From Startup to Scale: Jerry Li’s Playbook for the Next Economy

In this episode of Revenue Room™, Jerry Li shares his hard-won lessons on building, scaling, and thriving in the age of AI. From navigating the leap from startup scrappiness to sustainable scale, to reshaping work and leadership for the next economy, Jerry’s playbook is equal parts visionary and practical.

You’ll learn how to:

• Rethink growth strategies beyond short-term wins
• Lead teams through rapid innovation cycles
• Harness AI without losing the human edge
• Prepare your business for the economy that’s coming next

Whether you’re a founder, operator, or future-focused leader, Jerry’s insights will change how you think about growth, technology, and the future of work.

About Jerry Li

Jerry Li is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gradual, the all-in-one community platform built to turn engagement into insight and scale connection with purpose. Before starting Gradual, he led engineering teams at Amazon and Groupon, focusing on building systems at scale and mentoring emerging leaders.  His passion for community took shape through building ELC—the Engineering Leadership Community—which has grown into the world’s largest and most recognized network for engineering leaders and executives. What began as small, in-person gatherings evolved into a global community. During the shift to virtual at the start of the pandemic, the internal tools created to support ELC became the foundation for Gradual.  Today, Gradual powers communities for companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Fiverr, Scale AI, and Siemens. Jerry remains focused on helping organizations build community-led ecosystems that drive growth, deepen relationships, and unlock collective intelligence.

About Heather Holst-Knudsen

Heather Holst-Knudsen is the founder and CEO of H2K Labs and Revenue Room™ Connect. She is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in digital transformation, data, and revenue growth. She is a recognized leader and operator in media, marketplaces, events, and adjacent technologies. Heather has a proven track record of leading organizations to achieve customer-centric innovation, revenue growth, and enterprise value creation. As a thought leader, Heather shares her insights on multisided business models under The Revenue Room™. Connect with Heather on LinkedIn.

ABOUT REVENUE ROOM™ CONNECT

Revenue Room™ Connect is a high-trust membership network for growth-minded executives in media, events, data, and B2B platforms. It’s where forward-thinking leaders align around what actually drives revenue—with curated content, peer exchange, and exclusive access to frameworks, events, and executive insights. Join to connect with others solving the same challenges you are. Create your free profile at https://www.revenueroomconnect.com.

ABOUT H2K LABS

H2K Labs is a tech-enabled value creation specialist that helps media, data/information, event, and marketplace businesses accelerate revenue, drive profitability, and fuel enterprise value using data, digi...