chief
Background:
US-based female network founded in 2019. Mixes an online offering (app) with a club house in New York and now also London (opened in early 2023). Pitched at senior female executives (C-Suite) and it has a high-price point for entry (c $6000 - $7000 pa). Potential members need to be proposed by other members and then they go through an application and interview process to be accepted into the network.
Solution:
The app and Club House offering is very high quality. Focus is given to personal and professional development through jobs boards and various training offerings. Chief also does community really, really well, however. Members talk it up endlessly among their contacts, so most potential candidates pick up the excited buzz long before they actually think about applying.
The core of the offering is the community you join and the connections that you will make. Fundamentally, people are there to meet others. As one member said, “Chief is offering access to a powerful ready-made global network. It’s now up to me to decide how I tap into it”. Members support each other by having virtual and IRL coffees with each other regularly. It is all about member-to-member connection and it is not based on any diktat from the central team.
Results:
In March 2022, Chief completed a $100M series B raise, valuing the company at just over $1bn, making it a rare female-founded unicorn. That’s quite a high valuation for a business that reportedly then had only 12,000 members (plus 50,000 on their waiting list.)
