How SVSLearn grew to 1,800 members with mentoring courses
Online courses naturally spark community. If you’ve ever led or joined one, you’ve likely seen students connecting in chat spaces and cheering each other on. But when that energy outgrows the comment section, things can start to feel scattered.
That’s where SVSLearn found themselves.
Co-founded by professional illustrator and cartoonist Jake Parker in 2013, SVSLearn launched when online education was just starting to take off and it was hard to find high-quality, practical content from artists actually working in the field.
The goal was simple: teach the kind of illustration classes most universities didn’t offer, from the artist’s point of view. With a library of expert-led mentoring courses and structured curriculum, it gave aspiring illustrators an affordable, professional pathway into the creative industry.
But even with all the right content, something was missing.
“We had all the learning material people needed,” Jake shared. “But the community side of it was really weak.”
Beyond a basic forum and YouTube comments, there wasn’t much space for deeper connection.
“In an age where information is cheap, if not free, the thing people really value is community and interaction,” he said. “Not just with peers, but with mentors.”
That insight led the SVSLearn team to Circle in late 2024, where they reimagined their online community for artists from the ground up. In this article, you’ll learn how they built a 1,200+ member mentoring hub, and the exact tools and strategies that make it work.
The key Circle features that power their community:
- Multi-tier paywalls with targeted experiences
- Integrated onboarding with a 30+ page self-assessment PDF
- Curriculum-aligned courses in Circle’s native courses feature
- Live and asynchronous community programming
- 24/7 mentorship access through dedicated spaces
- Strategic use of segmentation to manage workshops and pro-level courses
The community breakdown
📍 Community: SVSLearn
👋 Founders: Jake Parker and Lee White
🗓️ Launched on Circle: December 2024
🌟 Size: 1,800+ active members
🎯 Purpose: Help aspiring professional illustrators develop the skills to make a living from their art, through a visual storytelling curriculum, community, and mentorship
💰 Pricing model: Paid online community membership tiers (Sketchbook, Desk, Studio) ranging from $50-$800/year.
Choosing the right platform
Before moving to Circle, SVSLearn hosted their mentoring courses on Thinkific. As their student base grew, the team saw a clear opportunity to bring learning and connection into the same space.
Jake said they were looking for a platform where they could:
- Share their curriculum
- Host live streams
- Have spaces where like-minded individuals can connect and learn from each other
“We looked at five or six different platforms, but we kept coming back to Circle because it had the best features and was the easiest to navigate,” said Jake.
How they structure and monetize their membership
According to Circle’s 2025 Community Trends Report, 70% of communities have just one pricing option. Only 6% offer three or more. SVSLearn is part of that latter group.
Their membership includes three different levels to support their learners at all stages of their creative journey.
- Sketchbook ($50/year): A low-cost entry point with limited access to courses, live virtual events, community spaces, challenges, and their weekly podcast.
- Desk ($300/year): Access to the full curriculum, plus more events, and live sessions.
- Studio ($800/year): Adds premium mentorship, peer learning spaces, 24/7 support, and direct instructor access.
To support this layered model, SVSLearn uses 14+ paywalls across their Circle space to:
- Segment tiered membership access with annual and biannual billing
- Gate workshops and pro classes by cohort
- Control access to course libraries and live events
- Archive time-limited pilots and seasonal content
So, aside from the recurring revenue that comes from their membership plans, the SVSLearn team organizes paid cohort based courses and classes that run several times per year:
- Workshops: Shorter 2-3 week classes on specific topics, such as watercolor
- Pro Classes: Longer 9-10 week classes on mastering a discipline, such as children's book illustration or graphic novel creation
Outside of the community, they continue to nurture their broader audience with free content on YouTube and a thrice-weekly email newsletter.
👉🏼 Pro tip: Ready to dive into your Circle set-up? Watch this platform tour from community strategist, Carrie Melissa Jones, to get up and running in no time.
Their member onboarding experience
SVSLearn’s onboarding flow helps new members feel at home and on track from the first click.
It starts with their custom “Start Here” space, which features a warm video introduction from the founders and a 30+ page PDF starter kit. This guide walks members through what to expect and how to get the most out of the community.
At the heart of the guide is a self-assessment tool: a 10-question quiz where members rate their skills across key areas. Based on their score, SVSLearn places them in a learning level (ranging from novice to advanced) and offers personalized curriculum recommendations to match.
This step helps members orient themselves and immediately understand where to begin. It’s also a natural point of connection.
“We’ve noticed that people, when they’re introducing themselves, will actually say, ‘Oh, I’m at this level or I’m doing this,’” Jake shared.
Encouraging community engagement through dedicated spaces
Themed spaces for sharing and feedback are a core part of SVSLearn’s member engagement strategy. Here are the ones members return to again and again.
