Forget Courses, Launch This In 2026 To Survive AI | Jay Clouse | 087

In this episode, I sit down with Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science and one of the top thinkers in the creator economy, to talk about how to build sustainable memberships, price high-ticket offers, and stay ahead of AI disruption.We dig into Jay’s insights from 250+ creator interviews, the future of online courses, and how group coaching programs quietly outperform larger audiences. Jay shares the onboarding system behind his high-retention membership, how he scaled his Lab community, and why trust, not attention, is the metric that matters most in 2024.If you want to grow a stable, high-leverage creator business, this is a masterclass.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:20 Why AI is going to disrupt course creators03:42 Hyper-personalized learning vs static curriculum07:11 What to build next if courses are dying10:47 Rethinking memberships and peer-to-peer communities17:21 Pricing for renewal instead of first-year sales22:04 Why he removed the member cap25:30 Objective criteria for curating communities27:00 Who earns the most per follower30:39 Done-for-you vs group coaching vs DIY34:32 Building sticky products that actually retain39:04 The onboarding system behind Jay’s community46:57 Keeping members engaged after 6 months50:54 Building habit loops and true community54:20 Why in-person events are now a priority58:03 Being authentic when you’re always “on”01:00:53 Don’t optimize for attention—optimize for trust01:02:28 Where to follow JayIf you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/showFollow Nathan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarryLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarryX: https://twitter.com/nathanbarryYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshowWebsite: https://nathanbarry.comFollow Jay:Website: https://www.creatorscience.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayclouseX: https://twitter.com/jayclouseYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayPodcast: https://www.creatorscience.com/podcastFeatured in this episode:Creator Science: https://www.creatorscience.comThe Lab: https://join.creatorscience.comKit: https://www.kit.com