Community Building Secrets

Building Your Layer Zero: Community leaders from Kenya, Brazil, and beyond share insights on creating safe spaces, bringing people together in person, and building sustainable Bitcoin communities from the ground up.

Before you can build layers on Bitcoin, you need layer zero: people. This panel explores what it takes to create thriving Bitcoin communities, from managing burnout to demonstrating long-term impact to passing projects on to new leaders.

PANELISTS:
• Lauren Marcel | Founder of Bitcoin Dada (Kenya), creating safe spaces for African women to learn about Bitcoin and development
• Lisa (Nifty) | Organizer of Bitcoin++ events, teaching developers how Bitcoin works since 2018
• Lucas | Founder of Vinteum (Brazil), running Satsconf and funding Bitcoin open source developers
• Francesco Pelle | President of Bitpolito, bridging Bitcoin university students with industry at Politecnico of Turin

WHAT THEY'RE BUILDING:

*Bitcoin Dada (Lauren Marcel)*
A safe space for African women to learn about Bitcoin through financial education. Also runs Dada Developers, a program for female engineers from Africa to learn Bitcoin development and open source.

*Bitcoin++ (Lisa/Nifty)*
International events bringing Bitcoin developers together to learn from each other, share what they're working on, and onboard new developers to the space.

*Vinteum & Satsconf (Lucas)*
A nonprofit funding Bitcoin developers working on open source software, running technical meetups in six Brazilian cities, and hosting Satsconf (Bitcoiners' New Year's Eve in Brazil).

*Bitpolito (Francesco)*
A student team at Politecnico of Turin focused on Bitcoin education and open source development, bridging university students with the Bitcoin industry.

KEY INSIGHTS ON BUILDING LAYER ZERO:

*The Secret Sauce:*
• People don't show up because of Bitcoin; they show up because they feel safe, seen, and heard
• Create spaces where people can ask hard questions without feeling intimidated or judged
• Let people use Bitcoin how they want, not how you think they should
• Get the right people together who want to spend time with each other
• In-person gatherings are the most powerful thing you can do
• Active participation (not passive content consumption) makes communities thrive

*The Challenges:*
• Building something the world doesn't understand yet
• Pouring out resources (time, money, emotions) without immediate validation
• Managing burnout and avoiding becoming a single point of failure
• Getting people to commit and show up to events
• Demonstrating tangible results when impact is long-term and generational
• Passing projects on to new leaders and delegating effectively

*The Solutions:*
• Understand the work is generational, not just about immediate results
• Remember you're building freedom infrastructure, which removes the option of quitting
• Empower the community to help with the project instead of doing everything yourself
• Recognize that small things done consistently have long-term impact
• Accept that people have different timings and contexts in life
• Plant seeds knowing they may take years to grow
• Leverage networking and support from the broader Bitcoin community

ADVICE FOR BUILDING YOUR LAYER ZERO:
1. Start with a small group of 2-5 people in your community
2. Understand their needs and problems first
3. Explore how Bitcoin can help solve them without imposing your ideologies
4. Consistency and regular in-person gatherings are essential
5. Create spaces where people feel they belong and can participate actively
6. Embrace the long-term, generational nature of community building
7. Be willing to delegate and empower others to avoid burnout
8. Connect with the broader Bitcoin community for support and resources
9. Accept that results take time and seeds planted today may bloom years later

WHY THIS MATTERS:
Every Bitcoin project, every layer built on top, starts with people. Layer zero is about creating the human connections, trust, and community that make everything else possible. These leaders are proving that when you focus on people first, the technology follows.

ABOUT BITCOIN STUDENT NETWORK:
BSN unites students globally to learn, collaborate, and build the future of Bitcoin through campus clubs, virtual events, and real-world opportunities.

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