The Little Meetup That Could

Presented at Great Wide Open Conference in Atlanta, GA 2016

What does it take to start a community? How many members does a meetup make? Is pizza really the best food to serve? How do you handle organizer burn-out? Recruiters? Sponsors? Venues?! Before starting a meetup, most people know to ask a few questions. But there are some questions that should be asked that are less obvious.

Since January of 2013, Rails Girls Atlanta has held monthly meetups; our numbers have been as small as 4 attendees–including the speaker and organizers–and as great as 40+. In that time, we’ve grown to have a steady number of regulars and have seen attendees progress from total beginner to full time developer time and time again.

We’ll give a history of our little meetup that could, and share some lessons, failures, and successes we’ve encountered along the way in hopes of helping other existing or new meetup groups find their footing…faster.

Transcript

1. The Little Meetup That Could A Rails Girls Atlanta Scrapbook Kylie Stradley & Pamela Vickers @RailsGirlsATL Great Wide Open 2016
3. But before there can be a leadership board…
4. there has to be a meetup.
5. And before there can be a meetup…
6. there has to be a need.
8. Rails Girls Workshops • Founded by Linda Liukas & Karri Saarinen • November 2010 in Helsinki, Finland
11. 1st Atlanta Workshop •December 2012
15. -Everyone what now?
16. ¯\_(
    )_/¯ -Us
17. Workshop round 2 •May 2013
18. what now? -Everyone
19. Come to our monthly meetup! -Us
20. • Paid Meetup.com account • ! • Confirmed venue • Tweeted January 2013 (1st Meetup)
21. • Assigned “homework” • Scheduled a speaker January 2013 (1st Meetup)
23. January 2013 (1st Meetup) • ~20 people came • People said nice things • Used Google Hangouts for out-of-town workshop attendees
26. Short Lessons • Set expectations early
28. Short Lessons • Set expectations early • Order vegetarian options
29. Long(er) Lessons • Not every talk is for every attendee.
30. 1 month later
31. February 2013 Bug Fix • !+"#$ %
32. February 2013 • Handpicked Project Euler problems
33. • Handpicked Project Euler problems • Lower attendance despite higher RSVP count than first meetup February 2013
34. & First Recruiter &
35. Short Lessons • RSVP count != Attendance count (ordering food is hard) • Recruiters will find any technology meetup (but that’s not always bad)
36. Long(er) Lessons • Not every talk is for every attendee. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers.
37. • Not every talk is for every attendee. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
38. 1 month later
39. March 2013 Bug Fix
40. &Our Treasurer’s 1st RGATL &
41. • Not every talk is for every attendee. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
42. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are some talks better than others for our meetup? • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
43. 2 months later
44. May 2013 ✨New feature✨ • Rolled out ToDo List project assignment • Slowly introducing Rails into the monthly assignments
45. 1 month later
46. June 2013 ✨New feature✨ • Offered milestone 1 of the Todo List as public Github repo
47. & RGATL’s half birthday &
48. & Kylie’s 1st RGATL &
49. 2 months later
50. August 2013 • Continued working through and reviewing ToDo List milestones • Bootstrap talk from ATLRUG’s Patrick van Stee to prepare for front-end focused milestone
51. & Our Event Facilitator’s 1st RGATL &
52. & Our Event Facilitator’s 1st RGATL &
53. 2 months later
54. October 2013 • Jordan Killpack gave talk on building silly apps to prep for 
 our November 
 “Silly Hacks Only” aka “Wackity Hack” event
55. & 1st Absentee Organizer & Community Facilitated Meetup&
56. 1 month later
57. November 2013 ✨New Feature✨ • Regularly scheduled meetup was too close to Thanksgiving • Saturday afternoon hack event
59. The good news:
61. The less good news:
62. Not a lot of people came to enjoy our coffee, snacks, and prizes. (
63. Short Lessons • Set expectations for events, especially when hoping beginners will come to a hack event
64. 1 month later
65. December 2013 ✨New Feature✨ • Talk given by one of our regularly attending members
66. & First year of RGATL &
67. & Smallest Attendance of the Year &
68. & First time handling the “but I saw that you had other male members, so I figured it was fine for me to come” situation. &
70. • You’re going to have awkward encounters when you organize community focused groups • Set clear expectations for who should attend your meetup Short Lessons
71. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are some talks better than others for our meetup? • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
72. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are some talks better than others for our meetup? Recycle good talks. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
73. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are some talks better than others for our meetup? Recycle good talks. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. Holidays make it even harder to predict. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
75. 1st Year Retrospective • Worked on projects and assignments as a group • Built membership base • Saw core members begin contributing in small ways
76. Release Notes • Improved food ordering • Improved expectation setting for all events • Improved meetup content
77. Release Notes • Improved food ordering • Order vegetarian options • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers
78. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for all events • Who should come • What they should bring • What they will learn
79. Release Notes • Improved meetup content • Not every talk is for every attendee • Recycle good talks
80. Release Notes • Improved food ordering • Improved expectation setting for all events • Improved meetup content
82. 1 month later
83. January 2014
84. Hothlanta 2014 January 2014
85. Let’s try this again
86. 1 month later
87. February 2014 Bug Fixes • Made meetup location private for non-members • Added some leading questions for new members: “Are you a lady? If not: who are you here with?”
88. February 2014 (With special guests from Atlanta chapters of PyLadies, WomenWhoCode, and Systers)
89. Short Lessons • Joint community events are fun • No experience required content == higher attendance and engagement
90. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections.
91. 1 month later
92. March 2014
93. & Our Membership Outreach Coordinator’s 1st RGATL &
94. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections.
95. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers.
96. And now for something completely different
97. April 2014 ✨New Feature✨
98. Later that month
99. April 2014 • ⚡ Lightning talks from four members ⚡
100. & Our Sponsorship Coordinator’s 1st RGATL &
101. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers.
102. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers.
103. 1 month later
104. May 2014 • ⚡ Lightning talks ⚡
105. again.
106. 1 month later
107. June 2014 • ⚡ Lightning talks ⚡
108. again?!
110. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers.
111. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue.
112. 1 month later
113. July 2014 • Attempted to revive project based meetup • Goals: make open source contributions more accessible, work on project as a group, renew excitement around shared progress
114. July 2014 • Attempted to revive project based meetup • Goals: make open source contributions more accessible, work on project as a group, renew excitement around shared progress • Results: blank stares, intimidated members, no movement on any of the goals
115. & Our Meetup Facilitator’s 1st RGATL &
116. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue.
117. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue. • Shape content around community’s immediate needs.
118. Over the next several months
119. Early Fall(ish) 2014 • Several great talks • Hit-or-miss on engagement
120. Short Lessons • Just because a talk is great doesn’t mean it is great for our meetup
121. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue. • Shape content around community’s immediate needs.
122. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue. • Shape content around community’s immediate needs.
123. At the end of the year
125. 2nd Year Retrospective • Talk based format • Became an established Atlanta meetup • More core members, and more core member involvement
126. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for events • Patched hole in Atlanta women’s meetups landscape with supplementary social meetup • Increased speaking opportunities for members • Improved talk selection based on our community’s needs

127. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for events • No experience required content == higher attendance and engagement • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections
128. Release Notes • Patched hole in Atlanta women’s meetups landscape with supplementary social meetup • Joint community events are fun • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections
129. Release Notes • Increased speaking opportunities for members • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers • ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers
130. Release Notes • Improved talk selection based on our community’s needs • Just because a talk is great doesn’t mean it’s great for our meetup • Recognize organizer fatigue. Otherwise, content can suffer • Shape content around community’s immediate needs

131. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for events • Patched hole in Atlanta women’s meetups landscape with supplementary social meetup • Increased speaking opportunities for members • Improved talk selection based on our community’s needs

133. 1 month later
134. January 2015 • New Year, New Environments! • Got everyone set up to do actual Ruby on Rails development in anticipation of working through a curriculum as a group
135. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering.
136. 1 month later
137. February 2015
138. Hothlanta 2015 February 2015
139. 1 month later
140. March 2015 • Community member presented on Ruby tool • Worked through RailsBridge curriculum
143. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering.
144. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with.
145. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help.
146. 1 month later
147. April 2015
148. April 2015
149. April 2015 • Held our first RailsBridge workshop with many of the coaches coming from our own Rails Girls community. • Held a meetup to keep working on the workshop materials
150. Short Lessons • Stuff happens (like a power outage resulting in no lunch ***)
151. 1 month later
152. May 2015 • Held a meetup to keep working on the workshop materials • Ticket Giveaway for Github’s CodeConf in Nashville (several members attended)
153. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help.
154. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help.
155. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating.
156. 1 month later
157. June 2015 • Presentation: “Git Workflow: Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Ogre” • Workshop: “Git-it Git & GitHub”
158. June 2015
159. June 2015
160. Short Lessons • It is possible to have too much of a good thing
161. 1 month later
162. July 2015 • One of our most popular presentations “A Day in the Life of a Full Time Developer”
163. July 2015
164. & Communication Coordinator’s 1st RGATL &
165. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating.
166. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused.
167. 1 month later
168. August 2015 Bug Fix
169. August 2015 Bug Fix
170. August 2015 • Try out “new” study group/team ongoing project format • Provided opportunity for members to sign up as participants or coaches
171. August 2015
172. August 2015
173. 2 months later
174. October 2015 • Andy Lindeman presented “Intro to Automated Testing with RSpec” (requested topic)
175. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused.
176. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused. • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need.
177. 2 months later
178. December 2015
179. Short Lessons • We still don’t know how to host a hackathons
180. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused. • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need.
181. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused. • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need. • Sometimes, Rails Girls just want to have fun
183. 3rd Year Retrospective • Structured-learning-with- occasional-talks based format • Hosted a RailsBridge workshop • Put plans in motion to share organization responsibilities
184. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Provided space for members to request content • Improved food ordering • Added opportunities for community members to organize and lead
185. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Members who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering • Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help
186. Release Notes • Provided space for members to request content • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need
187. Release Notes • Improved food ordering
188. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Provided space for members to request content • Improved food ordering • Added opportunities for community members to organize and lead
189. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Provided space for members to request content • Improved food ordering • Added opportunities for community members to organize and lead
191. Chae, Treasurer
192. Megan, Communication Coordinator
193. Britni, Event Facilitator
194. Mallory, Membership Outreach Coordinator
195. Kristin, Meetup Facilitator
196. Anika, Sponsorship Coordinator
197. Kylie, Co-Director
199. WIP • Board terms and responsibility handoff • Sponsorship • Attaining • Maintaining • Processing and accessing funds • ✨https://opencollective.com/railsgirlsatl✨

200. WIP • Setting up formalized conference buddy system when we’re given tickets (thanks GWO for all the tickets!) • Hackathons: how even
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