Experiment report: Friends of 1RG (and an announcement)

1RG is a container for experiments. Some of them are smaller in scope and self contained, like the Summer Fellowship, and others become mainstays, like Community Dinner. Regardless of what happens to them in the long term, they always teach us something, and often evolve with us – for example, Community Dinners evolved from weekly events to a monthly tradition to be more sustainable.

Friends of 1RG is one such experiment, and as I reviewed my notes to reflect on the program, I realized it'd be fun to use an experimental design template.

Background
By summer 2024, 1RG researchers observed a group of folks who were regular attendees of Community Dinner, but didn't seem interest in membership. A handful of 1:1 conversations, suggested the group valued social connections, and wanted to support 1RG but had no need for co-working.

Hypothesis

• h1: 1RG is more about bringing people together and building community than providing a shared work space.
• h2: Folks in our community see this effort, value it, and want to support it.

Methodology
Launch "Friends of 1RG", a minimum viable program which offers:

• early bird access to Community Dinners
• insider updates on 1RG (including financial reports)
• yearly appreciation event

Measure sign-up rates as proxy for community buy-in.

Results
So many Friends signed up that we were actually a little surprised.

Discussion
Results support our hypothesis that 1RG is more about its people than it is about desks. Our extended community demonstrated they want to financially support community building, which suggests either we've built some serious trust together, or we accidentally stumbled into excellent alignment between what we're offering and what people actually want.

Conclusion
Friends of 1RG was a total success. It validated our hypothesis about the value we're building together, but honestly, it also gave us confidence to take more risks and try more community-focused experiments, such as the incubator (which is wrapping up its first batch on June 26th with an awesome demo day).

Future work: New Friends

Given the success of the first experimental iteration, we decided make Friends official and expand its benefits. Inspired by the ridiculously cute animals wandering around Toronto, we're introducing new Friends, with additional benefits.

What kind of Friend are you going to be?

A celebration of Friends

This past weekend we hosted our first Brunch with Friends.

La Kasbah Del Sol treated us to an incredible Moroccan brunch complete with tea ceremony and we heard from some of the 1RG incubator participants who shared their vision and optimism for what Toronto can be!

Here are some pics from the day.