Introductions space
New members are prompted to share their artistic goals and style, helping them connect with others right away. “The idea from the get-go is to get people engaging with each other,” said Jake. “Break the ice, break people out of their shells. Anything you can do to get that going is good.”
“Share Your Art” space
This is the most active part of the community. It’s where members post their illustrations and give and receive feedback on an ongoing basis.
Monthly “How to Fix Your Art” challenge
Each month, members get a new illustration prompt, share their progress halfway through, and wrap up with a live instructor-led critique session.
24/7 Helpline space
Here, members can ask urgent questions at any time and get replies from instructors within 24 hours.
Weekly office hours
These live Q&A sessions, featuring a rotating roster of professional illustrators, provide regular opportunities for feedback and mentorship.
👉🏼 Pro tip: If you want to host epic events like SVSLearn in your Circle space, this Events feature walkthrough by Doug from Convology is a great starting point.
How they structure the learning experience
According to our 2025 Community Trends Report, communities that pace their curriculum and embed peer accountability see radically higher engagement. SVSLearn is a clear example of how that works in practice.
Their learning experience starts with foundational courses in drawing fundamentals, character design, environments, and storytelling. As members gain skills and confidence, they progress to more specialized tracks, such as Children’s Book Pro, Graphic Novel Pro, and Self-Publishing Pro. By the end of each Pro course, students should have polished, portfolio-ready work.
The final step is real-world application: learning how to get published, start a freelance business, or even secure jobs with publishers like Marvel, DC, or Scholastic.
SVSLearn delivers all 25+ digital courses through Circle and pairs them with a downloadable curriculum guide. They also host weekly live events, like Freaky Friday drawing jams and live critique sessions, to keep members accountable and engaged.
How they run workshops and cohort-based courses
SVSLearn uses workshops and cohort-based courses as both high-impact learning experiences and a natural membership funnel.
Workshops are two-week intensives on specific topics like watercolor or comics. They’re live, interactive, and give learners a taste of the SVSLearn experience. Many participants go on to join the full community after the workshop ends.
Pro courses, like the 10-week Graphic Novel Pro led by a Marvel veteran, delve deeper. They include live critiques, weekly office hours, private discussion spaces, and long-term access to course material.
In the final week, instructors encourage learners to keep the momentum going by joining the community.
“There’s too much to do in 10 weeks,” co-founder Jake Parker said. But that’s the point. It creates a meaningful transformation, while naturally inviting people to stick around for more.
What their operations and team structure look like
The SVSLearn founders are all working artists, so they’ve built a strong support team to manage the day-to-day.
Their 10+ person crew covers operations, curriculum, marketing, customer support, and content production. They also partner with a marketing agency for social media, video editing, email, and web design.
Finally? They use Circle as their central hub. It’s where they manage curriculum updates, onboarding flows, live event logistics, and community feedback all in one place.
This setup allows the founders to continue pursuing their passion while keeping the community running smoothly.
How they think about retention and growth
SVSLearn’s approach to growth is slow and steady. They don’t chase quick wins. Instead, they focus on creating recurring value through access to experienced instructors, peer accountability, live feedback, and consistent, reliable programming.
They’re also intentional about creating a two-way dialogue with their members. They regularly run surveys and small focus groups to gather feedback and improve the experience.
That member-first mindset is paying off. As six-month renewals start rolling in, it’s clear the community is sticking.
“People choose to stay because it’s part of their day, it’s part of their week, and they want to maintain that connection with other people,” says Jake.
Looking ahead, the team is focused on building a repeatable yearly rhythm of events, pro course launches, and cohort programs.
As Jake put it, “We want to get into a nice cadence, so we can just repeat it year after year and not do as much wheel spinning.”
The SVSLearn team’s advice for other creators
If there’s one thing the SVSLearn team wants other creators to know, it’s that building a thriving membership community takes time. You also need to be willing to keep refining as you go.
“The way we structured it right now isn’t even how we launched,” shared community manager Austin Shurtliff. “We completely redid how we organized things after just a couple of months because we realized it wasn’t the best. You need to be willing to keep working on it and improving as you go.”
Co-founder Jake Parker agrees. “This is not a ‘get rich quick’ thing. This is a ‘get rich as slow as possible’ for us,” he said. “But if you come into it with the intention of, ‘I really wanna help people,’ the money will come and the community will grow.”
Their biggest lesson? Listen more than you lead. “You just have to listen to your people and see what works and what doesn’t,” Jake said. “That’s where you grow a genuine community.”
The key takeaway from SVSLearn’s mentoring course success on Circle
SVSLearn is a standout example of what happens when you pair a focused, well-paced curriculum with intentional community design.
They used Circle’s courses, events, paywalls, and segmentation to create structure and the result? A mentorship-driven space where illustrators grow, connect, and level up.
For creators, the takeaway is simple: lead with purpose, stay open to iteration, and design for long-term value. When you center learning and belonging, a thriving membership will follow.
