Austin Tech Meetup (ATM) Planning Discussion

[Allen-CenterNetworks]

Austin Tech Meetup (ATM) Planning Discussion

Here are my notes and thoughts on next steps. Before you reply, please
see the note about the Google Group below. It might be best if ya'all
provide any replies inside the group for ease of discussion and
tracking. I am sure I missed some notes. Thanks to everyone for
attending and sharing your thoughts and ideas! This is a very exciting
time!

Attendees:
-- Bertina Lee
-- Scott Lippman
-- Allen Stern
-- Eve Richter
-- Michael Torkildsen
-- Steven Berneman
-- Paul O'Brien
-- Jacqueline Hughes
-- Matthew Webb
-- Valerie Cason
-- Dalton Dean
-- Jim England

Purpose of discussion: discuss the creation of an Austin Tech Meetup
geared towards startups.

I've setup a Google Group and invited all of the above attendees to
the group. Once we get the meetup up and running, the group should
probably become a good general discussion for technology. Here's a
link to the group:
http://groups.google.com/group/austin-tech-meetup

The group consensus (and feedback I've received outside) was that an
Austin Tech Meetup is needed and wanted.

Proposed initial ATM format:
-- 4 demos (3 pre-selected, one randomly selected from those startups
attending the event), each demo to take 5 minutes, no slides or
business plans
-- Q&A for each demo (2 minutes per)
-- Introduce yourself to a person near you - about 5 minutes and is a
great break between the demos and the next segment
-- 30 minutes panel or presentation on a tech/startup topic
-- Open announcements, rapid fire, can announce upcoming events and
open jobs
-- Networking - can be located at a close bar/club

Price: initially free, may look to charging at a later date as the ATM
grows

The big questions that are left are:
-- location
-- schedule
-- sponsors
So that we don't step on each other's toes, please post to the Group
if you plan to contact any of the locations we discussed to see if
they are available for the ATM. It seems that the key is to have a
location that is most central to make sure we get as many attendees/
startups to participate as possible.

As for the schedule, I will provide an update on Friday after
researching the other meetups in town and see which schedule will
provide the least amount of conflict with other regularly scheduled
events.

We didn't discuss leadership (organizer, co-organizer(s)) for the ATM
- I'd be happy to organize the first couple of meetups and then we can
look to a voting process for the slots. I would run for the organizer
position but want to make sure all other interested parties have a
chance to run for the positions as well. We could allow for 2 minute
"pitches" at the 3rd startup for those who want to run for a slot.

I am totally excited about the idea of starting a regular ATM here in
Austin. I think it will be totally kick butt and will help local
startups get the one thing they need more than anything: visibility.

[jacqueline hughes]

Thoughts:

Did anyone suggest US Art Authority or Buffalo Billiards as places to
meet? I go to lots of events at both of those. The upside is that they
are free. The downside is that the parking around both isn't the
greatest. Regardless, most of the things I go to at both are pretty
packed.

As far as scheduling goes, http://geekaustin.org, has a list of some
tech meetups around town. There are also a few other events that draw
eyes away. Refresh Austin, Nerd Nite, Bootstrap Austin, BASHH and
Social Media Club also steal some people around town.

Jacqueline