The value of a private club is often the network not the asset

In many successful private club subscription models, the most valuable feature is not the tangible product or service being offered, but the community of people the subscriber gets to interact with. The "who" is often more important than the "what."

While the club may be built around a physical asset (like a golf course or a portfolio of vacation homes) or a specific activity (like investing), the true, underlying value for many members is the opportunity to network and build relationships with other high-status, like-minded individuals.

• Genius Network: Joe Polish's $25,000-a-year group is explicitly marketed as a "dream rolodex." Members are paying for access to the collective wisdom and connections of the other entrepreneurs in the room.
• TIGER 21: While the "Portfolio Defense" is the central activity, the immense value comes from getting feedback on your financial strategy from a trusted group of peers who have also met the $10 million wealth threshold.
• Salon Speaker Series: Subscribers pay to hear from famous speakers, but a significant part of the appeal is being in a room with other influential bankers and lawyers from their city.

This is a form of "subscribing for status." The membership is a signal that you belong to a certain tribe. Therefore, when designing a private club model, curating and highlighting the quality of the member network is just as important, if not more so, than curating the quality of the asset itself.