diumThe challenge
Each cohort ran in its own group chat. Fellows asked the same questions about deadlines, mentor matching and demo day every term. Program staff answered them again, by hand, and good answers from the last cohort were buried or gone.
Why Dium
The team looked at keeping chat, a hosted forum, and a course platform. They chose Dium because it put Q&A and live office hours in one place, and because best answers from one cohort could carry into the next. A real story names the alternatives the customer actually considered.
Implementation timeline
Set up the Flow
Created profile types for fellow, mentor and staff, each with its own permissions.
Seeded the knowledge base
Staff posted the 25 most common questions as Waves and marked the best answers.
Moved office hours to sessions
Weekly office hours became recurring session Waves with RSVPs and breakouts.
Handed over to the next cohort
The new cohort joined a Flow that already held the last cohort's answers.
Results and how we measured them
| Measure | Before | After | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeat questions per cohort Fictional | 40 | 15 | Cohort 1 vs cohort 2 |
| Median time to first reply Fictional | 9 hours | 2 hours | Weeks 1 to 12 |
| Staff hours on repeat questions Fictional | 6 per week | 2 per week | Self-reported by staff |
Method: a real story explains exactly how each number was counted, over what dates, and anything else that changed at the same time.
Results vary. These outcomes are not typical of every community. A real story says what results people can generally expect.
"The second cohort found the answers the first one left behind. That was the whole point."
What's next
Northwind plans to open an alumni Flow in the same Room, so alumni and current fellows can share members and DMs. A real story says what the customer actually plans.
Related stories
Real stories will be linked here once published.