Community strategy is hard enough without having to pick between 50 different tools. If you’ve ever stared down the long list of platform options—Circle, Heartbeat, Mighty Networks, Skool, Kajabi, and more—and thought, "How do I even choose?", this episode is your clarity compass.

In this special panel format of Dear Bri, we go beyond surface-level platform comparison and get into the real talk. Join four veteran builders—Candice Grobler (Circle), Starlight Mundy (Mighty Networks), Mike Phillips (Heartbeat), and Duncan Rogoff (Skool)—as they share what they love, what drives them bonkers, and how each platform supports (or sabotages) their community management efforts.

If you're looking to build a thriving online community but feel stuck at the starting line, this episode delivers honest reviews, platform strategies, and key decision-making tips—direct from experienced community architects who have tried them all.

Whether you're craving customization, chasing simplicity, or getting serious about member onboarding, this episode is a must-listen.

⏳ Timestamps:

00:00:00 | Introducing our community builders: Candice, Starlight, Mike, and Duncan

00:07:48 |  Which community platform is the best?

00:13:12 | Favorite features: Heartbeat’s AI made Mike mad!

00:36:51 | Is Skool's simplicity a good thing or a bad thing?

00:38:34 | Are Circle and Mighty Networks too complex?

00:44:46 | Community building in the AI era: what are the skills we'll need in the future?

01:03:40 | Member onboarding: How each platform approaches it

01:12:08 | Final words: what real builders wish every community leader knew

Resources Mentioned:

▶️ Watch this live panel on YouTube.

🗒️ See a complete resources list here.

✅ Download my complete Community Platform Comparison Guide.

💛Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📩 Newsletter

📹 Youtube

📱LinkedIn

And before you go…

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Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode, we’re hearing from Walking on Eggshells. Our letter today is from a community builder who wants to know how we can bridge the political gap in our families and communities when it all feels so impossibly polarized.

To better help Walking on Eggshells, I invited the director and producer of the documentary Join or Die, Rebecca Davis, as my guest. This feature-length documentary is a commentary on the decline of social capital in the US over the last two decades and its implications for democracy.

It can be scary and despairing to bear witness to the quickly growing divides in our society. I don’t need to sit around your Thanksgiving table to know most of our attempts at conversations result in more disconnect than repair.

Thankfully, this episode will leave you filled with hope, excitement, and an actual game plan to start bringing us out of these dark times, one small step at a time. So, be sure to tune into this spectacular conversation with one of the few people who has studied it in tremendous depth.

In this episode:

(03:00) Meet Rebecca Davis and her documentary, Join or Die

(04:44) Why the word “community” is absent from the film

(07:28) The actual outcome of connection

(09:26) The communitea: Walking on Eggshells’ letter

(11:25) A counterintuitive solution for healing the political divides

(14:04) Why digital spaces and conversations aren't working

(17:26) How purely social clubs can easily build power and start creating change

(21:05) The very political history of women only book clubs

(23:03) How groups both impact and reflect society

(24:14) Rebecca's journey from covering worsening symptoms to highlighting the root cause

(27:37) How to build a loyal and engaged community instead of just an audience

(32:27) Make sure your community tools and design deliver on the community promise

(35:11) Is it unethical to charge for community membership?

(41:29) The simplest data-backed thing you can start doing now to bridge the gap

Resources Mentioned:

🗒️ See a complete resources list here.

📺 Watch the full documentary on Netflix.

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Rebecca Davis

🖥️ Website

📱 LinkedIn

Bri Leever

🖥️ Website

📹 Youtube

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.