Skool Stories The Secret to Skool's Success (Sam Ovens Interview)
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Dec 18, 2025 
Sam Ovens, Co-Founder and CEO of Skool, shares insights on building passionate online communities. He reflects on the inspiring rock from Sedona that reshaped his vision for Skool, advocating for passion-driven ventures over quick profits. Sam discusses the platform's growth challenges and the introduction of a $9 plan to empower hobbyists. He emphasizes intimacy with customers as a guiding principle and the importance of simplicity in product design. With humor and heart, he illustrates how quirks and community engagement can lead to genuine connections.
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Growth Reveals Hidden Trade-Offs
- Rapid growth exposes trade-offs: success can amplify problems if incentives misalign.
- Doubling down on the wrong growth model can harm reputation and long-term effectiveness.
Passion Before Profit
- Starting with passion then adding money produces better outcomes and happier creators.
- When creators chase only money the product and buyers receive less genuine value.
Design For Intention Over Scroll
- Design for intentional, not compulsive, user behavior by avoiding feed-like scrolling and engagement-first algorithms.
- Prioritize context and shared interests to recreate early-internet quality interactions.