Marketing is talking to your people and community is building with your people.
— Max Pete
I don’t love Max because he’s a Phillies fan (although the boys are in first place!) but he’s the kinda guy you meet once, and it feels like you’ve known him for years.
This is rare. I don’t take it for granted.
Max’s authenticity shines through in his journal-style writing via Sunday Thoughts.
It’s a raw, once a week snapshot of life.
I got a lot of inspiration from my friend and mentor Dan Mall this week, reminding me to just do the thing. Stop being so in my head or having to worry about the perfect process. If you have an idea, execute on it. I needed this reminder and sharing this here in case anyone else needs the same.
Max is a community builder and after years at Square he created his own gig out of thin air and landed at the fintech startup Origin.
We dove into things like:
Why Max Writes on Substack and the Evolution of Online Communities
Why some writers want to start fresh on Substack and be “the new kid at school”
How he’d bootstrap Reddit in 2025 and get the first 100 users
The difference between subscribers and community members
The challenge with AI generated comments
Why it’s critical to keep a “wins” folder handy
What Substack is missing from a community perspective
A peak at Substack's Algorithm and why engagement matters
Many thanks to
, , , and many others for tuning into our live session!We’ll see you next week with
.— Daniel
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