Thanks for your interest in 021.

Our mission

Help business people learn, think and connect better.

We say “twenty-one,” but it means “zero to one.”

All the info about the community is on this page. The link to join is at the end.

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What is 021?

It’s a new business community, and for now it’s just four WhatsApp chats.

Chat #1: Discussion

General discussion: any question, any answer.

  1. Give Answer someone’s question with what you know or have tried.

  2. Ask Then ask your own, in the same message.

Topic of the week. Every week we pick one topic and discuss it all week: AI, fundraising, hiring, or anything else. Questions on it are welcome but never required: you can always ask your own, on anything you want to understand or get opinions on.

Chat #2: Learning

Insights from what you read, watch and listen to.

  1. Give Comment on someone’s post: what you took from it, where you agree or disagree, and why. “Great post” doesn’t count.

  2. Ask Then, in the same message, share a link to your notes, with your insight in one sentence.

Share as you go. Your best insights from books, podcasts, interviews, YouTube videos, anything. You don’t have to finish a book first: share an insight any time you have one.

Chat #3: Thinking

Insights from your own thinking: essays, blog posts, recorded speeches.

  1. Give Comment on someone’s work first.

  2. Ask Then share yours in that one message: a link, with your insight in one sentence.

Share as you think. Whenever you’ve thought something through, share it, any time. It doesn’t have to be long or polished.

Chat #4: Personal

Your news, for the whole community: a birthday you’re inviting us to, a new baby, your first sale, a milestone.

  1. Give React to someone’s news. Here, a reaction is all it takes; no comments.

  2. Ask Then share yours, starting with your introduction.

Share only what you’d share in public. Every member can see it, and people who join later may see it too.

House rules

  • Your give and your ask go in one message, to keep the chats clean.
  • Your work lives outside the chat (Medium, Notion, Drive…); every link opens for anyone.
  • Comment on posts, not on comments.
  • Got a comment on your post? React; to talk more, go to DMs.
  • Comments up to 1,000 characters.
  • No promo, in the chats or in DMs. No politics, religion or sex.

Extra chats, by interest Optional

  • Sports. See each other move: a photo or a short video of you, one line on what you did, reactions only.
  • 4am. Early mornings, as a game: one message a day, and the earlier you send it, the more points you get.
  • Vibe coding. For members who build with AI: swap tools, prompts and what you’ve made.
  • Mastermind. Share your weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual results: progress, performance and key metrics, in a simple general format.

And this is only the beginning. Way more chats will open soon, by topic and interest: a new one opens when about ten members want it. Tell me which ones fit you, and I’ll add you.

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Online meetings

Weekdays at 8:00 · one hour in three parts · the program

We meet on Google Meet every weekday, Monday to Friday, at 8:00 (Kazakhstan time) — yes, 8 in the morning — for one hour.

Every hour has three parts, 20 minutes each:

Learning

We study this week’s topic: a founder, a company or a book.

Thinking

We dive into a major question with follow-ups and think it through in pairs or small groups.

Connecting

We go into groups of five. Everyone has four minutes to share an insight.

The program

Founders, companies and books.

The first six months

Month 1 weeks 1–4

  1. 01
    FounderSteve Jobs
  2. 02
    CompanyGoogle
  3. 03
    BookZero to One, Peter Thiel
  4. 04
    FounderJeff Bezos

Month 2 weeks 5–8

  1. 05
    CompanyNVIDIA
  2. 06
    BookThe Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz
  3. 07
    FounderJack Ma
  4. 08
    CompanyKaspi.kz

Month 3 weeks 9–12

  1. 09
    BookThe Lean Startup, Eric Ries
  2. 10
    BookGood to Great, Jim Collins
  3. 11
    FounderElon Musk
  4. 12
    CompanyAirbnb

Month 4 weeks 13–16

  1. 13
    BookCrossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore
  2. 14
    FounderWarren Buffett
  3. 15
    CompanyNetflix
  4. 16
    BookBlue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

Month 5 weeks 17–20

  1. 17
    FounderRay Dalio
  2. 18
    CompanyStripe
  3. 19
    BookGood Strategy/Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt
  4. 20
    FounderSam Altman

Month 6 weeks 21–24

  1. 21
    CompanyUber
  2. 22
    BookBlitzscaling, Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh
  3. 23
    FounderBill Gates
  4. 24
    CompanyY Combinator

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What else to expect?

Where 021 is heading

021 is just getting started. Here’s where it’s heading:

  • Our own platform. A knowledge base with all our insights, leaderboards and our own mini social network.
  • An international community. We meet online and speak English, so we’re a minute away from going international.
  • Guest speakers, from Kazakhstan and beyond.
  • Clubs in every major city where our members live.
  • Regular events.

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FAQ

Six quick answers: price, time, English and more

How much is it?

My main motivation is to build a great community. Still, there will be modest fees.

Membership is your place in the chats. A modest annual fee, after we reach a critical mass of active members.

Online meetings: a modest fee per meeting, after a demo week at no charge. You buy as many meetings as you want and come on any weekdays you like.

How much time does it take?

As much as you want. The more you give, the more you get.

You can take an active part: listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos, read books, share your insights, write essays, ask questions and give deep answers.

Or you can simply read what other members share. Either way, you keep learning and thinking.

It’s totally up to you.

Do I have to attend the online meetings?

No, they’re absolutely optional. Come when you want to learn, think and connect at a deeper level.

What if English is hard for me?

Most of us here aren’t native English speakers, so some difficulty expressing our thoughts is common. Intermediate English is totally fine.

If your English is closer to pre-intermediate and communicating is really hard, it’s actually better for you: you get all the benefits everyone else gets, and you upgrade your English too.

A bonus: within this community, we also have separate business English classes, so members always have a chance to upgrade their business English. Interested? Let me know, and I’ll share more.

Can I join from outside Kazakhstan?

Absolutely. Everything happens online and in English, so you can join from anywhere. The meetings run at 8:00 Kazakhstan time (UTC+5).

Are the meetings recorded?

No. They’re live conversations, so the way to get them is to come.

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About me

Who’s behind 021

Alisher Temirlanov (Ali Tim). Entrepreneur in education from Kazakhstan: ten years teaching English, lately business English for founders and freelancers; five years of public speaking at Toastmasters in Almaty; a former member of AIESEC and Global Shapers.

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Ready to join?

The WhatsApp link and your first steps

Join 021 on WhatsApp

Once you’re in, introduce yourself in Personal: who you are, your business, your interests and a fun fact.

Here’s mine:
AlisherHi everyone! I’m Alisher, the founder of 021, building this community with you. I love public speaking and studying how great founders think. Fun fact: I’ve been writing stories for more than 15 years.

Then I’ll message you personally. If you have ten minutes, I’d love a quick call to get to know you.

Discussion021 · an example chat