Coach for community leaders and execs. Not really on X much anymore but sometimes I pop in to see what people are yelling about these days.
NY
Joined July 2008
- Tweets73.6K
- Following553
- Followers29.2K
- Likes42.8K
David Spinks retweeted
What’s really fueling the way you build?
@DavidSpinks breaks down “dirty fuel” — and why founders may need to look more closely at the fear, pressure, or scarcity underneath their ambition.
🎥 Forbes Councils Sessions with @ryanpaugh
David Spinks retweeted
Shared values aren't enough for true belonging. What matters is feeling safe enough to be exactly who you are.
@DavidSpinks built @CMX, wrote the book Business of Belonging, and became one of the defining voices of the community-building industry in Silicon Valley.
Watch the full conversation with @DerekjAndersen. Link in the replies.
David Spinks retweeted
True belonging is knowing that a group of people will hold you in a relationship no matter what mistakes you make, with accountability, but without ever letting go.
@DavidSpinks co-founded @CMX, helped define the community-building industry in Silicon Valley, and wrote the book Business of Belonging.
In conversation with @DerekjAndersen.
Link in the replies.
David Spinks retweeted
Most people ask how much to sacrifice for their dreams.
The better question is what's really driving that ambition in the first place.
@DavidSpinks co-founded @CMX, helped define the community-building industry in Silicon Valley, and wrote the book Business of Belonging.
Watch the full conversation with @DerekjAndersen. Link in the replies.
David Spinks retweeted
Today we are announcing The Consciousness Foundation (CoFo.org), a public charity whose purpose is to advance the scientific understanding of consciousness and foster consciousness development, ie things like awakening, healing, and inner development.
Why?
David Spinks retweeted
2 hours into Downshift’s Annual Review exercise. Enjoying the reflection.
davidspinks.substack.com/p/l… by @DavidSpinks
David Spinks retweeted
Six months ago, I launched Downshift, the world’s first decelerator program, designed to help high performers navigate life’s pivotal transitions and discover what’s next.
Today, I’m excited to share the next evolution of Downshift and introduce our Fall '24 cohort.
Our program is tailored for professionals who’ve reached the summit of success yet yearn for deeper meaning and impact. Our Spring '24 Downshifters included post-exit founders, institutional investors, a Google engineer, an AI researcher from OpenAI, a SpaceX executive, and the first employee at Stripe, among other extraordinary individuals.
We’ve crafted a rich tapestry of wisdom, practices, and rituals within our program, offering weekly virtual workshops, group coaching, and much more.
This Fall, we're expanding our curriculum to a 10-week program with deeper integration of Downshift practices, new guest lecturers, and a 3-day in-person retreat designed to deepen the experience and connection of our Downshifters. It all begins on Tuesday, October 8th, at the Eldred Preserve in the Catskills of New York.
I’m also thrilled to welcome two phenomenal coaches to our team: Tracy Lawrence (@chewishgirl) and @DavidSpinks. Both are experienced founders and coaches who have successfully navigated their own transitions and healing journeys after exiting their companies. They bring fresh perspectives, deep insights, and a wealth of experience to our program. Joining us will also be my apprentice, @matt__yao, whose support will be invaluable.
Our new website is now live, marking Downshift’s transition from solely offering our decelerator program to becoming a full-spectrum coaching company. We’re now offering 1:1 coaching and have plans to introduce even more services next year. This is just the beginning of our vision to evolve into a multi-product and services company supported by a community of skilled coaches and practitioners.
At Downshift, we believe that navigating change and transition requires new ways of thinking and being—especially for high performers who have spent years, if not decades, focused on speed, execution, and outcomes. Downshift isn’t about giving up ambition; it’s about intentional deceleration to deepen your connection with yourself and enrich your experience of life.
In a rapidly accelerating world, we believe in the power of slowing down. At Downshift, our mission is to help high performers navigate transition with intention, clarity, and self-compassion. We’re here to help you slow down and recalibrate, so you can move forward with newfound purpose, alignment, and aliveness.
