From Shared Wins to New Ideas: Community Roundtable with Gradual in San Francisco

# Format: Event Recaps

# Role: Community/DevRel

# Theme: Community Building & DevRel

Community builders came together in person to celebrate progress and spark fresh conversations.

September 24, 2025

Joshua Zerkel

A morning of connection and learning

September's Community Roundtable at Gradual HQ brought together community builders, program leads, and GTM partners for an energizing conversation to kick off the day. We keep these mornings simple: coffee, breakfast, and real conversations with peers who know what it takes to run communities that engage people and drive business results.

To get things started, we asked everyone to write down a recent community or GTM win and drop it into a box. As we sat down to eat, I pulled out a few slips and read them aloud, inviting people to share more about their wins and the tactics behind them. It was a fun way to spark conversation and remind us all that progress comes in many forms.

The wins that set the tone

A few stood out right away:

Yonah from Scale AI talked about “making my stakeholders work for ME in making my event happen!” It was a great reminder that we don’t have to shoulder every detail alone, and that events run better when stakeholders have real ownership.

Audrey from HeyGen shared how they found “the right format to scale our ambassador meetup program.” The insight was simple but powerful: the right structure can unlock growth without losing the personal feel that makes ambassador programs special.

Misaki from MakerSights told us about leading a group of volunteers to create video-based UGC and building a system that now produces two videos a day, each averaging 200k monthly views. It was a masterclass in turning community energy into something sustainable and high-impact.

Each of these sparked deeper conversation around the tables. How do you negotiate stakeholder involvement? What does it take to scale without losing authenticity? How do you build systems that last?

What we took away

Listening to these wins and talking through them together surfaced some clear lessons:

Influence grows when it’s shared. Yonah’s approach showed how pulling stakeholders into the process builds stronger alignment and support.

Structure makes scale possible. Audrey’s meetups proved that replicable formats matter as much as numbers when you’re growing a program.

Systems fuel creativity. Misaki’s UGC example made it clear that having the right framework frees people up to contribute consistently.

Wins keep us going. Recognizing progress, even small steps, helps keep teams motivated and moving forward.

Carrying the energy forward

By the end of breakfast, that little box of slips had turned into something bigger. Each win opened up a new story, and each story gave someone else a fresh idea to bring back to their own work.

What struck me most was how contagious progress can be. Celebrating what’s working doesn’t just feel good—it sparks new possibilities and encourages all of us to keep experimenting.

Keep the conversation going

Thanks to everyone who joined us for such a thoughtful exchange of wins and ideas. If you couldn’t make it this time, we’d still love for you to be part of the conversation.

We shared a few highlights from the Roundtable, and now it’s your turn—add your own recent win so we can celebrate together.

▶️ Share your win here.

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