Welcome to The Community Code.

I’m Joshua Zerkel.

For nearly 20 years, I’ve built and scaled community programs inside companies like Asana, Evernote, CBS News, and HeyGen. I’ve also advised organizations at different stages trying to figure out how community actually fits into their business.

Over time, my view has shifted.

You’ve probably heard a lot about “community-led growth.” In practice, community often sits adjacent to the real go-to-market engine. Helpful, but separate.

What interests me more is what happens when it isn’t separate.

This newsletter explores how community integrates into product, marketing, sales, customer success, and education. Not as a side initiative, but as part of how the system operates.

Some posts are strategic. Some get pretty tactical. A few are interviews with operators who’ve built this inside real organizations. The throughline is consistent: how community influences adoption, retention, expansion, and measurable outcomes.

My book, The Community Code, pulls these ideas together into a more complete framework. Think of this Substack as the working lab where those ideas are tested, refined, and expanded.

If you care about how GTM actually functions, and you’re skeptical of surface-level takes on “engagement,” you’ll probably feel at home here.

And occasionally, yes, there will be a burger review. I contain multitudes.