What is Mighty Networks?
Mighty Networks is a Saas (software as a service), an online platform & app that allows business owners to create online communities. It allows them to create memberships that grant access to uploaded courses, videos, events, and more. This has a different focus than an LMS as it is community-focused first, versus having the course content as the focus. There are different price points, which allows for a business owner to select what works best for them (personalized branding versus not, for example).
According to Fast Company, their value proposition is the following: The creator economy, like most economies, is stubbornly divided into haves and have-nots. Online platforms offer huge payouts to boldface names with big audiences while everyone else toils away for the equivalent of digital peanuts. This unequal distribution of resources and money is not unique to online creators—Hollywood types have complained for years about the slow-motion death of their creative middle classes—but it’s a problem that could theoretically be remedied by giving creators more control over the very thing that makes them monetizable in the first place: their audiences. (Source: Fast Company)
Who is Gina Bianchini?
Bianchini is an impressive entrepreneur. A Stanford MBA graduate, she founded Mighty Networks in 2017 after successfully co-founding Ning in 2005, where she was CEO. She sold Ning for $150 million and raised over $50 million for Mighty Networks. According to Wikipedia, Bianchini was also a board director for multiple broadcasting companies.
What impresses me about Gina is her interest in people. Her current business supports the ‘middle-class creator’ by creating a platform for them. She is focused on the human experience in a digital space, which is quite appealing to me. From what I have read, she is most interested in the people involved in her projects along with having a thirst for growing and learning as an entrepreneur. She is also seen as an excellent storyteller, which is an underrated yet impressive skill that I see my CEO execute positively. (Source: Alejandro Cremades)
Reflection
As a personal reflection of my own entrepreneurial skills, I appreciate the people Bianchini involves and her interest in creating products that improve human connection. This is unlike the trope of the ‘heartless tech CEO’ that is easy to portray as characters in media. If I ever were to explore an entrepreneurial avenue, this would be the foundation of my business since my purpose is to ‘develop people through experiences and training’.
Resources to learn more
- https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/26/mighty-networks-raises-50m-to-build-a-creator-economy-for-the-masses/
- https://alejandrocremades.com/she-sold-her-last-business-for-150-million-and-now-raised-50-million-to-bring-communities-together/
- https://www.fastcompany.com/90628915/gina-bianchinis-mighty-networks-wants-to-help-middle-class-creators-take-control-of-their-destinies
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gina_Bianchini
Building relationships within a community is key to healthy human development. So, I appreciate the focus of this venture such that it is community-based first. I also appreciate Gina’s motivations to focus on the “human experience” in digital spaces.
Bianchini has a repertoire of professional experience. Being a CEO and board director for multiple companies is no small feat. It’s clear she uses her previous success to leverage future projects. I also find it powerful how she can portray herself as person-centered for the middle class. This plays into the ethos (credibility) of her brand and character. She would be a strong role model.