Ever wondered what it takes to plan a tech conference in just THREE MONTHS? 🤯 Join Danny Thompson and Leon Noel as they break down their experience organizing the Commit Your Code conference – from shoestring budgets and last-minute speakers to the surprising strategies that led to its success!
Join Leon Noel (Managing Director of Engineering at Resilient Coders) and Danny Thompson (Director of Technology at This Dot Labs) as they take you behind the scenes of organizing a tech conference from scratch! 🚀
Last week we just hosted the Commit Your Code Conference with over 60 speakers! We trended Globally even though we were doing our conference the same week as AWS Re:invent! Here's how Danny Thompson did it.
In this episode, Danny shares the journey of planning the Commit Your Code Conference, highlighting the challenges, lessons, and surprises along the way. From securing sponsors to managing a $11K budget, and ensuring accessibility for all attendees, this episode is packed with insights for aspiring community organizers and tech enthusiasts. 🖥️✨
🔍 What we cover:
How a one-time idea turned into a game-changing conference 💡The secrets to creating an inclusive, affordable event Unique strategies that kept the vibes fun and the networking meaningful 🤝Hilarious behind-the-scenes moments and lessons learned along the way 🎉Whether you're a conference attendee curious about what happens behind the curtain, or someone considering starting your own tech event, this episode has something for everyone. Plus, stay tuned for exciting updates about Commit Your Code 2025! 🎉
00:00 Intro
1:18 The Spark: How It All Began
2:51 One and done conference, The Logistics
5:01 One speaker at the conference went through our cohort
6:25 Conference Sponsorships are not for the faint of heart
8:20 The Food and logistics for it
10:10 How can We create MORE organic conversations?
13:50 Shorter speaking times
17:01 Three Track Conference, Java, JavaScript and Cloud
18:30 We Trended Globally!
21:00 Community Building: Networking and Engagement
19:30 Two Conversations: Chris DeMars aka Saltnburn & Ghana Speaker Nii!
21:00 I want to address all pain points I have had at a conference
27:00 My strategy in planning
31:00 professional photographer giving headshots to attendee
35:35 Leon and Danny Laughing with an attendee
38:15 The Sponsors felt like they were PART of the event and not salesy
38:55 Educational Resources should be available for everyone
41:13 Ideas that were cut because of budget that we hope to do at CYC 25
43:00 What if someone wants to start their own conference?
51:06 Won't be shocked if this episode does bad lol
