In this episode of The Creator Spotlight Podcast, Francis speaks with Melanie Ehrenkranz, the creator of the Laid Off newsletter and Discord community. They discuss the origins of Laid Off, building a community where people feel supported and engaged, and the concept of the laid off to creator/entrepreneur pipeline. __ Follow Melanie Laid Off Newsletter LinkedIn __ References Melanie's Laid Off survey Never Post podcast episode with Melanie Interview with The Sidebar Interview with The New York Times __ 00:00 Introducing Melanie 01:44 How 'Laid Off' began 06:32 Building an engaged, valuable community 10:12 Trend reports and insights from the laid off experience 13:20 Monetization that gives back to the community 22:47 LinkedIn culture and the need for personal brand 30:36 Potential future services for Laid Off 35:48 Permeable definitions of the creator 39:56 The creativity of the newsletter format 42:28 The laid off to creator pipeline 49:01 How to gain your first 10K subscribers 51:26 One year of Laid Off