Before 10k
What I learned growing from 0 to 10,000 followers on Instagram.
₹149get it →
Deepak Kumar
Community building speaker, writer
and consultant. I build, study, teach
and talk about communities.
Over the last ten and a half years, I've built companies—most failed, a few worked well enough.
I've built SaaS and micro-SaaS, a design studio, worked with Fortune 500 companies, creators, and brands, built communities, and wrote a book.
This website is a living archive of my projects, ideas, and notes from the field.
A decade of
building things.
These are just the ones I can share publicly.
Many more failed before they even had a name.
Anyone Can Build a Community
AuthorBook2025–Active
Publishing a book is simpler than people think
Before 10k
AuthorBook2026–Active
A small honest journal can find its readers
PostAutopsy
CreatorLinkedIn writing assistant2025–Active
Taste + speed beats perfection
AtumX
InvestorSemiconductor venture2026–Active
Semiconductors are reshaping what India builds next
Bonfire
CreatorAccountability tool2024–2025Closed
Staying accountable is harder than building tools
DNA
CreatorWhere curious people become friends2023–Active
You don't need an agenda to bring people together
Scrollme
CreatorLink-in-bio tool2022–2025Shut down
Learned creators deeply—and made lifelong friends
C3
CreatorCommunity for community managers2020–2025Exited
The fastest way to learn is to sit in rooms with practitioners
Habitate
CreatorCommunity platform2020–2024Failed
VC Capital can't save you from bad market timing
RTable
CreatorMeeting-recorder hardware2018–2019Failed
New ideas are not automatically winning ideas
UnNamed Co.
CreatorDesign studio2017–2021Shut down
Agencies generate cash flow, but slowly drain you
Orcaso
CreatorGamified product management SaaS2017–2020Sold
A crowded market is often validation, not a warning
TryCinema
CreatorShort-video app2015–2016Dead
UI/UX matters more than most founders admit
Large,
impractical
experiments.
That somehow worked.
01
We locked founders in a house together.
No agenda. No escape. Just 15 strangers building, fighting, and figuring it out — Big Boss style. For days.
Bonds formed in 72 hours that networking events couldn't create in 3 years.
02
We made a documentary. Released it in a theatre.
Filmed an entire community event. Edited a feature-length film. Rented a cinema. Sold out every seat.
Absolute cinema. Houseful show.
03
We turned a resort into a self-governing village.
25,000 sq. ft. No staff. No job titles. Founders became commoners. Adults relived childhood. For three days.
Grown-ups willingly woke at 5 AM to do chores. That's community.
04
We opened Chennai's first hacker house.
A workspace. Completely free. No memberships. No applications. No strings. Just show up and build.
Removed every barrier. Talent flooded in.
A community I built
and closed in 2025.
It ran for five years. Here's what members said.
"C3 also referred me for my current job. Joining this group was one of the best decisions I made."
"You have two options: One is login to an AI model and ask for help. Two — dial D for Deepak."
"The best, most supportive and enriching community to be in. The people I've met through C3 are a treasure."
What people say.
"What I like about Deepak is BRUTAL DETERMINATION and HONESTY. The guy GETS IT DONE."
"You don't really need social media numbers to do quality work. Also you're insanely humane."
"Honest, Authentic, and Adamant on his ideas. Which every entrepreneur needs."
"You have given me the confidence to dream big, people will join."
"How come such an influential person is speaking like a friend? You're one in a million."
"An original thinker with the big heart to help anyone who approaches him."
I wrote two.
Show-off.
Both come with a built-in reader — highlight anything, save quotes as images, pick up where you left off.
Anyone Can Build a Community
The field guide. Physical copies sold out — over 400 of them.
₹480get it →
Podcasts &
Interviews
Most of my work
flows into DNA.
All the amazing people I've met in my life are now part of this community.
Founders. Creators. Artists. Writers.
Architects. Doctors. VCs. Engineers. Designers.
If this resonates, you know what to do.
Learn more about DNALet's connect.
deepak@thecommunityman.com
I love getting emails.
"All Exceptional Outcomes
are Social Outcomes."
Big, rare, meaningful results don't happen in isolation.
They happen because people come together.