Thread by @mariodgabriele

It’s here.

After months of building, the new, revamped, reimagined Generalist is ready. I can’t wait to show you.

Here’s what it means.

readthegeneralist.com

*How did this get started?*

In August of last year, shortly after going full-time, I decided The Generalist needed a permanent home. Something that captured the vision for all the great things I thought would come out of this community.

I set to work.

You can hear more about building the new site in the tweets below. Of course, if you’re excited to jump straight in, and become a member, you can do so here.

readthegeneralist.com

*What was the plan?*

Launch by the end of September. Here’s the email I sent to The Braintrust (the awesome folks that have agreed to give their advice on this little venture).

- 15K subscribers
- New site
- New membership
- New community

*How did you do?*

I failed on all four.

By the end of September, I had +11K subscribers — 15K had been a stretch, so that was good with me. But I also had no site, no membership, and no permanent community home.

*Why did it take so long?*

Fair question. Really two reasons.

1. I can be a perfectionist in the (actually) bad way. Sometimes you just need to ship.

2. I was scared. For real.

Writing for free feels like it protects you, insulates you from criticism.

*What changed?*

Two things.

1. We got the site into a place I’m really excited about. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.

2. At a certain point, you realize that being Free is holding you back. You’re stopping yourself from making your work a sustainable business.

*How did you build it?*

With help.

I couldn’t have done this w/o @joaopaulots + @arianavmac. @theabbaspage was a great addition on design. And @jasonwbade was insanely supportive. He was answering messages at every hour to make things work.

I’m so grateful to them all.

*Ok, but what tools did you use to build it?*

- The site is built on @webflow
- The membership is managed by @tryPico
- The emails are (still) managed by @ConvertKit
- The community is built on @CircleApp

We used @zapier to help the pieces synch up.

*What has changed?*

The big thing is there are now 3 tiers on The Generalist.

- Free
- Premium
- Believer

Free get 1 briefing a month, IPO reports, startup ideas + summarized interviews.

Premium gets 4 briefings a month, deeper IPO reports, extra ideas + community access.

*What about the Believers?*

The Believers are lunatics of goodwill. Those that see someone dancing, alone on a hill-top and want to be the first to join.

Believers get 5 yrs of membership at a steep discount, access to select channels + events, and unlock extra surprises ;)

*Tell me more about the community?*

This is the home for The Generalist’s most thoughtful, curious members. The place we jam on new startup ideas, discuss investment strategies, and riff on tech.

Premium and Believers unlock access via application.

*Why is there an application?*

I thought a lot about this. I take building the community, our patch of pixels, v. seriously.

Without curation + care, it could become noisy, unsuited for thoughtful discussion. I will personally review every application + add people each week.

Ok, but what’s the big vision here?

This is the beginning. What I really hope the Generalist becomes — and I believe it is becoming already — is an invisible city.

A shared space to learn, grow, and build together.

readthegeneralist.com/briefing/big-a…

*Tell me more…*

@cpaik said it well in @nbt's newsletter…

“The next big thing in 2021 is people realizing that serendipity happens more in our digital worlds...than in the analog one."

There are things we lose, certainly. But much connection can be captured virtually.

*How can I help?*

Thank you. That you’re spending time reading this already means a lot.

Though creator-businesses are low cost, they are not *no* cost. By becoming a member, you help me cover expenses, and allow me to keep pushing to make it better.

readthegeneralist.com/membership

*Any other ways?*

Definitely.

Launches are usually good days to share the word and get new people excited about something. If this resonates with you, I’d really appreciate you RT’ing and sharing with a few friends.

That is it.

I feel incredibly lucky that I get to make building The Generalist my life’s work. And I cannot wait for all the good we can do together in the days ahead.

Come say hello.

readthegeneralist.com