Every founder knows that community is important. But building one—from scratch, without funding, and without an already loyal group of Instagram followers—is easier said than done.

Speaking from years of being an influencer wannabe, I can say with confidence that this is one of the hardest problems to solve in business. We’ve all seen how influencers reverse the traditional playbook: they build a community first, and then whatever they sell works because people trust them. We know the community is valuable, so I wanted to get into the weeds with someone who’s actually pulled it off.

So, I sit down with Elina Panteleyeva—founder of Dood Woof, an e-commerce brand for doodle dog owners—to unpack exactly how she built a high-converting, hyper-loyal customer base with no outside funding, no big audience, and no prior experience in ecomm.

Interstingly, Elina didn’t launch a product and then go find people to buy it. She found people first. She listened to them. And then she built something with them—not for them.

In this episode, you’ll learn the tools you need to apply this to your own business. Everything from:

• The simple outreach tactic that helped Elina turn total strangers into her first superfans
• How to use Instagram DMs and Facebook groups to build your initial list
• Why documenting the process (not just selling) is key to community trust
• How to turn followers into buyers

We get real about what it’s like to bootstrap a business—from the emotional toll of building without a safety net to the tactical how-tos that helped Elina stay a full time entrepreneur. And finally, one of my favorite parts of our conversation centered around why believing in yourself sometimes comes after you start, not before.

If you’ve been stuck trying to “build an audience” or wondering why no one’s engaging with your product—this one’s a must-listen.

Connect with Elina:

Instagram

LinkedIn

Dood Woof