EP 21 - Curtis and Kotaro on Building a Big Event Where the Little Things Matter

03/05/16 • 42 min

Events seem to be the lifeblood of many coworking communities, and community building in general. But have you ever noticed that while some events are amazing at galvanizing a community, others seem to fall flat no matter how much effort you put in?

This episode is all about the little things that make an event matter in the eyes of attendees - no matter how big or small the event.

We talked with the brains behind CocoaLove, Curtis Herbert and Kotaro Fujita, with the goal of gaining insight into how they organized a tech conference that focused on the "human side" of a developing software for Mac and iOS devices. CocoaLove is a conference“for people,” and in this show Adam and Sam learn how the organizers somewhat accidentally discovered their own intentionality.

You’ll hear about their painstakingly creative approaches to bringing people together by igniting genuine curiosity, an inherent quality that can always be used to brighten up any kind of scheduled meet-up. Discover the power of a tangible takeaway, and guiding people through the social experience of a conference to help them get the most from each other.

Pay close attention to this entertaining conversation - there's a lot to learn and apply to making your own events more memorable, and have people coming back because they want more.

Notable Quotes

Mindful invitations...unique pins identifying introverts and extroverts [13:18]
“Actionable Nuggets” Ensuring there are take-aways [23:30]
“Leave the laptops in the hotel room” Preparedness [24:25]
“When people can feel when something is a labor of love” [30:59]

Save the date for April 21st! People at Work is an entirely online “conference” about work and collaboration. A first of it’s kind, taking place over 24 consecutive hours and across 7 continents.

This is going to be a great place for YOU to practice connecting the dots and getting more connected to the global coworking community.

Stephan is joining People at Work to help you learn how to help coworking space members around the world connect the dots in their own communities.

Tickets for the Summit go on sale this Friday, February 11th. Find out more about the format, meet more speakers, and get the link to register here.

Support the show and get the next episode

I’m growing the team that makes this show happen! This episode is the first one that I didn’t produce myself, so say hello to my new producer Mike Mehalick. Say hi, Mike!

So here’s the scoop: Mike and I are working hard on a brand new production workflow this year so you’re going to be seeing new episodes of the show dropping MUCH more often.

Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is all about the little things that make an event matter in the eyes of attendees - no matter how big or small the event.

Pay close attention to this entertaining conversation - there's a lot to learn and apply to making your own events more memorable, and have people coming back because they want more.

Notable Quotes

Mindful invitations...unique pins identifying introverts and extroverts [13:18]
“Actionable Nuggets” Ensuring there are take-aways [23:30]
“Leave the laptops in the hotel room” Preparedness [24:25]
“When people can feel when something is a labor of love” [30:59]

This is going to be a great place for YOU to practice connecting the dots and getting more connected to the global coworking community.

Stephan is joining People at Work to help you learn how to help coworking space members around the world connect the dots in their own communities.

Tickets for the Summit go on sale this Friday, February 11th. Find out more about the format, meet more speakers, and get the link to register here.

Support the show and get the next episode

I’m growing the team that makes this show happen! This episode is the first one that I didn’t produce myself, so say hello to my new producer Mike Mehalick. Say hi, Mike!

So here’s the scoop: Mike and I are working hard on a brand new production workflow this year so you’re going to be seeing new episodes of the show dropping MUCH more often.

Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

EP20 - Ten Questions about the Future of Work

Live from the Philadelphia International Airport, just moments before I got on a plane to fly 24 hours to the other side of the world for the Coworking Unconference Asia, I answered ten questions about the future of work.

What does the term ‘coworking’ mean to you specifically?
How would you describe the development of coworking in Asia?
How does this development relate to the rest of the world?
What do you think is the biggest challenge for the coworking movement worldwide?
What type of people does it attract?
What is the importance for people of being part of bigger collective?
How do you envision the way we work in ten years from now?
What specific role will the coworking movement have in this, according to you?
If you had to pick one favorite place to work in this world, where would it be?
What is your life motto?

A conference you DON'T need to fly to: People at Work Summit

This is going to be a great place for YOU to practice connecting the dots and getting more connected to the global coworking community.

Stephan is joining People at Work to help you learn how to help coworking space members around the world connect the dots in their own communities.

Tickets for the Summit go on sale this Friday, February 11th. Find out more about the format, meet more speakers, and get the link to register here.

Support the show and get the next episode

I’m growing the team that makes this show happen! This episode is the first one that I didn’t produce myself, so say hello to my new producer Mike Mehalick. Say hi, Mike!

So here’s the scoop: Mike and I are working hard on a brand new production workflow this year so you’re going to be seeing new episodes of the show dropping MUCH more often.

Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

EP 22 - Building a Comedy Community with Greg Maughan

Does it feel like something is missing from your city? Maybe a tech or creative community. Maybe an entrepreneurial community.

Before he founded Philly Improv Theater, Greg Maughan felt that Philly lacked a comedy community. So he set out to create one.

In this funny, insightful interview, fellow comic and Indy Hall team member Sam Abrams talks with Greg about how the theater - and the community it comprises - were built and have grown and evolved over the years. There's SO much to learn in this interview for brand new and veteran coworking spaces alike.

Notable Quotes

"Recognizing things are happening...figure out why..." [11:08]
"I don't want to be a gatekeeper for comedy in the city of Philadelphia...I don't know whats funny. I know what's funny to me, but just because I don't think something's funny it doesn't mean that a huge crowd of people aren't going to disagree with me." [17:54]
"The other thing they don't tell you about growth is...going from 50 members to 100 is not a doubling...it's an exponential increase in relationships." [25:51]

Support the show and get the next episode

I’m growing the team that makes this show happen! This episode is the first one that I didn’t produce myself, so say hello to my new producer Mike Mehalick. Say hi, Mike!
So here’s the scoop: Mike and I are working hard on a brand new production workflow this year so you’re going to be seeing new episodes of the show dropping MUCH more often.
Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.