Tatiana Figueiredo, Founder of The Business of Community, is on a mission to help founders scale their values-driven, community-based companies.
Tatiana first became drawn to building community after she experienced a lack of belonging when her family immigrated to the U.S. from Brazil. After navigating this experience, she now aspires to better understand and connect business leaders with one another. Today, Tatiana is supporting community founders across a variety of industries in building profitable businesses that accurately reflect their values. Ultimately, her goal is to help community-focused businesses best support their network.
We asked Tatiana about the problem The Business of Community aims to solve, how her upbringing has contributed to how she operates as an entrepreneur, and her biggest achievement to date since starting her company.
Q: What problem does your business solve?
A: I’m the founder of The Business of Community, an education company for community businesses. We run a course to help founders launch and scale membership services, cohort-based courses, and group coaching programs that have community at the center of their business models.
Q: What makes The Business of Community different from other similar organizations?
A: There’s been a worldwide decrease in social organizations that allow people to make new friends and build a network of real relationships they can count on. This has resulted in big increases in loneliness and an overall decline in mental health. We believe that small businesses that are founder-led and prioritize community are in the best place to address this huge crisis. We exist to support and uplift these community business founders.
Q: In what ways has your upbringing or past experiences contributed to how you operate as an entrepreneur?
A: I grew up in a small town in Brazil. Growing up, my parents were both entrepreneurs running a bunch of small businesses—some successful, many not. I understood the realities of entrepreneurship from a really young age. I had almost an inherited understanding of what it means to build a profitable business and all the different ways things could go wrong. My parents ran very social businesses like bars. And in some ways, I see my work as an internet version of the world they were trying to create back then.
Q: Have you ever felt like you’re “different”? If yes, in what ways has this contributed to your journey as an entrepreneur?
A: I moved to the U.S. from Brazil when I was 10. In some ways, being an immigrant makes you feel like an alien exploring a new solar system. With that, I developed a hyper-awareness of others. I’ve always wanted to deeply understand people, mostly as a way to fit in. I realized later in my career that that experience gives me a huge advantage when designing the systems that help people connect with each other. My younger self would say that the work that I do now—gathering and coaching other community leaders—feels both surprising and inevitable. And that makes me happy!
Q: Did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
A: Yes! I didn’t have many examples in my family of people who were not scrappy entrepreneurs. Even when I worked as an employee, I always gravitated toward smaller companies so I could take ownership and make an impact.
Q: We dare you to brag. What achievements are you most proud of?
A: The Business of Community started as a one-on-one consultancy. When I decided to build it into a community business, we had a tiny email list—less than 50 emails. Within our first year, we designed and built a unique course and community experience that brought in $100,000 from the community. We’re on track to quadruple that in year two. I’m most proud of how I’ve made zero compromises to our values to get there. We’re super excited to be a model of possibility for others building this type of business.
Q: How have you grown as a leader since starting The Business of Community? What experiences have contributed to this growth?
A: Both leading a community and coaching entrepreneurs are experiences that gently have invited me to grow into the leader I was being asked to be. My biggest lesson has been in letting go of perfection. For a long time, I portrayed myself as someone who had all the answers. Not only did that prevent me from getting the support I needed, but it also was damaging to the communities I participated in. I’ve since learned that showing up imperfectly is a prerequisite to connection. The more I’m able to show the cracks, the more I’m giving permission for others to show up as themselves.
Q: What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial journey all over again?
A: I’ve gained so much from going with my gut and learning that it’s okay to do things my own way. I’d tell my younger self: “You are and have always been a weird little nerd. That’s your superpower. The sooner you let that come out, the sooner you’ll be successful.”
Q: What’s next for you and The Business of Community?
A: We are on track for a huge expansion in the second half of 2022. We’re excited to have the infrastructure in place to support four times more community founders in the next 12 months.
Tatiana is a member of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership opportunities, authentic connection, and access. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and subscribe to their monthly The Digest for top entrepreneurial and career resources.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Other Topics
Entrepreneurs
Gesche Haas
Gesche Haas is the Founder/CEO of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through visibility opportunities, resource exchange, and collective support.
Read Gesche's Bio