Welcome to The People Behind the Programs, a blog series celebrating the voices, stories, and impact of the community professionals powering connection and belonging across the globe.

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Today, we meet Yukta Kandhari, the Founder and Podcaster at Hive Sphere and X-Culture, a digital nomad who brings her unique systems thinking to global community building.

Yukta didn’t stumble into community management by chance; her path was forged by a deep-seated urge to create spaces where people can support and uplift each other. Let’s dive into her story, in her own words.

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How It Started

I entered the community industry not through a job description, but through a very human need—to bring together people who genuinely want to see each other grow and create an ecosystem where that growth becomes inevitable.

My journey actually began in a very different world: I am an engineer with a double major in Computer Science and Business Systems. On paper, it was an asymmetric career move. In reality, it became my biggest advantage. Studying both technology and business gave me a systems-level understanding of how people, platforms, and processes interact—long before I ever used the word “community.” It taught me to think in loops, networks, and scale.

That instinct led me to create Youth Escobar, a youth-led cultural and social community across Central India. What started small grew into a region-wide movement, and it was here I learned the fundamentals of belonging, trust, and identity.

As I moved into the startup world, I built communities for founders—including cross-border networks in San Francisco—helping early-stage entrepreneurs find collaborators, mentors, and customers. Supported by my engineering mindset, I approached community like a system: inputs, feedback loops, incentive design, and outcomes.

That’s when everything clicked—community isn’t just connection; it’s infrastructure. It is a growth engine that drives retention, advocacy, product adoption, and ultimately revenue.

Since then, I’ve scaled marketing-led and education-led communities globally, building customer success ecosystems and designing programs that align belonging with business outcomes.

Today, I work at the intersection of community, growth, and cross-border partnerships, helping brands, founders, and educators build ecosystems where people rise together—and the business rises with them.

My path wasn’t linear, but it was intentional. I followed the need to build spaces where people support each other—and my asymmetric background became my greatest strength.

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A Day in the Life

In my current role, I manage two large-scale community ecosystems that operate across borders, time zones, and disciplines.

First, I help run one of the world’s largest global consulting and experiential learning communities, bringing together thousands of students, professors, and professionals from 100+ countries. I handle day-to-day operations such as onboarding, enrollment, team formation, managing readiness tests, data oversight, and resolving participant issues in real time. A large part of my day involves answering questions, supporting participants like Princy and her cohort, troubleshooting submissions, and ensuring every user interaction feels smooth, structured, and supported.

At the same time, I’m building one of the world’s largest multidisciplinary communities for founders who are building across borders. This includes founders working in AI, consumer tech, education, venture, and creator-led businesses. My work spans designing engagement loops, planning quarterly initiatives, creating collaboration spaces, and developing content formats that encourage cross-cultural exchange.

A typical day includes a blend of operations, strategy, and community experience design. I review data from multiple touchpoints, ensure onboarding systems are functioning properly, monitor engagement, and identify patterns that need intervention. I spend time planning new initiatives—like global roundtables, cross-border sprints, community-led AMAs, or spotlight sessions—while evaluating which platforms best support our growing ecosystem (Circle, Slack, Skool, Discord, or custom hubs).

I also collaborate with founders, educators, and partners to create programs that help members scale—whether through global visibility, peer learning, or strategic introductions.

No two days look the same, but the core remains consistent: ensuring thousands of people across continents feel supported, connected, and empowered to grow. My role sits at the intersection of operations, community building, and global ecosystem design, and every day is about creating systems where people can thrive together.

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The Tools that Power My Work

My go-to tools for community building are Skool, Circle, and LinkedIn—each for a very different strategic reason.

Skool is my favorite for engagement and gamification. The built-in points system, leaderboard, and course-plus-community structure make it incredibly easy to keep members active and intrinsically motivated. For founder communities, especially those building across borders, Skool creates an environment where participation becomes a habit, not a task. It’s simple, social, and designed for momentum.

Circle is my tool of choice when I need structure, segmentation, and a premium onboarding experience. For large-scale, multidisciplinary communities—like the one I’m building for global founders—Circle allows me to create spaces, channels, and workflows that feel organized, professional, and scalable. I can build cohorts, host events, share resources, and design community workflows in a way that mirrors a lightweight product environment.

For resources, announcements, and new-member visibility, I still believe LinkedIn is unbeatable. It’s where people already showcase their achievements, identity, and professional growth—so it acts as both a top-of-funnel and mid-funnel tool for community building. A single post can capture attention, bring in high-intent members, and reinforce the community’s brand. LinkedIn also lets me highlight wins, share stories, and create social proof that feeds directly back into community trust.

Beyond platforms, my real “tool” is the system I build around these tools—a mix of onboarding flows, weekly engagement loops, personalized check-ins, and data-backed decision-making.

Skool drives engagement. Circle drives structure. LinkedIn drives discovery and belonging. Together, they form the community operating system I rely on every day.

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Advice for Newcomers

My biggest advice for anyone starting in the community industry is simple: meet people, attend events, and stay deeply curious about what drives human behavior. Community isn’t built on tools or tactics—it’s built on understanding why people show up, what they care about, and what makes them stay.

I wish I had known early on that community building is less about managing groups and more about studying motivation, belonging, and identity. The best community builders pay attention to the small details—how someone introduces themselves, what energizes them, what they avoid, and what they truly want from the ecosystem.

Go to every event you can, online or offline. Talk to strangers. Watch how people connect. Ask better questions. Community work becomes effortless when you learn how humans operate.

And most importantly—don’t overthink it. Start small, stay consistent, and let curiosity be your biggest teacher. The community will grow if you do.

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Resources I Suggest

A few resources have shaped my community-building mindset, and I always recommend them to anyone starting out.

‍Books:

• Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi — the foundation of relationship-driven growth.
• The Community Builder’s Guide by Yurii Lazaruk — practical and modern.
• Get Together by Bailey Richardson — great for understanding belonging and rituals.
• The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb — not a community book, but essential for understanding outliers, unpredictability, and how unexpected people or events can reshape a community’s trajectory.

Courses:

• David Spinks’ Giving Spaces model at Bevy — core community psychology.
• CMX’s Community MBA — community strategy, metrics, and business alignment.

People & Companies:

Follow community-first teams at Slack, Lyft, Dropbox, Notion, Airbnb, Reddit, Figma, and HubSpot.

‍Podcasts:

• Stanford’s Leadership & Management podcast — exceptional for systems thinking.
• Masters of Community by David Spinks.

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These resources help you think strategically, understand human behavior, and navigate the unpredictability that comes with building at scale.

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💬 Let’s connect on LinkedIn — I’d love to hear from fellow community builders.

💡 The People Behind the Programs is a blog series that shines a light on the community professionals powering impactful programs around the world. Want to share your story or nominate someone doing incredible community work? Submit your spotlight here.

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Are you passionate about building communities?

‍Join the movement, start a CMX Connect chapter in your city or virtually and become a local leader in the global community industry. 👉 Apply to become a chapter director

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