Community & Growth Strategy
Before The GEAR Innovation Hub launched, there was no digital presence and no brand recognition to build on. I had to create visibility and credibility, building our website and social channels from zero and focusing on sharing the stories of our people, programs, and events.
Over time, this approach helped us grow into a recognized platform in the built environment and emerging technology space, reaching 2,000+ LinkedIn followers and 16,000+ website visits. More importantly, the growth wasn't just about numbers, but the quality of engagement and the strength of a community that actively participated in what we were creating.
The Challenge
Building a brand is harder than it sounds. The easy version is posting event photos and calling it community building. The harder version is figuring out what your audience genuinely cares about and becoming a trusted voice for it.
The added challenge was making a construction company feel relevant and exciting to the startup and technology community. We had to move away from corporate speak and find a voice that felt human, credible, and worth following. At the same time, we had to attract and sustain engagement across a wide range of audiences including founders, academics, government agencies, and enterprise partners, each with very different expectations of what an innovation platform should offer them.
The Process
Content Strategy & Brand Voice: Built the content strategy around the activities of the hub and honest reflections on innovation in the built environment, with a consistent voice and point of view. Focused on being useful to the audience rather than producing purely promotional content.
Community Experience & Engagement: Designed and ran events, tours, and workshops as core community touchpoints, ensuring each interaction felt intentional and aligned with the overall brand. Focused on creating high-quality experiences that encouraged meaningful conversations and repeat participation.
Physical to Digital Flywheel: Connected on-the-ground activities with digital channels to create a compounding growth loop. Events generated content and insights, while content drove awareness and registrations for future programs. Over time, each activity built on the last and helped the community grow organically.
Channel Growth & Management: Managed the website and social channels as a cohesive ecosystem, ensuring every touchpoint felt consistent and on brand.
Data & Iteration: Tracked engagement, website performance, and community growth consistently, using these insights to refine the content mix and channel strategy. Feedback was continuously incorporated to improve communication and engagement with the community.
The Results
We grew a zero-base digital presence to 2,000+ LinkedIn followers with an average of 22.5% engagement rate, well above typical benchmarks for corporate accounts. This traction also drove 16,000+ website visits.
On the ground, we executed 60+ events and 100+ innovation tours for ~10-200+ participants, consistently driving strong participation and achieving an average NPS in the 70s. Together, these online and offline efforts helped build a highly engaged community and became a key part of the business case for launching The GEAR as a standalone innovation and technology subsidiary.
2,000+
Followers
22.5%
Average Engagement
16,000+
Website Visits
Failures & Lessons
Running a high volume of events looked good on paper, but I quickly realized that event attendance does not equal community. Some events felt like one-offs where people came, networked, and left, with little connection to the hub afterward. I realized that building a lasting ecosystem meant treating events as touchpoints in a larger relationship rather than standalone experiences
I built a more intentional workflow, including post-event surveys, direct connections to our LinkedIn and website, and proactive follow-ups on any conversations that could turn into tours, workshops, or collaborations. The goal was to make sure that every event moved people one step further into the ecosystem rather than being a one-time interaction. It was one of the more important realisations I had about community building: the event is just the door, and what happens after is what determines whether someone actually walks in.
Conclusion
Growing The GEAR’s community taught me that a healthy community is far more than a marketing channel. When built correctly, it becomes a powerful growth engine that brings the right people together and makes them eager to refer us to their own networks.
Community & Growth Strategy
Before The GEAR Innovation Hub launched, there was no digital presence and no brand recognition to build on. I had to create visibility and credibility, building our website and social channels from zero and focusing on sharing the stories of our people, programs, and events.
Over time, this approach helped us grow into a recognized platform in the built environment and emerging technology space, reaching 2,000+ LinkedIn followers and 16,000+ website visits. More importantly, the growth wasn't just about numbers, but the quality of engagement and the strength of a community that actively participated in what we were creating.
Headquarters
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Founded
2006
Industry
E-commerce
Revenue
$1.578 billion (2019)
Company size
5,000+
The Challenge
Building a brand is harder than it sounds. The easy version is posting event photos and calling it community building. The harder version is figuring out what your audience genuinely cares about and becoming a trusted voice for it.