We hope you'll join us on this journey. To learn more, visit our new website or apply for the Fall cohort. If you have any questions, join our Q&A session on Friday, September 6th at 12pm ET—we’d love to connect with you.
downshift.me/
David Spinks retweeted
after seeing some 800~ events take place at The Commons i've learned 3 things:
1) plausible deniability: if you say we're here to make friends, friendship doesn't happen. if you say we're here to research or talk about niche topic x and y, friendships always form. same applies to dating.
2) communities are built from strong 1-1 relationships. as an event host, optimize for as much 1-1 time before, during, and after events. if ppl see 2 or 3 people they know deeply at the space on any given day, that's what keeps them coming back.
2) events are just the filters. the point of events is not the event itself, but what happens after the event ends. people lingering around to connect is where actual friendships form. by keeping the space open for that vs. asking people to leave, you enable these connections to happen.
David Spinks retweeted
My buddy, @davidspinks, started a few companies and is now offering founder coaching.
He's one of the strongest community builders I know, really understands the ups and downs of founder life.
Drop him a DM if interested. Mine are also open if you have questions. :)
David Spinks retweeted
Happening today!
Tune in live to chime in and ask questions with me and @DavidSpinks
Somehow I convinced @DavidSpinks to join me for a live session ✨ David is an impressive community leader + author of The Business of Belonging.
Happening Monday, June 10th
11:30 am PST / 2:30 pm EST
Join us for a live discussion where we'll talk shop on startups, community, IRL, and the future of how we'll connect as humans.
Register to attend: app.getriver.io/events/live-…
David Spinks retweeted
Somehow I convinced @DavidSpinks to join me for a live session ✨ David is an impressive community leader + author of The Business of Belonging.
Happening Monday, June 10th
11:30 am PST / 2:30 pm EST
Join us for a live discussion where we'll talk shop on startups, community, IRL, and the future of how we'll connect as humans.
Register to attend: app.getriver.io/events/live-…
David Spinks retweeted
What's your favorite example of community-led growth?
Ideally, looking for examples of companies that leveraged community as a core part of their customer growth strategy.
David Spinks retweeted
Some personal thoughts I drafted after conversations with dozens of American Jews over the past 72hrs.
If this resonates, pls like/retweet.
David Spinks retweeted
What's the secret to a thriving community?
We loved hearing @DavidSpinks' perspective in our recent Spaces. We particularly enjoyed this example for Disney World's inception.
You can catch the replay here: xitter.cf/MyBFF/status/169408446…
David Spinks retweeted
The worst thing you can do is to launch a community and hope that engagement will be happening on its own
"I've created the discussion spaces"
"I started accountability groups"
"I'm hosting calls"
But still, your community looks like a zombie - not dead nor alive
The reason for that is that you need to cultivate engagement habits & culture inside your community
@DavidSpinks gave me a perfect reminder in his wonderful book about this yesterday...
"It's easy to ignore mass requests. It's almost impossible to ignore the personal requests"
So I got my hands dirty and applied this technique immediately for a client.
We had multiple problems:
> Students are not posting for getting P2P feedback
> Very few people submitted feedback form
> Engagement is stale in some discussion spaces
So what I did is I started manually going through chats and reading people's talks.
Not just skimming.
Reading.
And giving them my opinions, recommendations, and ideas. If someone asked a question or sought feedback?
I just tell them explicitly to go to a specific space and ask for it.
Guess what? 10s of new posts & comments in discussion spaces.
I didn't stop there.
I found the most active members and DMed them personally.
I told them that we want to make the community better and asked them to submit a feedback form.
This is how we 4xed our feedback survey.
Don't just skip this lesson.
If you have any engagement problems, start cultivating habits & positive culture
David Spinks retweeted
Chatting with the one and only @DavidSpinks this afternoon 🕺
“This is so well articulated” and “yeah, we should do this” crossed my mind constantly as I read The Business of Belonging.
So many gems. Pumped to nerd out abt all things community and debrief it live!
