You too can do eet!
Creating a tech meetup is like launching a start-up. It all begins with assembling a team of like-minded people with complementary skills who are passionate about tech and connecting people.
Waipa Tech Meetup came about when 3 people came together with the purpose of creating connections within the district to help create connections to support the local tech ecosystem. The meetup team and sponsor base has now grown which makes them easier to run as we share the load of time and cost.
Mix A Little Social With Snacks
While funding the meetup might seem daunting, hosting meetups doesn’t require heaps of cash. A modest budget for drinks and snacks can go a long way in creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
We hosted the first meetup in our office in Cambridge, Waipa council brought some snacks and Rocketspark sorted the drinks.
Since that first event we had Belle PR a local comms team come on board to help and also BNZ and Airwallex sponsored following events with BNZ sponsoring our second series and hosting us at their Cambridge Partner centre which makes life easier for the team.
Ryan in the Rocketspark team has DJ kit and sorted the tunes and it helped create a nice atmosphere. A little detail but it all helps.
Interesting side benefits
Community can be a great way to create connections and build a brand while helping people but in this instance the tech community is not a business focus for Rocketspark. We kicked off the meetups with no agendas for business gain. We genuinely wanted to support the community and create connections.
But... there have been a few side benefits.
People are reaching out for connections and contacting me saying that you're the person who knows. It's been great to help the likes of NZTE and other tech related orgs.
We recently had MP's Joseph Mooney and Barbara Kuriger visit Rocketspark along with our Waipa Mayor Susan O'Regan. The MP's were genuinely there to listen and learn about the Tech Meetups we'd been running as they were curious about what could be done elsewhere in rural areas.
We've also made some great connections where we could help each other other in business.
A website is a central hub
Having a meetup website is a great central hub for keeping teh community updated. The website is the place where people register (linking off to Humanitix event management platform - free for free events) and also where they can subscribe for updates.
We also found many attendees find Waipa Tech Meetup through web searches or by asking platforms like ChatGPT. We also write a blog about past highlights to help engage a new potential audience. It's also fun to see the impact of a LinkedIn post or email update on website visits.
BTW, if you're starting a tech meetup in your area Rocketspark will happily sponsor your site for the first year (and probably indefinitely) so hit up the Rocketspark Team and we'll provide a discount code.
The numbers and the who
Joy - Waipa District Council. The PM who makes stuff happen, sponsor.
Kate and Anna - Soda Inc. Connectors, setup, connections.
Charlotte - Belle PR. Comms and connections.
Grant - Rocketspark. Founder perspective, comms, connections, sponsor.
Ryan - Rocketspark. DJ bringing the tunes creating atmosphere and PA system.
BNZ - Series 2 sponsor
AirWallex - Series 1 meetup 4 sponsor
Cost
For the first couple that we co-sponsored with the Waipa District Council the cost was about $500. It was a little more expensive at the bar where we hosted some of the meetups but you then didn't have the time to reset the office after the event.
Tech
Rocketspark - website
Mailchimp - free plan for newsletter and event reminders
Google Workspace - starter plan for a central inbox (Sponsored by Rocketspark)
Humanitix - ticketing system, free for free events
Results
6 meetups so far, 7th meetup on 7th Oct
Attendance 35 - 60 people
128 subscribed to newsletter