Build alongside other Design & UX Consultants

Join our vetted membership for top design consultants to level up your business with mentors, peers, and curated resources.

Join the professional network of accomplished independent operators building self-employed careers.

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Pollen members have worked for
Pollen members have worked for
A community of peers building alongside you
Education and resources for independents
The best guidance to move forward
Exclusive data, insights, and deals
Quality programming and events
Seasoned experts to support you
Private network of peers to learn and build with
Education and resources made for independents
The best guidance to move forward
Exclusive data, insights, and deals
Quality programming and events
Seasoned experts to support you
The entrepreneurial ecosystem to set you up for independent success
Find collaborators and thought partners in our community
Our curated membership is full of peers, mentors, and future collaborators. Keep valuable insights, discussions, and barters in your back pocket.
Price with confidence using our rate database
Stop guessing what others are getting paid, and get answers. Dive into industry data on compensation rates broken down by project structure and a multitude of filters.
Personalized guidance through strategic programming
Learn from world-class mentors alongside your peers in workshops every week, or deep-dive into a dedicated Sprint to up-level your life. We’ll help you stay accountable to your biggest dreams.

Pollen Features

Experts in Residence
Fast responses to your top-of-mind questions. Access authentic information you can trust from Experts-in-Residence and community peers. No more Googling.
Assets
Pollen Assets are your shared professional treasures. They are valuable pieces of real work uploaded by members that empower others with practical insights.
Events & Workshops
Live programming every week to make you better at balancing your clients, business, and life, while learning alongside other consultants.
Playbooks & Templates
Never stare at a blank page again. Get started with our in-house templates that hundreds of consultants rely on to build their business.
Community
You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Keep valuable insights, discussions, and barters with peers and mentors in your back pocket.
Members-only Perks
As a valued member of Pollen, you have exclusive access to hundreds of partnership perks that can supercharge your business growth.
Make your independent career succeed
“Becoming a Pollen member has unlocked more in my business and myself than I could ever imagine.”
Melissa – Marketer, Editor, and Writer
“Pollen has directly resulted in high-quality and well-paying clients. They've made an intentional online space that gives me energy and doesn't bog me down.”
Rachel – Content Strategist
"Pollen has been invaluable for me. The learnings, the community, the 1:1 introductions, and the skill sets available, are perfect. I’ve been able to create custom teams based on project needs."
Erich – Creative Lead
"I've already gotten a 300% return on my membership through work referrals, and I learn something new every week through the game changing experts and peers.”
Evan – Marketing Operations

Become a Pollen
Member in 3 steps

Submit your application
1
Get accepted, pay dues
2
Join the community
3
Pollen is tax deductible as a professional development expense
$100
/ month
Save 15% with an annual plan
Apply
Pollen is tax deductible as a professional development expense
$100
/ month
You're saving 15% with an annual plan
Apply

FAQ

What's included in the membership?

Pollen is the professional development membership that accelerates your independent career. As a part of your membership, you get access to the curriculum, community, mentors, and tools to help you build a successful and durable independent business.

Curriculum: Expert-led Sprints and Courses on the business side of building an independent career. From Growth Strategy, Brand Strategy, Quarterly Planning, Financial Projections and more. Sprints run on a monthly basis and help you make 6 months worth of progress in 10 days.

Community: Connect with vetted fellow independents through industry groups, community events, forums, and discussions. No spam or self-promotion is allowed.

Mentors: Get guidance and advice from Experts-in-Residence for Pricing, Legal, Brand, Sales, Client Experience and more. Join regular Q&A sessions, learn their frameworks, and get good advice.

Tools: Unlock a pricing database, over $200,000 in discounts to tools, community submitted templates and assets, customizable contracts ($3,000 value), and more.

What’s Pollen’s cancellation and refund policy?

You can cancel anytime, and if you’re not satisfied with your Pollen membership, we’ll honor a full refund within the first 30 days of your purchase.

What are the requirements for membership?

Pollen is a vetted professional development membership for experienced independent operators. Our members have built, scaled, and led companies across many industries and stages. They’ve now gone out on their own to provide consulting, advisory, fractional, and skilled services.

Their expertise focuses on Product, Growth, Marketing, Strategy, Operations, People / HR, Content, Design, or Finance.

Members have previously held senior level roles in their careers, which enables them to go independent. Titles may have included manager, director, senior, VP, department head, or chief level positions.

Now in their independent careers, they’re consultants, advisors, strategists, and business owners. Everyone has had at least a few clients and wants to build something durable — this is not for people who are "just curious" about independence.

The Pollen team reviews every application on an individual basis to determine fit based on experience and the needs of your business.

How much effort does this require?

We know you're busy. We also know that you take your business seriously and are committed to building something durable. Pollen is not a "just add water" solution. We'll go so far to say that all the gimmicks out there promising you instant success are just that — gimmicks. Pollen is here to accelerate your effort, intention, and time spent.

Think of your time in Pollen in 2 ways:

Become more efficient: 1-2 hours spent in Pollen replaces the 5-6 hours you might currently spend searching for the right information, building templates, creating strategies, asking for advice, or correcting mistakes.

Accelerate your progress: When you're in a sprint, expect to spend 2-4 hrs / week working on your business. People say they make 6 months worth of progress in 10 days. Sprints typically last 2 weeks and we recommend participating in 1-2 sprints / quarter.

Pollen is an ecosystem that allows you to get the right information at the right time so you can flex based on your needs. This is more reflective of the reality that your business and time ebbs and flows, and you don't have time for long courses or cohort programs.

Does Pollen offer individualized or group support?

Pollen is a social platform at its core — collective wisdom and multiple perspectives are essential to your success. Sprints, workshops, accountability groups, and the community are built to accelerate your business in a group setting. You can also receive 1:1 attention through regular Q&A sessions with Experts-in-Residence and building relationships within Pollen.

How is this different from other communities?

Pollen is far more than just a community. You get access to a dynamic curriculum, expert mentors, and exclusive tools that are supercharged by the community.

How does Pollen help me make more money?

If you're looking for a "just add water" solution or job marketplace that will hand you leads tomorrow, this isn't for you.

Pollen is for people who are strategically building their businesses to last. We give you the right frameworks, strategies, tools, and support system to help you do so.

Here are a few ways Pollen has unlocked growth for our members:

Building growth plans: Through the Growth Strategy, Brand Strategy, and Strategic Planning sprints, members have set big goals and hit them.

Improved pricing and pitching: Leveraging our pricing database, pricing EIR, pitching templates and sales workshops, some members have increased pricing by 4x and closed bigger clients.

Networking: Your network is your network. People build trusting relationships, work together, and exchange referrals.

New offerings: Members have changed their ICP, provided new offerings, and diversified their revenue streams based on the examples and feedback from Pollen.

Accountability groups: Members participate in support groups that exchange ideas, provide feedback, and make sure you hit your goals.

Are sprints included in the membership?

Yes! Pollen members get access to all the sprints when they're live. We also share recordings of past sprints.

How can I contact the Pollen team?

Get in touch at contact@runpollen.com.