Hive

Hive has created a global community for entrepreneurs.

Today, there are more than 190 million entrepreneurs around the world. But historically, there hasn't been a community for these people that combined in-person events with a digital social network. Hive has created this community.

Through regional events and online classes, Hive enables entrepreneurs to network and find mentors and investors for their business.

This is a big opportunity. For reference, Vistage, the only for-profit competitor in this market, has 23,000 members and $250 million in annual sales. In 2018, it was acquired by Providence Equity Partners.

But unlike other entrepreneur communities, Hive is run by a team with substantial startup and fundraising experience. It’s also the only community combining technology with in-person events focused on topics including leadership, purpose, and wellness.

Hive’s Founder, Ryan Allis, is a graduate of Harvard Business School, and served as National Co-Chairperson of Technology under President Barack Obama. He built and sold his last business, a software company, for $169 million.

As mentioned, Hive’s network includes a combination of in-person events and online gatherings. Its digital offerings include:

• A Social Network: This enables members to search and find each other by keyword, industry, location, or company.

• Mobile App: This makes it easy for members to stay in touch.

• WhatsApp Groups: This enables collaboration among entrepreneurs in the same city or industry.

• Zoom Masterclasses: These classes are presented on a weekly or monthly basis. They're on topics related to entrepreneurship, purpose, wellness, or problem-solving.

In addition to these offerings, Hive has a premium community called the Hive Entrepreneur Network. This is for founders and CEOs of companies with at least $1 million in annual sales. This network hosts monthly conference calls, and quarterly retreats in various locations.

There’s also Hive Digital, a service offering digital advertising and search engine optimization to help companies expand their business.

To access its primary network, Hive charges entrepreneurs a $500 annual membership fee. Membership into the Hive Entrepreneur Network is $10,000 per year. And Hive Digital earns additional revenue by providing its digital marketing services.

Hive started out hosting live events for entrepreneurs in 2014. Since then, it’s hosted events in the U.S., Canada, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Colombia, Pakistan, India, China, and more. Its flagship event, which it hosts every August, is the Hive Global Summit in Silicon Valley.

Hive launched its mentorship community in 2015, and began offering advertising and marketing services in 2017.

Hive has 3,200 paying customers in 130 countries. It also has more than 55,000 applicants eager to join (each must be vetted and selected to join the community).

Current members include CEOs of $500-million companies, venture capitalists, Olympic Gold medalists, Stanford University professors, impact investors, and Virgin Galactic astronauts.

Said Toriqul Islam, CEO of AmanTex, a textiles company, and a Hive member, “During my time with Hive I have grown my annual sales from $40 million to $75 million. Entrepreneurship can be confusing at times with so many people giving you different ideas. Hive has allowed me to focus on the things that matter the most.”

And Ben Rattray, CEO of Change.org, an online platform for socially-responsible missions, said of Hive, “One of the most scalable ways for us to advance change in the world is to transform the way we lead our organizations, and that, to me, is a profound opportunity, a huge need, and something I’m excited Hive is diving into.”

Hive generates roughly $3.5 million in annual revenues, and is profitable. Since inception, it’s brought in more than $7 million in revenue.

The company has raised $1.6 million from investors including Lerer Hippeau, Kilowatt Capital, and Evolve Ventures.

Moving forward, Hive plans to build an investment fund to support its members. It also plans to partner with real estate development firms to create a network of co-living communities for members and their families. This is slated for 2023.

Team Background

Jeff Staub - CEO, Hive Digital

Jeff oversees Hive Digital, the digital marketing agency owned by Hive.

Before this position, he was a marketing assistant for Cornerstone Promotions, a marketing company. He worked there for six years, assisting clients such as large movie companies, music industry leaders, and sports apparel producers.

Jeff is a certified Google AdWords professional and Yahoo! Sponsored Ambassador. He earned Bachelor’s degrees from Elon University and Colorado State University, focusing on biological sciences and analysis.

Ryan Allis - Founder & CEO

Before starting Hive, Ryan was CEO and co-founder of iContact, a software company. He grew this company to $50 million in annual sales and sold it to Vocus (Nasdaq: VOCS) for $169 million.

Prior to that, he was a member of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneur Council and served as National Co-Chairperson of Technology under President Barack Obama.

Ryan studied economics at the University of North Carolina and earned an MBA from Harvard.

Morgan Carson - Chief Community Officer

Morgan has 15 years of experience in art and visual design, having worked with notable brands including Google, Yelp, Pop Chips, and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

She previously founded Rene Ropas, a fashion label, and before that was a designer for The Goldstein Company, where she created branding for the law firm.

She studied at the International Academy of Design.

Co-Investors

Lerer Hippeau Ventures

Seed-stage venture capital firm, investor in BuzzFeed, Warby Parker, GroupMe, MakerBot Industries, The Huffington Post, Songza, Venmo, BirchBox, SeatGeek, Casper, Plated, Refinery29, BaubleBar and Chubbies

Evolve Ventures

A VC fund investing in early-stage companies.

Kilowatt Capital

A financial services company in San Francisco.