New Research Snapshot: Startup Space
ACM is excited to release our latest research, the inaugural Community Manager Snapshot for Australia and New Zealand’s Startup Space.
The Community Manager Snapshot: Startup Space is the first in an intended series of industry specific snapshots that will drill down in more detail about the realities of community management practice within a specific context and setting.
This project is a joint initiative of Australian Community Managers and The Community Collective, a community for community builders in the Australian and New Zealand startup space.
It has revealed important and compelling insights about the realities unique to community builders in the startup space, along with those shared by community professionals across the country. In preparing the report, we have benchmarked and analysed results against data from the national State of Community Management Report (running since 2015).
Download Community Manager Snapshot: Startup Space 2023
Key findings include:
Technology and Business/Entrepreneurial are the leading sectors hosting communities in the startup space across Australia and New Zealand. This is distinct from national community management data, where NFP, Media and Government dominate.
The top three business purposes for communities within the startup space in ANZ are: Referrals, Retention and Sales.
Community builders in the startup space are 72% female - precisely in line with gender breakdowns in national community management data. This strongly affirms community management as a female dominated practice in ANZ.
Community builders in the startup space have significantly fewer years experience compared to Community Managers across other industries - 79% have been working in Community for less than 5 years (versus only 7% nationally) and 28% had no prior Community experience before taking on the role.
Melbourne is the centre of the field professionally - in line with national data around the Community profession
The average salary for community builders in the startup space is $71,000 to $100,000 - one bracket under the national average of $100,000 to $130,000. 13% are working as unpaid volunteers.
Budgets for community activities in the startup space are lower than the national average - 48% of community budgets are less than $10,000 annually, versus 21% under $10,000 across other industries.
65% of community builders in the startup space work in a full-time role
96% of community builders in the startup space work outside a traditional office - compared to 73% of Community Managers nationally, across all industries.
Get your copy of the full report
Our thanks to The Community Collective for partnering with us on this project, and for the important work they do supporting community within the startup space across Australia.
