LOOKING AT SKOOL GAMES Q1 FROM THE OUTSIDE IN…

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OOOFFF… right… I’ve just sat and PROPERLY gone through the SKOOL GAMES Q1 results, and I’m not even gonna pretend this was a quick skim… this was one of those “there is A LOT here and I need to actually slow down and LOOK” kind of moments… because when you start clicking through communities, founders, links, activity, pricing, you realise very quickly… this is not as simple as it looks on the surface…

AND before I even get into this… let me say this clearly so there’s no weird energy around it… this is NOT me saying anything is right or wrong, this is NOT me calling anyone out, this is me looking from the OUTSIDE IN with curiosity and asking… what patterns can I actually SEE when I remove assumption and just observe what’s in front of me…

Because when you do that… things start to reveal themselves…

𝗦𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧… 𝗟𝗘𝗧’𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦…

One of the first things that hit me was the amount of 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 that are not being run day-to-day by just the founder… I’m seeing multiple admins across the board… 3 admins, 5 admins, 15 admins, … and that immediately shifts the narrative because what you might THINK is “this one person built this” actually looks a lot more like a 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠, 𝗮 𝗦𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠, 𝗮 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 that is keeping things moving…

Now again… not good, not bad… but important… because if you’re sat there comparing your solo energy to what is essentially a machine with multiple moving parts, then you’re not actually comparing like for like… and that matters when you’re looking at growth, activity, and results…

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗜 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚… 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗧 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚…

Because when you actually go into these communities… The Photo Project, Pro Gig Academy, F The Gurus, Eternal Life Tribe, AI Video Bootcamp… different niches, different energies, different messaging… but there was a VERY consistent thread running through a lot of them…

These are NOT brand new…

We’re talking testimonials from 2025… existing proof… established messaging… audiences that have clearly been building over time… so this idea that these are just fresh communities that popped up and won… doesn’t really hold when you look closer…

What I’m seeing is LEVERAGE… people bringing something that already had momentum… INTO Skool… and then amplifying it…

And again… that’s not wrong… but it changes how you interpret the results…

𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗟𝗘𝗧’𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖… 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞…

When I started following the links… Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, funnels, link trees… I was like okay… … because most of these communities are NOT relying on Skool discovery alone… they are driving people in from OUTSIDE…

Some have big followings, some are just consistent, some are clearly using YouTube as a main driver, others are using reels, others are using funnels that warm people up before they even land in Skool… and in many cases the links are set up so everything feeds INTO the community…

So when people say “Skool isn’t working for me”… I think this is where we’ve got to zoom out and ask… are you actually feeding it?

Because what I’m seeing here is… the platform is the destination… not the starting point…

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡… 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗠𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘…

Because … you’d expect the people at the top to be the MOST visible, the MOST active, the ones constantly showing up inside their communities…

BUT that’s not consistently what I saw…

There are founders placing highly where their visible activity is… inconsistent… no fire emoji, not loads of daily presence, sometimes a bit in and out… and yet the community is still performing…

So then you’ve got to ask… what’s actually driving the result?

Is it launches?

is it email lists?

is it funnels?

is it paid traffic?

is it affiliates?

is it the team running engagement?

Because what we SEE… and what is actually happening behind the scenes… might be two completely different things… and if you don’t clock that, you can very easily build a strategy based on a false assumption…

𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦 𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗡𝗚… 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗬 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦…

Because I saw shifts… or at least what LOOKED like shifts… free trials appearing, different price points, numbers that made me go… hang on… was it always like that?

And again… I cannot confirm that… but it raises a really important conversation…

Are people optimising for the GAMES… or for LONG TERM sustainability?

Because those are two VERY different strategies… one is about momentum and positioning in a short window… the other is about retention, trust, and building something that lasts…

And neither is wrong… but they are NOT the same…

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗪𝗘’𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘… 𝗟𝗘𝗧’𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗗𝗚𝗘𝗦, 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗬, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗪𝗘’𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚…

Because the fire, the star, the rocket… you’d assume they tell a story… activity, growth, momentum…

But when you actually look… it’s not always lining up cleanly with the results…

You’ve got communities placing highly without strong visible activity indicators… and others showing more activity but not placing as high…

So again… what are we actually measuring… and how much weight are we giving to what we can SEE?

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗭𝗢𝗢𝗠 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥… 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘…

There are MULTIPLE GAMES being played here…

You’ve got people building long-term communities…

You’ve got people leveraging existing audiences…

You’ve got teams running structured ecosystems…

You’ve got funnels feeding traffic in…

You’ve got short-term pushes…

You’ve got pricing strategies being tested…

And it’s ALL being measured in the same space…

Which, when you really think about it… is kinda boggling… because you’re not comparing the same starting points, the same strategies, or even the same intentions…

𝗦𝗢 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 “𝗜 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬’𝗥𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚…”

This is where I think the real power is…

Slowing down… looking… questioning… and deciding…

What kind of game do I actually want to play?

What feels aligned for ME?

What do I like about what I’m seeing?

What feels a bit off for me?

What would I take… and what would I leave?

Because THIS is leadership… not copying… not reacting… but actually SEEING and choosing…

I’ve shared what I’m spotting from the outside…

BUT I know there is more here…

What are YOU seeing when you look at the Skool Games results?

What patterns are jumping out to you?

What feels interesting… exciting… or even a little bit off?

Let’s actually open this up… because this kind of conversation is where the real gold is…

PS. This week inside THE BACKROOM, in the Community Circle Room… we’re going DEEP on this… proper PATTERN SPOTTING, real conversations, looking at what’s actually going on beneath the surface, what we’re learning from it, and how we use that to build something that actually feels aligned AND works… so if you want to be part of that conversation and not just sit on the sidelines watching… you already know where we are… 👀

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