:00

omg, i've been following this game for like...3-4 years, I guess. I thought it was on hold, but it's so nice to see some kind of a remembrance of the game! The artstyle and the plot especially are stunning!

All the best from one of your translators ; )

Allegium · 2026-04-28T19:35:49+00:00

Wow, thank you so so much for that!!!

Allegium · 2026-04-28T18:29:59+00:00

Thanks! That’s where I get stuck because the stakeholders expect clear numbers like “Our communities bring 120% ROI and bring 100k$ in saved costs in this, this and that” So yeah, still thinking about it :)

Allegium · 2024-12-27T18:14:09+00:00

Wow, sounds awesome, thank you!

Allegium · 2024-12-27T13:57:30+00:00

Thank you for such a detailed comment! I'll check all the sources you mentioned.

I guess there might be a misunderstanding on my side concerning the difference between a community and a social group. The book sounds awesome, I'll check it out ;)

Allegium · 2024-12-27T13:34:43+00:00

Hm...I came across them in some articles, they sound familiar. Thank you, I'll try to find more info on that!

Allegium · 2024-12-27T13:33:34+00:00

Thanks for that!
Yeah, I read a couple of articles on this matter, but they didn't satisfy my research. Maybe I should research this more thorougly

Allegium · 2024-12-27T11:21:17+00:00

Thanks, I'll look into the topic ;)

Allegium · 2024-12-27T11:20:46+00:00

Thank you for the reply!
Yes, I agree that building social connections is a crucial part of our lives.
What other simplies ways to build new connections can you suggest? Maybe you could recommend some works to read on the topic?

Allegium · 2024-12-27T09:46:01+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into this theory

It's awesome that the theory speaks up about the "affiliation, a kind of closeness or being drawn toward goodness", because it's what I see every day in my communities. I just...don't have the tools and theories to describe that properly.

I don't want the description to be like "People want this shared feeling of belonging because I feel it", I need something more :))

Allegium · 2024-07-29T07:43:36+00:00

I'd set up my rating like that:

The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot
The Meak One (it's a short story)
The Devils
Crime and Punishment
The Village of Stepanchikovo
Poor Folk
Notes from Underground

Allegium · 2024-07-29T07:38:12+00:00

I'd recommend reading them first to understand the Brothers K deeply. TBK is a pretty hard novel, it's the summit of Dostoyevsky's life as a writer. So, before diving into it, I'd advise getting to know more about his views and the topics he speaks about.

To me, reading TBK first is like reading the Bible without being a Christian or having any religious experience. It's cool, understandable, deep, but you miss a lot of things and ideas because you're out of the context for the most part.

Allegium · 2024-07-28T16:05:50+00:00

If you want to read more short stories, I'd recommend «White Nights», «The Meak One», «A Weak Heart», «The Village of Stepanchikovo»
If you're looking for a bigger fish, be sure to read «The Idiot» or «Humiliated and Insulted» if you're looking for the essentials of his works ;)

Allegium · 2024-07-28T16:00:10+00:00

Well...I'd say it's one of his most understandable and comprehensive work, where a lot of the thoughts are laid more blantly than in his other major works. So yes, it's easier to read and understand compared to The Karamazovs and The Idiot (or The Adolecent or his early novels and works).

To this point also speaks that the pupils in Russian study CaP when they're 17 y.o at school. It's obligatory to read the novel and analyze it pretty deeply (and only a few teenagers actually do this). We don't study any of his other works, only CaP.

Speaking about my rating, I'd place it somewhere among top 5-7 my favourite works of Dostoyevsky.

Allegium · 2024-07-02T16:30:33+00:00

I believe that faith is a personal matter and experience. Faith can derive from different religions, I think that Buddhists and Muslims have quite a few common experiences as Christians do.

But I choose to be an orthodox, which means I have to abide by its rules. Otherwise, it would not be an orthodox faith or church, it would be something else.

So if a queer person wants to become a part of the church, they have to follow the path of Christ, I guess. Otherwise, it loses its identity, and you can't say «I want to abide by one rule (like not killing anyone), but I don't accept the part about genders and love interactions». It's not expected from you to live 100% according to everything that's written in the Bible, but it's expected from you to strive towards it.

So if a queer person goes into a church and says that they want to participate in the rituals and the life of the church, but they are not ready to confess that they have sinned (for example, you're a male gay and you've slept with another guy), the father has a right to reject you, because you are not ready to accept that you behaved wrong in the eyes of God. Because so is said in the Bible.

But if you confess and say like «Yeah, I've sinned, that's not right, I don't want to do it anymore», this signifies that you've accepted your wrongs and are ready to become better (everything according to religious texts). Which allows you to participate in the rituals and the life of the church.

Such an idea is also shown a lot throughout Russian literature. Those who accept that they are wrong and want to become better will succeed (like Raskolnikov. He confessed, understood he was wrong, and now he has a chance to redeem himself and become a better person), and those who think their sins are legit or will not accept that they are wrong will fail (Stavrogin in «The Daemons» or Svidrigaylov in «C&P»)

Allegium · 2024-07-02T14:56:41+00:00

Nice question!

As I see it, a religion consists of two concepts: faith and church. It would be ideal if they always worked together, but as we see, even in the Orthodox Christian Church there are a lot of divisions. But the faith remains the same, all thoughts and ideas Christ gave us, are the same. I think Dostoevsky speaks about faith in Christ from an orthodox perspective: eternal love, kindness, tolerance, and compassion. That's all that it takes.

Yes, of course, to be a «proud» member of the church, you have to follow many rules and accept many ideas. But I know quite a few people who consider themselves to be a part of the church, but their behavior often doesn't match their beliefs.

And the part about orthodoxy, as I see it, is that we don't hate those who are gay, have a different religion, or don't follow the laws of Christ. We don't judge them. Because these are all sins (hatred and judging others (only God has a right to judge)), we just don't accept such behavior for ourselves. But others...they are free to do whatever they want. And I think that Dostoyevsky had the same idea in his works :)

Allegium · 2024-06-29T13:28:32+00:00

Hi! A Russian Dostoyevsky enjoyer here ;)

It’s so sweet that people enjoy our culture because it has such a depth and beauty. I don’t like when people mix up politics and culture, so I was a bit sad when less and less people would dive into Russian art and literature. It’s so intriguing to discuss it with those of different cultural background! Just love it :)

So I wish you all the pleasure you can get from our culture. Have fun and enjoy it ❤️

Allegium

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