The Creator Spotlight Podcast Ep. 61: She Lost Her Job. Then Built a Community of 10,000+ ft. Melanie Ehrenkranz
Jun 3, 2025
In a spirited conversation, Melanie Ehrenkranz, creator of the Laid Off newsletter and Discord community, shares her journey from losing her job to building a thriving support network for those facing layoffs. They explore the transformative power of community, the emotional experiences tied to job loss, and innovative monetization strategies that genuinely benefit members. Melanie also discusses the evolving role of LinkedIn in personal branding and the intriguing 'laid off to creator pipeline' that encourages creativity and entrepreneurship.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Laid Off Began Post-Processing
- Melanie started the Laid Off newsletter about a year after her layoff once she had bandwidth to process the experience.
- She was curious about people's intimate, human experiences after layoffs and wanted to share those stories.
Survey Revealed Therapeutic Sharing
- The initial survey for Laid Off received over 500 detailed responses quickly, showing a large interest in sharing layoff stories.
- Many found the process therapeutic and willingly shared even with their names attached.
Discord Expanded Community Interaction
- The Laid Off Discord started after readers wanted more nuanced interaction beyond Substack comments.
- It now hosts 850+ people with multiple channels like job advice, resume feedback, and sharing rejections.