You should go to meetups

Last night I joined Kyle Ruane, Michael O’Boyle, and Bruno Galvao and drove two-and-a-half hours to Brooklyn — simply to attend a small tech meetup.

If you’ve been subscribed to my blog for any amount of time you’ve probably seen that I go to a lot of meetups, even some that are 12 hours away, and I’ve had the privilege of presenting at some of them. Why? Why make a long drive for a 1-hour tech meetup just to turn around and drive home?

Because there is a lot of energy at meetups. The presenters are generally at the beginning of their product cycles and they have a lot of positive energy to make something happen. Those in the crowd all have their stories, their ideas, their goals. And, in addition to those building startups you’ll generally find lawyers, venture capitalists, programmers, marketers, etc. who are willing to offer their help for your project. It is a very, very good way to meet people that you’ll likely work with.

I can’t recommend going to meetups enough. Even if they are a little out of your way. It will be worth it in the long run. Also, it will help you with your echo chamber.

Oh, and just for posterity, last night the presentations at the Brooklyn Tech Meetup were done by the following companies:

• JackPocket – A new way to play the lottery.
• Chatwala – A 10-second video messaging app.
• Rukkus – Quick, cheap way to buy event tickets.

The Brooklyn Tech Meetup is simple, fast, and well attended. I recommend.