Case study: Building Two Cents Club — a community for post-grad learning
Overview
After graduation, adults lose structured systems to learn and socialize with a motivated community. I started Two Cents Club to create a structured, low-stakes environment to recreate that sense of intellectual community.
Through hypothesis driven pilots, I validated that this was an offering that people want. That young adults felt lonely after college and sought friend groups that they could explore curiosity with. The key to retention was consistency: people came for novelty, but really stayed for ritual. In 3 months, the club scaled to 25+ active members, 71% month-two retention, NPS 56, and workshops running at or above capacity.
The Problem
Young adults often struggle to find recurring spaces to learn after college with equally as passionate peers, and the consequences are high:
- Adults are learning less: Education participation drops by over 79% from childhood to adulthood (Eurostat 2023). And without ongoing intellectual engagement, adults face a higher risk of cognitive decline.
- The Loneliness Epidemic: Nearly one in two adults in America report experiencing loneliness. Social learning environments can foster meaningful connections and combat isolation. (U.S Surgeon General)
Current solutions aren’t satisfactory:
- Solitary digital apps (like Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram) allow people to find niche communities, but don’t facilitate in-person interaction.
- Scattered one-off events help people meet friends, but don’t foster deep connection.
- High-commitment programs (Like grad school or retreats) are difficult to afford and disruptive of daily life.
Understanding our community
I began by logging 50+ interviews with recent grads—collected informally in group chats, coffee shops, and social settings. To deepen context, I drew from:
- Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone (declining civic & social institutions)
- U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on loneliness
- Research on adult learning & group rituals
During the summer, we planned on answering 2 questions
- Validate our assumption that adults want to teach and learn from each other
- Investigate what format of learning and teaching is ideal for the adult student
Hosting a Class
To investigate whether or not our target market was interested in taking classes, we piloted 3 courses during the summer
- Write Night (8 weeks)
- Candle Making (1 night)
- Philosophy of Physics (4 weeks)
To investigate user behavior, I defined two competing hypotheses:
- H1: Drop-in novelty classes (candle-making) would satisfy curiosity.
- H2: Recurring cohort rituals (e.g. weekly writing workshop) would build durable bonds.
Impact
- 25+ active members within 3 months.
- 71% retention Month 2, 54% Month 3.
- NPS 56 across workshops.
- Operational speed: 14 days time-to-launch for new cohorts.
- Community strength: Members consistently reported feeling motivated by “being in a room with people who also care about the topic”.
Reflection
Two Cents Club taught me that designing for community is less about scale and more about ritual. Novelty can curiosity, but without rhythm people quickly forget. By treating community design like hypothesis testing, I transformed ambiguity into a strong community in under 3 months.
What’s Next?
as of August 28, 2025
- Build a Platform: Long-term, evolve into a marketplace—an “Airbnb for learning”—where members can both host and attend. This requires building a low-code platform with user profiles, membership subscriptions, and event discovery.
- Refocus on New Grads: Shift beyond current college students to reach working professionals seeking structured, post-grad learning. Plan: run 50 interviews in the next 2–3 weeks to surface needs before prescribing solutions.
- Venue Partnerships: Test events in third spaces where new grads already gather (bars, cafés, museums). Venues benefit from increased foot traffic and sales; members gain accessible gathering points.