From Host to Lead: my journey running Clay Club

Hi, I'm Diana - GTM Engineer, Clay Club Lead Montreal.

I spent eight years in B2B marketing at early-stage startups. Then I discovered Clay and saw what it could actually do — so I decided to go all in. Now I'm a GTM Engineer-freelancer. This is the story of how I went from applicant to Clay Club Lead, what it actually takes to organize these events, and why I think every GTM professional in a major city should consider doing this.

What Are Clay Clubs?

Clay Clubs are local, in-person communities of Clay users and GTM professionals. Since June 2024, hosts have organized over 130 events across more than 50 cities and 20 countries. We're talking Lagos, Lahore, Berlin, Riga, Islamabad — and now Montreal.

The format varies. Some clubs run casual happy hours for 20 people. Others host speaker presentations with 50+ attendees. Some do hands-on workshops where people build workflows together. The common thread is bringing the online Clay community into the real world.

Clay's team (they're still small, based in NYC) doesn't run these events themselves. Instead, they support hosts with budgets up to $1,500 USD, swag, promotional reach to their mailing list, and a comprehensive playbook. Hosts handle the local execution — venue, catering, content, and community building.

The Team Structure: Co-Hosts, Leads, and Volunteers

Before I get into my story, let me explain how Clay Club teams work — because I didn't fully understand this when I applied.

Co-Host: This is where everyone starts. For your first event, you're a co-host. You're accountable for the event's success and the growth of your local community. Co-hosts handle communication and engagement, operations, and strategy. Compensation is 12K Clay credits per event (trial hosts get 6K for their first event).

Lead: Chosen after a successful trial event. If the partnership makes sense, you get invited to become the Lead. Leads manage the co-host team, handle the budget (via a Ramp virtual spending card), set community growth goals with Clay's help, and plan the event calendar. Compensation includes 3 PRO plan features, 1K credits per attendee with 8+ NPS (capped at 20K per event), and 20% revenue share for new paid plans using your referral link.

Volunteers/Presenters: Attendees who want to share their workflows and help the club grow. They assist with day-of logistics, promotion, photos, and setup. After 2 contributions, they get 4K credits per event plus special swag.

The key insight: you can't just apply to be a Lead. You have to prove yourself first.

My Timeline: Application to Lead

I applied around the end of June 2024. On August 6th, I got a message from Siya Verma, who runs Clay Clubs globally. (Siya is fantastic, by the way — she's the engine behind this whole program.)

We had a call where she asked about my community experience and my expertise level with Clay. I'd been deep in Clay workflows for months at that point, building complex automations for clients. That helped. I got approved as a Host.

But here's the thing — becoming a Lead doesn't happen immediately. You can only become a Lead after your first successful event.

Sculpt and the Private Host Meetup

Sculpt was probably the best conference I've ever attended.

But the moment that really stuck with me was a private meetup Siya organized for Clay Club Hosts a day before the conference. About 50 hosts and leads from around the world gathered to share experiences, struggles, and wins.

I met Artyom (Arty) Jurkevich from Riga and discovered we had the exact same date for our first Clay Club events — September 30th! We talked about our preparations, our nerves, what we were planning. I also met hosts from other cities and Siya herself.

That gathering made the whole thing feel real. I wasn't just organizing a random meetup. I was part of a global community of people building something together.

Organizing My First Event: The Reality

When Siya and I created the Luma page for Clay Club Montreal, she sent invitations to Clay users in the Montreal area. For the first few weeks, I had about 30 people registered. I thought, "Okay, 20-30 people will actually show up. I'll book a venue for that."

Then, closer to the event, registrations kept coming. The final count hit 60-70 people.

I had booked a smaller venue. When I saw those numbers, I panicked. I had to find a bigger space last minute — and I made sure to book it far enough from the original location that nobody would accidentally show up at the wrong place.

The Budget Reality

Clay reimburses up to $1,500 USD for venue, catering, and event-related expenses. That sounds generous until you're trying to accommodate 60+ people.

I needed to cover:

• Venue rental
• Food and drinks
• Printed banners
• Name tags
• All the little things you don't think about until you're doing it

I didn't check the venue in person before booking — there wasn't time. I relied on photos and reviews. It worked out, but it was tight. The space ended up being the best I could get within budget for that many people.

One funny note: I got a bad review because someone expected alcoholic drinks, but I only offered non-alcoholic beverages. Sorry to disappoint! But I stand by that choice — it keeps the event accessible and focused.

The Presentation

If logistics took a few weeks of scattered effort, preparing my presentation felt like a full-time job for several days. I took time off from client work just to get it right.

I really wanted to make it easy to understand, genuinely helpful, and fun. I structured it around three parts:

Part 1: Live-build with Sculptor. I walked through building a workflow in real-time using Clay's new AI co-pilot. My example? Finding Montreal restaurants that offer delivery — I'd recently gotten a handwriting robot as a gift and had an idea about helping restaurants add hand-written thank-you notes to their orders. It was a practical demo that showed beginners how accessible Clay has become.

Part 2: Signals deep-dive. I broke down enrichment-based signals (static facts that help you understand your prospect) versus trigger-based signals (dynamic events that tell you when to reach out). Then I walked through a real case study about targeting real estate agents using Zillow data — including how AI-generated copy fails and why human judgment still matters.

Part 3: The bigger picture. I ended with a warning about the "AI GTM apocalypse" — the flood of generic, invasive outreach that's coming. My thesis: with more data available than ever, success still comes down to truly understanding your customer.

The event had 45 people actually show up. Montreal's GTM community came ready to work. Beginners sat next to experts. Everyone was digging into real workflows, asking sharp questions, sharing what's actually working in their outbound motions.

Why This Matters for Your Career

Running Clay Club Montreal has helped me build connections and credibility in ways that client work alone never could.

If you're just starting in the GTM field, being backed by a company like Clay — now valued at over $3 billion — gives you instant legitimacy. It positions you as the go-to expert when people think of Clay in your city. My LinkedIn network grew. People started reaching out for advice, collaborations, and yes, client work.

But beyond the business benefits, there's something genuinely rewarding about bringing people together around something you're passionate about. Watching a room full of strangers connect over shared problems and help each other — that's the good stuff.

What I'd Do Differently

Looking back, my main lesson is simple: book the bigger venue from day one. Don't assume modest turnout. GTM Engineering is growing fast, and people are hungry for practical, hands-on learning.

I'd also give myself more buffer time for presentation prep. A few days felt rushed. If you want to deliver something truly valuable, treat it like the major project it is.

Should You Become a Clay Club Host?

If you're passionate about Clay and love bringing people together, yes.

Clay is looking for hosts who can wear many hats. You don't need to be a polished public speaker — that's something you can work on. You don't need prior event experience — they give you a playbook. What you need is genuine enthusiasm for the product and the community.

The expectations are straightforward:

• Genuine interest in leading your local community (they measure success by attendee happiness, not ROI)
• Ability to work in a team
• Enough Clay skills that your expertise is front and center when people come to learn

The tasks are real work: sourcing venue and catering, managing the event page on Luma, coordinating content capture, sending post-event surveys, communicating with Clay's event support team. But you're not doing it alone, and the payoff — in credits, credibility, and community — is worth it.

You can apply here: clayhq.typeform.com/to/knD5DWMZ