The Creator Spotlight Podcast Ep. 54: She built a 150K-member, $1M/year community ft. Grace Ling
Apr 15, 2025
This week, Grace Ling, founder of Design Buddies, shares her journey in building a massive online community of over 150,000 designers. She discusses the secret to maintaining a healthy, engaged community while generating $1 million annually. Grace highlights the untapped potential of LinkedIn for growth and explores innovative networking strategies using 'Riz.' The conversation also dives into monetization methods, emphasizing the importance of genuine connections in the creator economy. Tune in for insights on community dynamics and effective revenue diversification!
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Origin Story of Design Buddies
- Grace Ling started Design Buddies from her daughter's social circle in Facebook groups and directly invited hundreds to a chaotic chat, then created a Discord the next day.
- She built the community organically by hosting fun Zoom design sessions during COVID.
Grace's Career Shift Story
- Grace Ling experienced imposter syndrome changing careers from bioengineering to design and faced gatekeeping in existing design communities.
- To combat that, she created a welcoming, fun Discord community where everyone felt included.
Maintaining Healthy Communities
- Maintain community health by appointing friendly, active moderators to remove spam and guide conversations without turning spaces promotional.
- Encourage permeable social cliques to form to foster culture but keep communities welcoming for newcomers.