Sid Yadav is the CEO and co-founder of Circle, a community platform trusted by creators like Jay and thousands of others to build membership businesses. Today, Circle has ~280 employees and has raised around $30 million. Before Circle, he was the third hire at Teachable, where he helped build the infrastructure for the creator economy before the term even existed. He spent four years as a tech blogger, writing about startups five to ten times a day, and was one of the first people to ever cover YouTube—back when it was a dating platform! The one thing Sid says separates successful communities from the rest Circle Eclipse: what it is (AI partner + connective tissue + Discover marketplace) and why 80 of 100 engineers have been on it for 4 months The “course as wrong abstraction” insight: why Sid saw self-paced courses heading toward terminal decline as early as 2018 By the end of this episode, you will understand why the most successful community businesses aren’t built around content — they’re built around a specific transformation. Join the waitlist for early access to Circle AI Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Introduction (01:44) Teachable origin story: the “I don’t want to play Tinder with you” email that started it all (06:18) Tech blogger at Mashable — and the story of being first to write about YouTube (09:15) ~280 employees, $30M raised — the scale of Circle today (12:52) Why self-paced courses are in terminal decline (the leading indicators Sid saw in 2018) (17:16) The “course as the wrong abstraction” moment — community as the right container (22:00) Circle Eclipse: the three major updates launching (24:00) The connective tissue opportunity: one plus one must equal ten (33:19) Admin dashboard evolution — where Circle AI lives for returning users (35:30) The morning brief: five recommended next steps, then you’re good for the day (38:50) The biggest bet in Circle’s history: 80 engineers, 4 months, Spain offsite (40:00) Member-side AI agents and where they’re heading (43:24) Discover: from supply-side listing directory to the first real marketplace for transformations (48:00) The promise: Discover will never market inside your community — ever (51:55) Sid’s #1 recommendation: define your transformation *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE #295: Community Building Trends for 2026 with Becky Pierson Davidson *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system) 🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community) 🧞‍♂️ Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices