Rich Habits Network: How Austin Hankwitz Turned a Podcast Into a Top Skool

Rich Habits Network is the paid Skool community behind the Rich Habits Podcast, led by Austin Hankwitz, and it is a top earner in Skool's Money category. The model is a clean podcast-to-community funnel: a free show builds the audience, and the community sells everything an episode cannot fit, including private-market deal access, live coaching, and courses. This breakdown looks at how an audience-first business and a scarcity hook convert into a $77-a-month membership, not at the investing content itself.

The founders do the selling

Austin Hankwitz

The founder and co-host of the Rich Habits Podcast, alongside co-host Robert. The community is the paid layer of an audience-first business: the podcast builds trust for free, and Rich Habits Network monetizes the most engaged listeners.

Austin's leverage is an existing audience. When a podcast has already earned trust across many episodes, the community does not have to sell from scratch, it just offers the superfans more. The about page even leads with third-party credibility (a New York Times mention) to reassure newcomers who arrive without that history.

What Rich Habits Network sells

The about page sells access, credibility, and a free way in. Below is their about page word for word, with the key parts numbered. Hover a number to see what each line is doing.

Read as a builder, this is audience-first monetization. Lead with borrowed credibility and an exclusivity hook, remove risk with a free trial, then bridge from the free podcast to the paid community as the obvious next step for fans. The headline features are the things a podcast cannot give: exclusive deal access and live time with the hosts. Instant bonuses create a quick win during the trial window so listeners convert before it expires.

The funnel, step by step

Rich Habits Network converts warm podcast listeners with a free trial and retains on live access plus exclusive deals.

The retention driver is what only membership provides: live coaching with the hosts and access to deals the public cannot reach. A free podcast is the top of the funnel and the trust engine, but the recurring value that justifies $77 a month is access, which is exactly what the free show is structured to make members crave.

The formula you can copy

Use a free asset as the trust engine. A podcast, newsletter, or channel earns the audience for free so the paid community does not have to sell from scratch.

Sell what the free thing cannot give. Exclusive access and live coaching are the recurring value that justifies a subscription, because they cannot be copied into a free episode.

Convert warm fans with a free trial and a quick win. Instant bonuses during a 7-day trial create momentum before it ends. See the top of the Skool leaderboard for how many top earners sit on top of a free-audience funnel.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rich Habits Network?

The paid Skool community behind the Rich Habits Podcast, led by Austin Hankwitz and co-host Robert. It offers private-market deal access, weekly live coaching, weekly research, and courses, priced at $77 a month with a 7-day free trial. It is a top earner in Skool's Money category.

Who is Austin Hankwitz?

The founder and co-host of the Rich Habits Podcast. The community is the paid layer of his audience-first business. (This is an editorial overview of the business, not investment advice; investing carries risk and private-market deals can be illiquid.)

How does the funnel work?

The free podcast builds a large, trusting audience, and the community sells that audience the things a show cannot fit: deals, coaching, research, and courses, with a free trial to convert the warmest listeners.

What is the lesson for other community builders?

Build a free audience first, then monetize the superfans with access and live time that a free channel cannot provide. A free trial plus instant bonuses converts a warm audience efficiently.