belonging
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Everyone Is Suddenly In The Business Of Belonging
From a Fortune 500 CRM to a solo podcaster's chat room, four very different companies are chasing the same prize - the crowd that keeps coming back. Here is how the fight for online community actually breaks down.
ibelong
ibelong is a San Francisco-based consultancy that helps organizations build inclusive, resonant workplace cultures using a neurochemical framework grounded in affective neuroscience, relational neurobiology and epigenetics. Led by CEO and epigenetic coach Rajkumari Neogy, the company translates the brain science of trust and belonging into practical programs - immersive courses, leadership coaching, compassion circles and layoff (RIF) support - aimed at reducing conflict, burnout and turnover. Formerly known as iRestart, ibelong has worked with leaders at more than 175 startups and enterprises.
Benjamin Pleat
Benjamin (Ben) Pleat is the CEO and co-founder of Cobu, a Boston-based resident-engagement platform that turns apartment buildings into actual communities. After watching his extroverted mother feel isolated in a well-appointed Manhattan building - and learning that apartment owners bleed money to roughly 50% annual tenant churn - he built a company on a simple bet: a single friend in your building makes you 30%+ more likely to renew your lease. A Harvard economics grad who passed through WeWork's growth team and Goldman Sachs' real estate private equity group, Pleat now leads a company that has powered community in tens of thousands of apartment homes by getting neighbors into the same room for poker nights, potlucks, and chef dinners.
Wayfinder
Wayfinder is a K-12 edtech company that builds a PreK-12 platform for purpose-driven learning, combining research-backed social-emotional and life-readiness curriculum, MTSS-ready resources, and real-time insights. Born out of Stanford's d.school K12 Innovation Lab, it helps students develop durable, future-ready skills like purpose, belonging, adaptability and collaboration, and is used across thousands of schools and districts.