Craigslist is actually the perfect example. No need to grow 1000% a year and no external VCs to push you to do so. They handle probably a factor of thousands more requests than Meetup and I think they are still less than 50 people?
Craigslist has failed. They are not a good example of anything except the staying power of network effects... and how even that fades with time if you let your community turn into a cesspool.
I don't even bother with craigslist anymore.
The guy I bought it from is clearly making significant income selling them.
It was the first listing I tried. No BS. They’re still great, at least around here.