Branding Matters How to Build a Brand Community - Natalie O'Leary & Savannah Dmytriw
Dec 5, 2025
Savannah Dmytriw, a brand strategist and merch marketing expert known as 'Merch Girlie,' and Natalie O'Leary, a business development leader, are co-founders of Co-Creative Exchange (CCX). They reveal how CCX was born from online connections and an impromptu Vegas meetup. Learn how they transformed challenges into lessons, from defining identity to managing rapid growth. Their insights on creating a noncompetitive space and actionable steps for building a thriving brand community will inspire anyone eager to connect and collaborate.
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From Webinar To Real-World Meetup
- CCX began organically from an industry webinar and a Las Vegas happy hour where 20–25 people showed up.
- That informal gathering revealed strong demand and sparked the decision to formalize the community.
Create Governance Before Scaling
- Build a governing board and define a mission before scaling a community to create structure and clarity.
- Establish roles and lanes to avoid chaos when exciting ideas start to multiply.
Demand Before Product Requires Discipline
- Demand can exist before the product is defined, forcing founders to invent structure fast.
- Walking before you run ensures the community's foundation survives rapid momentum.