But what Scott Heiferman, Meetup’s founder, quickly found was that the organizers of these free groups were less likely to take their obligations seriously—and sometimes wouldn’t even show up to the events they were hosting—if they didn’t make a financial commitment to being a host. So now Meetup’s primary business model is a modest ($10–$15/month) charge to their super-participants to manage a group. It has been the making of the platform.
