Community, Culture, and the Business of Bringing People Together with Ben Anderson
Ben Anderson didn't set out to build a community venue. He set out to buy a house near the seacoast and do more of the work he'd been doing his entire career — connecting people through music and live events. The Word Barn, located in Exeter, New Hampshire, happened almost by accident: a band needed a place to play, all the other venues were booked, and the energy that night made it clear something real was possible in a small, intimate space.
Thirteen years later, The Word Barn hosts over 115 events a year — concerts, poetry readings, theater camp, owl encounters, farm-to-table dinners, and more. It's become one of the most beloved gathering spaces on the seacoast, and the way it got there is a story worth paying attention to.
Ben joins Wheeler and Colin to talk about the organic, non-linear path from idea to full-time business, why slow growth often produces more durable results than a fast launch, what the difference between a scene and a community actually means in practice, and how a venue built around the arts quietly turned into a model for intentional entrepreneurship. Cofi Advisors is a proud sponsor of The Word Barn.
Check out the Word Barn here: https://www.thewordbarn.com/
Follow Us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compoundgrowthpod
Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/
Credits:Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell
