SocioHub: How Praveen Dorna is Building the 'Private OS' for Professional Communities
In an age of hyper-connectivity, the digital world has never felt noisier. While Facebook and LinkedIn groups have been the default for years, they are often where professional communities go to die—buried under algorithm shifts, irrelevant notifications, and a lack of data ownership. Praveen Dorna, Co-founder of SocioHub, is providing the antidote. By building an "all-in-one" private community management platform, Praveen is helping organizations, alumni networks, and professional associations reclaim their digital home. This is the story of how a founder returned from the US to solve the "noise problem" of the modern community.
Praveen Dorna’s journey is a masterclass in global perspective meeting local execution. After studying community management and business in Australia and working in the US, Praveen returned to India with a deep understanding of how people connect. His time with initiatives like Startup Village and various incubators convinced him that the biggest barrier to professional networking was the "Platform Trap"—relying on public social networks that prioritize their own ads over the community's mission. In 2019, alongside a team of highly compatible co-founders, he launched SocioHub to give communities their own branded, data-secure "Operating System."
The 'Public Platform' Trap
Praveen highlights why Facebook Groups fail professional organizations. "On public platforms, you don't own the data, you don't control the notifications, and your members are constantly distracted by outside noise. A community needs its own space where the organization defines the culture, owns the analytics, and integrates its own tools like Zoom or payment gateways without friction."
The Problem: The 'Noise and Control' Gap
For organizations like alumni associations or professional guilds, the community is their greatest asset. However, managing that asset across WhatsApp, Facebook, and Excel sheets is a nightmare. There is no central "Source of Truth," engagement is impossible to measure, and critical announcements get lost in the feed. Most importantly, these organizations lack a way to monetize their networks or provide "Managed Experiences"—where members can find mentors, jobs, or events in a verified, high-trust environment.
"We saw that organizations were 'homeless'," Praveen explains. "They were using five different tools to manage one group of people. We wanted to build a platform that says: 'Here is your branded home. All your members, events, payments, and data are in one place, controlled entirely by you.'"
The Solution: The SocioHub Community Stack
SocioHub acts as a full-stack digital hub for organizations. It combines the engagement of a social network with the utility of an ERP, allowing community managers to focus on growth rather than administration.
The SocioHub Implementation Model
- Branded Onboarding: Launching a dedicated web and mobile app that carries the organization's unique brand.
- Consolidated Database: Moving member data from fragmented sheets into a dynamic, searchable directory.
- Modular Engagement: Activating features like private messaging, discussion forums, and event management.
- Integrated Utility: Connecting third-party APIs for Zoom webinars, payment gateways for dues, and job boards.
- Data-Driven Growth: Using deep analytics to understand member behavior and identify "Super-Users."
The Australia-to-India Pivot: Global vs. Local
Praveen shares the fascinating story of how SocioHub was initially designed for the US market. However, after returning to India and interacting with the local startup ecosystem, the team realized that the Indian market had its own unique set of challenges—specifically the reliance on WhatsApp and the need for higher-touch support. This led to multiple pivots where the team "un-learned" western assumptions to build a product that was "Indian at heart but global in scale." This agility is what allowed SocioHub to survive the early uncertainties of the community-tech space.
"We had to get comfortable with the uncomfortable," Praveen reflects. "Building a startup is like preparing for a marathon. You need to start doing things you aren't comfortable with every single day. If you don't feel a little bit of fear when you wake up, you probably aren't moving fast enough."
SocioHub Reach & Impact
- All-in-One OS: Replacing up to 5 disparate tools with a single unified platform.
- Global-Local Hybrid: Built with US standards but optimized for the Indian organizational psyche.
- Trial-Based Hiring: Ensuring a 100% skill-fit through a unique real-time assignment model.
- Data Sovereignty: Giving 100% ownership of data back to the community managers.
Lessons in Leadership: Complementarity & Trials
Praveen is a vocal advocate for "Complementary Co-founders." He believes that having three people with different skill sets but the same "Energy Level" is the only way to survive the first 1,000 days. He also shares a unique hiring secret: the "Pail Model." SocioHub rarely hires based on a resume alone; they give candidates small, real-time assignments to see how they handle actual problems. This "Trial First" approach ensures that everyone joining the team is an owner, not just an employee.
"Hire for attitude and compatibility," he advises. "Skills can be learned, but the 'Internal Drive' cannot. Your first 5-10 people define the DNA of your company. If they don't believe in the vision as much as you do, the platform will never reach its potential."
Founder's Lesson: Help Yourself to Help Others
Praveen believe the best communities are self-sustaining. "Don't build a community where you are the only source of value. Build a platform where members derive value from each other. Your job is to build the stage; their job is to perform."
The Future: India as a Global Network Hub
Praveen’s vision for SocioHub is a future where every professional organization in India is part of a high-quality, verified network. He sees a world where "Alumni Power" becomes a critical driver of the Indian economy, with SocioHub serving as the digital infrastructure. By continuing to iterate on user-friendliness and integrating more "managed experience" tools, he aims to ensure that no professional relationship is ever lost to the noise of the public internet. For Praveen, the win is simple: ensuring that digital networking is finally as professional as it is personal.
SocioHub is proving that the next generation of social giants won't be "Public Squares"—they will be "Private Gardens." By giving organizations the tools to cultivate their own communities, Praveen Dorna and his team are ensuring that for the future of professional networking, the Win is finally Private.
About the Guest
Praveen Dorna is the Co-founder of SocioHub. A seasoned community builder and startup ecosystem specialist, Praveen holds an MBA from Victoria University, Australia, and has extensive experience working in the US and Indian startup landscapes. He was a key figure in initiatives like Startup Village and has spent over a decade helping organizations build high-impact networks. Under his leadership, SocioHub has emerged as a premier community management platform, recognized for its focus on data ownership and branded experiences. He is a recognized thought leader in the "Community-as-a-Service" (CaaS) space and a vocal advocate for founder mental health and co-founder compatibility.
SocioHub is an all-in-one community management platform that helps organizations, alumni networks, and professional associations build private, branded digital homes. By providing tools for member directories, event management, payment collection, and deep analytics, the platform helps communities move away from the noise of public social media into a secure, utility-driven environment that drives genuine engagement and growth.