The beginning
In April of 2019 the Tiller team came together for a week-long all hands to align around a shared vision for Tiller. We set goals for how we want to grow as individuals and as a team, and how we want to help our customers grow.
One of the biggest decisions we made during that all hands was to start an initiative to build a place where our customers could hang out, help each other, and share how they’re using and building on top of Tiller: this community. We had been tiptoeing around the idea for a while, but knowing it would be hard work and a long journey, had hesitated on taking the first step. During this time together we concluded that our customers were eager for a community centered around our product, but grounded in building a stronger relationship with our team and each other, which would better enable them to achieve their goals.
The problem this solves
At the core of this community are our customers, without you it wouldn’t be a lively or productive place. We see people join, ask a question, get an answer, and then never return. That’s a win and represents a goal on which we measure success. Someone else joins, searches, and finds that same question and answer. Boom! Another win.
We use Intercom for our core product support. Reach out via chat and get help with a data feed issue or a basic question about how to use the Foundation template. We’ve got the answer or can help you troubleshoot. But what about all those community solutions and templates? Or that exact formula to give you that money insight you’ve been waiting for? Or the cool spreadsheet you’ve built and want to share with others?
What we saw before launching the community was a revolving door of the same questions about templates. We were excited about the opportunity to offer a one-to-many support option for these questions. Intercom is conversational too, but it’s one-to-one, so the energy of that Q&A is spent on one person. In the community it’s evergreen so that energy pays off dividends.
The challenging spreadsheet riddles often stumped us and knowing that some of our customers had a wealth of knowledge about spreadsheets and how to write that perfect formula intrigued us too. How could we harness their knowledge and get them to share it? Or when we did figure out a solution, where could we put it so others could find it easily later? Our team offers just one perspective on how to make personal finance, well, personal, but the community benefits when all of your voices and wisdom are shared and heard.
Then there were the customers who wanted to share what they’d built and talk shop with other Tiller customers. We see it every day in the Community. From Good Neighbors offering help to Rising Stars sharing a quick idea on how to think about categorizing debt payments.
This is just the beginning. Since launching this community is August 2019 we’ve seen immense progress and success in these areas and so much more. The support, collaboration, and ingenuity has been awe inspiring.
Enter the Super Hero.
These are the community members that build and foster trust. They’re the ones that spend the most time reading, responding, and sharing the love.
For all that hard work Super Heros are granted super powers. These super powers enable them to help keep things organized in the Community so it’s easier for others to find an answer. They can create Wikis to enable greater knowledge sharing. They can edit others’ Wikis to help keep the facts straight. They can help keep the community safe from abusive members. They have a private place for new discussions.
Super Heros are the backbone of this community. They’re not all Google Sheets or financial experts, but they’re experts in this Community. They understand, believe in, and want to share what Tiller is working toward: empowering people to gain control of their destiny. If you understand your money you can make smarter decisions. You can have trust and hope in the future.
Super Heros in our community believe in that mission, in helping others achieve their goals. Every system in our society revolves around money. When you have a grip on your money you can make it work for you, and then you can really vote with your dollars.
Are you ready to put on your cape and fly?
Learn more about what it takes to earn your Super Hero badge.