How Forest & Fawn Reached Fairytale-Level Success with Mighty Networks

“Our first retreat sold out in 16 minutes.”

Sarah Lockwood & Alli Neri

Founders

When Sarah Lockwood and Alli Neri paired up as accountability buddies during a certification program, they quickly discovered that they shared a love for fantasy books. Exhausted with her day job, Sarah had just rediscovered reading again and started a TikTok channel all about books; Alli had dreams of organizing a retreat for fellow fantasy literature lovers. They decided to combine their powers, open an L.L.C., and book the first event for April 2024.

“The first Forest & Fawn retreat sold out in 16 minutes,” Sarah recalls. “It was so crazy. It was really exciting and validating to see that the idea we had was filling a need because reading can be a very isolating hobby.”

For their first retreat, they gathered at the picturesque Captain Whidbey Island Inn in Puget Sound, Washington, to read and discuss A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Alli and Sarah wondered what would happen with such a big group of people who didn’t know each other. Would people go off into their own cozy nooks to read in silence? They did quite the opposite. Instead, everyone gathered in a circle and didn’t stop talking until the very last minute. After their next retreat the following summer, they knew they needed to expand the people magic of Forest & Fawn beyond retreats. After years in the online personal coaching space, Sarah knew exactly what they should use: Mighty Networks.

When Sarah and Alli decided to start Forest & Fawn as an online community, they wanted to make sure it didn’t feel like just another book club. They designed their space to have multiple kinds of engagement. Yes, there’s a space where members can discuss one specific book every month, but there are others for helpful critiquing of their own fantasy writing, planning ahead for retreats, and even crafting together. They also wanted a one-stop shop where they could announce future events and members could sign up for them in the same spot.

“Mighty Networks stood out in every sense,” Sarah says. “It has every single thing that we want and everything we need to build the kind of community we want. It was so user-friendly to build out and so visually appealing, which was a game-changer. I didn't feel like I was pulling my hair out. Mighty set us up for success, and we didn’t have to figure it out on our own. Everything that we needed was listed out for us, so nothing was missed.”

After they launched in January 2025, they had 1,200 paying members within months, and 1,500 members signed up for access to their free Writing Challenge space. Because they were intentional about building an inclusive community with value-aligned members, they decided to bring on Liz Arvanitis as a community manager who makes sure they’re making the most of Mighty features day-to-day.

“We love the polling,” Liz says. “We were doing listening parties where we would just listen to a book while we crafted, kind of like parallel play. Later, we asked them if they liked that format, and they said, ‘We actually want to talk more.’ So we gave them more space to share.”

Just like Sarah and Alli were surprised to see their members light up and chat non-stop at their first retreat, they were delighted to see that the same effect happened when they brought an even larger community together online with Mighty Networks. That level of enthusiasm helped them shape their membership offer of $10 a month for the Reading Nook, the book club-style discussion space, and $35 a month for the Writer’s Corner, a professional development space for members to share their own writing and hear guest speakers. They also offer a combo deal, $25 a month for both, and members who sign up for an annual plan get two months free.

“With Mighty Networks we are not limited by location,” Sarah says. “The accessibility is amazing. We can continue to grow, and there's no ceiling for where we can take it. This can be global.”

By having so many ways for members everywhere to engage year-round, everyone involved with Forest & Fawn is connected even deeper than they would be if they just saw each other a few times a year or kept up with one another on social media. And people who can’t always make time or money to attend a retreat can still feel included. For Sarah, seeing the life-changing relationships that spark because of the people magic she and Alli created by starting this community is the best part.

“A member recently said Forest & Fawn has made the world feel a little less scary,” she says. “So many of them say they’ve found their people. That’s a comment we get a lot. They feel like, ‘I belong here.’"