The added challenge was making a construction company feel relevant and exciting to the startup and technology community. We had to move away from corporate speak and find a voice that felt human, credible, and worth following. At the same time, we had to attract and sustain engagement across a wide range of audiences including founders, academics, government agencies, and enterprise partners, each with very different expectations of what an innovation platform should offer them.
The app had a cluttered interface, making it difficult for users to navigate and find essential features. Users were facing issues with the onboarding process, which was affecting new user adoption rates. The app lacked personalization and customization options, making it less engaging and user-friendly.
The Process
Content Strategy & Brand Voice: Built the content strategy around the activities of the hub and honest reflections on innovation in the built environment, with a consistent voice and point of view. Focused on being useful to the audience rather than producing purely promotional content.
Community Experience & Engagement: Designed and ran events, tours, and workshops as core community touchpoints, ensuring each interaction felt intentional and aligned with the overall brand. Focused on creating high-quality experiences that encouraged meaningful conversations and repeat participation.
Physical to Digital Flywheel: Connected on-the-ground activities with digital channels to create a compounding growth loop. Events generated content and insights, while content drove awareness and registrations for future programs. Over time, each activity built on the last and helped the community grow organically.
Channel Growth & Management: Managed the website and social channels as a cohesive ecosystem, ensuring every touchpoint felt consistent and on brand.
Data & Iteration: Tracked engagement, website performance, and community growth consistently, using these insights to refine the content mix and channel strategy. Feedback was continuously incorporated to improve communication and engagement with the community.
Research & Analysis: We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights
Information Architecture: Based on the research findings, we restructured the app's navigation and content, prioritizing features and information according to user needs.
Wireframing & Prototyping: We designed low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the new layout and navigation, iteratively refining them based on user feedback. Afterward, we built a high-fidelity, interactive prototype to test the design.
Usability Testing: We conducted usability tests with a diverse group of users to validate the design and identify areas for improvement. Based on the feedback, we made necessary adjustments to the design.
Visual Design & Style Guide: We developed a cohesive visual language, including color schemes, typography, and iconography, ensuring consistency throughout the app. We also created a style guide to maintain design consistency in future updates.
35%
Improved onboarding process
25%
Increase in user retention
84%
Increase in time spent on website
The Results
We grew a zero-base digital presence to 2,000+ LinkedIn followers with an average of 22.5% engagement rate, well above typical benchmarks for corporate accounts. This traction also drove 16,000+ website visits.
On the ground, we executed 60+ events and 100+ innovation tours for ~10-200+ participants, consistently driving strong participation and achieving an average NPS in the 70s. Together, these online and offline efforts helped build a highly engaged community and became a key part of the business case for launching The GEAR as a standalone innovation and technology subsidiary.
2,000+
Followers
22.5%
Average Engagement
16K+
Website Visits
The Results
The redesigned app features a clean, clutter-free interface, making it easier for users to navigate and access essential features.
The improved onboarding process resulted in a 35% increase in new user adoption rates.
The addition of personalization and customization options enhanced user engagement, leading to a 25% increase in user retention rates.
“ With our new visual branding and language in place, the new Shopify brand clearly captures the essence of our current and target customer base, our employees, and our values. ”
Tobias Lütke
CEO, Co-founder | Shopify
Failures & Lessons
Running a high volume of events looked good on paper, but I quickly realized that event attendance does not equal community. Some events felt like one-offs where people came, networked, and left, with little connection to the hub afterward. I realized that building a lasting ecosystem meant treating events as touchpoints in a larger relationship rather than standalone experiences
I built a more intentional workflow, including post-event surveys, direct connections to our LinkedIn and website, and proactive follow-ups on any conversations that could turn into tours, workshops, or collaborations. The goal was to make sure that every event moved people one step further into the ecosystem rather than being a one-time interaction. It was one of the more important realisations I had about community building: the event is just the door, and what happens after is what determines whether someone actually walks in.
Conclusion
Growing The GEAR’s community taught me that a healthy community is far more than a marketing channel. When built correctly, it becomes a powerful growth engine that brings the right people together and makes them eager to refer us to their own networks.
The StreamLine mobile banking app redesign successfully addressed the usability issues, resulting in a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. The improved UX/UI design led to increased user adoption, engagement, and satisfaction, demonstrating the value of a well-designed template for UX designers.