"The purpose of this business is to make friends." Interview with Masha Tymoshenko, founder of Zabuyki closed women's club

Masha Timoshenko always liked to communicate with people. She organized events, did PR and developed a community around her brands.

Perhaps this would have continued further if she had not gone on maternity leave and faced loneliness. It was at this moment that she got the idea to create Zabuyki, a closed women's club for those who want to make friends.

Now it consists of 330 people. They go on trips together, go to performances and even play football. Masha says that the name of the club reflects the courage of its members - those who can break the rules, "swim beyond the buoys." And the history of the creation of this business is not at all like the classic "formulas of success".

"Why didn't I think of this before?"

I noticed a long time ago that I am gathering a community around my brands. I used to have a DOM hostel. I held meetings and minimarkets in it - I did everything to increase customer loyalty. And besides that, she owned a cosmetics and jewelry store and organized master classes, open lectures, and beauty intensives there.

At some point, I realized that of all business activities, I like to do community development the most.

After leaving for decree I noticed that I gradually stopped communicating with my girlfriends. Some of them moved, some also had children. I have no one to go for a walk with, no one to go somewhere for the weekend. One is weird and boring.

Then I signed up for a self-development training, where I clearly realized: I need a company. After that I went to Barcelona. Coincidentally, a girl from a local sorority offered to meet with me to talk about the experience of opening a hostel and a cosmetics store.

A lot of people have gathered. I recharged from communicating with them and returned to Moscow energetic and inspired: “Why didn’t I think of this before?” You can also organize lectures, meetings, master classes, trips!

“It seems like a lecture, but it seems like under the wine”

Then in Russia there were no such women's clubs. Unless Sisterhood is a closed community for female entrepreneurs. But at that time, if I'm not mistaken, they had rather strict conditions for joining - for example, it was necessary to confirm that the IP turnover exceeded a certain amount. By joining the community, you thus prove that you have money and you are determined to work seriously on yourself and your own business. But I had a completely different idea.

With the psychologist Olya Potemkina, we came up with the format "Psychology under the vindictive". He meant a lecture on some vital topic for girls - for example, sexuality, abuse, burnout — and discussing it over dinner. It seems like a lecture, but it seems like a wine - a pleasant pastime!

Since this all started. We began to meet quite often - about twice a month. Then the idea came up to travel with the same train. So we went to St. Petersburg, Berlin, Barcelona and held "Psychology under the wine" already there.

At that time, the What’s App group, thanks to which we coordinated all the lectures and trips, had grown greatly. We ran into a limitation - 260 people. This is the maximum possible number of participants in the chat. And we decided to move to Telegram.

Then I thought: “Since such changes, should we try to change the format of work altogether?” Can recruit a group of people for whom we will arrange different parties - not only "Psychology under winch." I really liked this idea. And I decided to direct all my energy to its implementation.

“In the first month, 100 people joined the club”

In the end, we made a club. We prepared a schedule with events for a month: excursions, performances, exhibitions, trainings. We made chats by interests:

• "Money" - it communicates on the topics of investments, loans and other financial transactions.
• "Careerists" - needed when the participants are in the process of finding or changing jobs, compiling a resume, want to get advice on communicating with management and subordinates.
• "Kinoclub" - it discusses recently watched films and new movies.
• "Breakfasts" - for those who are going to have breakfast together a couple of times a week (yes!).
• "Sport" - it discusses joint training and trips to new sports sections.
• "Travel" is indispensable for discussing joint trips and travel recommendations.
• "Art Club" - for trips to exhibitions, to the theater, on excursions. Here the girls arrange meetings and tell where they went.
• "Kid" is for moms.
• "Emigration" - for those leaving the country.

There are also separate chats by districts. We start them if there are more than seven people living next to each other.

We also created a bot for dating. After the girls are registered, he connects them by place of residence, by interests, by request. In the first month, 100 people joined the club.

"Two residences - in Moscow and St. Petersburg"

The financial model has always been built on a subscription system. At first, monthly access cost 500 rubles. But gradually there were more people, and we raised the cost of offline presence to 2,000 rubles, and online to 1,000. This helped us increase the number of events, rent a room where all our meetings took place, and assemble a team - a community manager and an SMM manager appeared.

Now the club has two residences - in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It has 330 people. Subscriptions make up our main budget - about 600,000 rubles. It covers taxes and salaries for the entire team. In addition, there is additional profit - from open events for those who are not members of the club, and individual paid events that are not included in the subscription: performances, excursions, trips.

If we organize a small trip out of town to a closed bath complex, then the participants pay for its cost separately. Some open events that are available not only to members of the club are also paid extra. Among them - "Psychology under the wine" and networking. But, for example, a book club, a swap, or a “Your First Time” meeting for new members are included in the subscription.

“More people means more money, why not take them all?”

Only women can join the club. We wanted to create a support space that is comfortable and safe. When a "male story" is added, the atmosphere and purpose of the presence becomes slightly different. Some may start flirting, others become more withdrawn.

I think it's cool to invite men to one-time events. For example, last month we had a joint partner practice in badminton. But in the main space, you still want to preserve the feminine atmosphere - many feel more comfortable that way.

Most often, girls who have recently moved to Moscow or St. Petersburg come to the club. They are still poorly oriented in the city and want to find out what kind of museums, theaters, restaurants.

Also, career girls come to us, who learn how to build a work‑life‑balance. Sometimes - young mothers who have come out of the decree, or divorced women who want to start a new life. They all seek our company and support.

But we don't take everyone. Since we still do not have enough resources for a full-fledged interview, we conduct a survey with detailed questions. And, having carefully studied the answers to them, we understand whether a person suits us or not.

