IRL > URL.The Offline Movement.Digital Fatigue.
In my businesses, we tripled-down on one big idea: authentic connections and community are about to become sought out and in demand to unprecedented levels. At Toth House, I look at the businesses that are bridging this need: digital peer memberships, local connections, curated rooms, social clubs, private club venues, experience-driven events.
“Rob is an innovator with his finger on the pulse of trends.” – Nikolas Oliver
Memberships·Peer Networks·Curated Rooms·Events·Private Clubs
The Sunday read for people in the business of connecting people.
Read by operators and executives at
Host, Toth House
Good to meet you. Welcome to Toth House.
I’m Rob Toth. I’ve been building businesses online for 23 years, before Facebook and YouTube were even born.
For the last 11, my M&A and growth firm Songbird Group has sold media, membership, community and event companies to strategic acquirer brands. By nature of the work, I’ve seen behind-the-scenes of 500+ businesses, in 30+ markets and negotiated with buyers in all major English speaking (and many non-English) countries globally. That hands me a distinct vantage point of the world of business as a whole.
Nothing in my 23 years has excited me quite like what I’m seeing now. Digital fatigue, offline movement, social reconnect and the loneliness economy were all bubbling concepts for years — and then AI turbocharged them. The more AI-everywhere penetrates our world, the more a consumer demand grows for human connection and offline experience.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction; Events and community are the equal and opposite force reaction to AI.
Businesses whose product is connection to other people are seeing demand at unprecedented levels.
“Events and community are the equal and opposite force reaction to AI.”
Rob Toth
Toth House is where I lay out on the table this ecosystem for operators, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, investors and brands who are active in these segments.
I look at digital peer memberships, curated room events, local social clubs, private members-only clubs, cohorts and masterminds and dive into their growth models, deals in the space and offline happenings.
House as a metaphor.
Why a house? A house is where you host a private gathering, and where the open, honest conversations happen. It’s also why Toth House lands every Sunday instead of during office hours.
Door’s open.
Refreshments stocked.
Pull up a chair.
Replace “AI” with “live.” It’s just as true.
If you walk out of this house with one idea, make it this one: the inverse of AI is live. Connection, community, the room, the whole offline movement. Every headline about one has a twin about the other.
- Tech is shifting to AI.People are shifting to connection and live events.
- Investors are excited about AI.Acquirers are excited about curated rooms, niche events and community.
- AI.com sold for $70 million.Club.com sold for $10 million.
- AI is still in its infancy.So are live events being reshaped into curated connection.
- AI keeps growing as a boardroom conversation.More of that conversation is shifting to community-led growth and events-led growth.
- Companies are hiring AI specialists and Chiefs of AI.Hiring is spiking for events and community roles.
Generic networking is out. Curated rooms are in. A 30-person peer event, an 8-person dinner, 250 members in a premium digital membership: the curation and the niche are the win, for members, for brands and for acquirers.
What lands in your inbox every Sunday.
growth
Growth models for boosting memberships, event attendees, community, revenues and even valuation.
deals
M&A, acquisitions and fundraises. Data-driven breakdowns of community, event, membership and social club businesses: what sold, for how much, and why.
take it offline
Relevant news, including events to attend. Priority invites, discounts and digital goodie bags.
between you
and me
The wildcard corner. Less business, more personal.
See you this Sunday?
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The view from up here is the job.
Spotting the angles, behaviour shifts, market demands is the spine of my work.
- June 2023
I published a report arguing Google was turning into an answer engine and that ten blue links were becoming old technology. Industry veterans called it just another algorithm change.
- September 2023
Google’s Helpful Content Update hit. Many publishers lost 40 to 80% of their business within 60 days.
- October 2024
I told our core team the next decade would swing hard toward community and connection, and we rebuilt the firm around it. OODIENCE Media M&A became Songbird Group in late 2025.
- 2026
AI boom accelerates a shift to human connection. Buzzwords become prevalent: Loneliness Epidemic. Trust Economy. Digital Fatigue. Social Renaissance. IRL > URL. Friendship Recession. Offline Movement. The Great Disconnect.
- 2027?
Will shift us further from attention to connection. TVO, trust & visibility optimization, will become operational requirements for Brands.
The loneliness economy – podcast interview
I sat down with radio personality Kid Carson at his studio on a recent trip to Vancouver and we dialogued about why run clubs became the new Tinder, why newsletters are back on top, why private members-only clubs are exploding in growth and more.
Watch or listen:
Book a Conversation.
If connecting people is becoming part of your brand’s strategy, whether that’s event activations, a membership or a community that actually holds, let’s talk it through.
Book a ConversationLet’s connect on LinkedIn.
It’s where I post between issues, and where most of my conversations start.
@RobTothOfficial Connect on LinkedInStep inside.
Written for the operators, executives and investors in the business of connecting people. In your inbox every Sunday.