Only 50% of applicants pass the selection.

It would seem: more people - more money, why not take everyone? But our community is very narrow. We try to create an atmosphere in which every person will feel comfortable. So that he can come to any event and be sure: there are cool people here, with whom it is interesting and fun.

For example, we immediately refuse those who come to sell their services: “Now I will join the club and bombard it with advertising.” After all, imagine how it will look like: you have a chat with your girlfriends, you add a new friend there. And now she is no-no-no, she is not present at any discussion, and then suddenly writes: “By the way, girls, I did a course on making money in Telegram. Sign up."

Crap! Where have you been all this time? Why have I never seen you at events or in chat? It is unpleasant.

Usually we can immediately calculate such people on the questionnaire. Of course, mistakes also happen: it is not always possible to recognize from the text what kind of person is hiding behind it. Therefore, for those whom we refuse, we always have an offer: “Come to an open event, let's talk in person - what if we made a mistake? And sometimes we really change our minds: “Yes, cool girl! Let's take it?"

Therefore, I always warn you: do not be offended by a refusal. Plus, an open event is always an occasion to learn more about us. Some go to the club, not fully understanding what it is for. And their expectations are not justified.

Even when reading the questionnaire, it is very important for us that a person is ready to give.

After all, a community is such a thing that lives and functions as long as its members invest in it.

They don’t just come and wait for everything to be served on a silver platter. To do this, there is a question in the questionnaire - how could you be useful to the club. If a girl writes: “I love going on excursions. And I can do them myself. For example, to invite those who wish to take a walk along the Patriarch's Ponds”, then this is our person.

"You are the funniest football team"

The ideas of the participants sometimes result in unrealistically cool stories. So, once Oksana Akimenko offered to go to a football training.

The idea was born in the summer of 2020, when the lockdown was a little asleep, but some were afraid to go to the gym. Oksana assured everyone that it would be super. None of us have played before. footballbut we decided to give it a try.

We contacted GirlPower, a women's football school in Luzhniki. We agreed that we would come as a separate team, and they would provide us with a coach.

It all started as a joke. But in the end, we all liked it so much that the football team still exists.

At the same time, you can get into it, even if you are not a member of the club. Now there are about 50 people there. This part of the community is already living its own life. There formed its own party: fees, friendly games. It happens that someone writes: “Did you go to play on Saturday?” - "Let's go!"

We regularly participate in competitions and hear: "You are the most fun football team." Yes, of course, we hope to win someday, but the main goal is just to have fun.

Our motto is: "Maximum fun, minimum skills." All for fun. Therefore, we don’t kill ourselves in training, we don’t expect a high level from ourselves and we don’t conduct a strict selection - we take everyone to the football team. Even those who have never played in their lives. And even those who have never played sports.

"Yeah, now we need another vacation"

We travel often. Especially in summer. If winter is about home gatherings and comfort, then summer is about nature and hikes. For example, last year we went to Karelia with 20-25 people. They lived there on a desert island, which they sailed to on a former Coast Guard ship. They organized a tent camp, a fire... This, it seems to me, was the coolest! It's like a children's camp for adults. Everyone is waiting for us to repeat.

Also, for example, in 2021 I really liked the trip to Turkey for the regatta. There will be a lot of movement this year too! We plan small events a month in advance, but trips are already scheduled until the end of summer. And if now, in the spring, someone comes to us and says: “I have a base in Altai, would you like to come?” I will answer: “Yes, I do. But only in September.

If normal people go to the sea on their vacation, then I go to the sea for work.

For example, the summer before last we flew to Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula. We thought with colleagues: “Let's arrange a vacation!” But curating a trip is always a big responsibility, from which you get very tired. So after that we decided, “Yeah, now we need another vacation.” And then each of us rested separately, already without a club.

“A lot of memes “Where to look for friends after 30” are walking around the Web”

I think in today's society people lack communication, intimacy and friendships. Many feel lonely. It’s not just that a bunch of memes “Where to look for friends after 30” walk around the Web.

Answering this question, I would say - in communities of interest. There are a lot of them now: a running club, English courses, art parties.

The easiest way to make friends is where you constantly go. At the same time, you need a long time period during which you could look at each other in order to understand whether you are on the way or not.

It is also important that there is an offline component. Online is not the same. For example, when quarantine was announced throughout the country, we, of course, tried to adapt. We met every day on Zoom.

In the morning, we called each other and conducted meditation. At lunch, we took turns doing classes with our children. In the evenings, the book and film clubs gathered, held "Vintage Psychology" online.

But as soon as everyone was released from self-isolation, we immediately met offline. Personal meetings always give some other charge from communication.

True, now many are emigrating, and the need for an online referral is reappearing. The members do not want to leave the club, even though they have moved. Therefore, most often they switch from offline tariff to online.

In general, the average stay in the club is about six months. After that, the participants, as a rule, exhale briefly - “Phew! So many impressions! - and come back again. Although with the advent of the online tariff, many began to switch to it.

At the very beginning, it was difficult for me to accept it. It seems that you just met a person, you liked each other, and then something has changed dramatically with him, and he leaves.

For me personally, the purpose of this business was to make friends. We went to theaters, to exhibitions, tried different sports, went on trips. All this is to find a company.

With the advent of the club, my need for friends was closed. All my friends, all the people close to me came from Zabuyka. We met someone at events, someone on the football team.

And friends are not the only thing that gave me this project. He gave me more experience. First, I realized that you always need to turn to experts - people who are in the know. If you are making a community, consult with those who make the community. This will save a lot of time. Otherwise, many pitfalls will emerge that you did not suspect at the beginning. And, secondly, I was convinced that the main thing is to do what you like. This will always give results.