another idea was to
[2023-08-09 09:37:56 AM] : another idea was to rent a fancy airbnb in some interesting setting, bring at least one “famous” programmer to whom everyone would have access, and provide excellent food and entertainment. i’m not saying i think this is a good idea, it’s just one of the crazy ideas i had.
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[2023-08-09 10:16:05 AM] : I know someone who was thinking of doing this (in South Africa)
[2023-08-09 10:17:53 AM] : and if memory serves Bruce Eckel would run some sort of developer retreats (https://www.mindviewllc.com/devretreat/)
[2023-08-09 10:18:57 AM] : a very different but successful model is The Recurse Center
[2023-08-09 11:33:05 AM] : framing it as a retreat and keeping spots limited seems like it could support a higher price
[2023-08-09 12:00:22 PM] : yeah, it had occurred to me to use the word “retreat”
[2023-08-09 12:01:27 PM] : wow, what’s described at https://www.mindviewllc.com/devretreat/ almost exactly matches one of the possibilities i had in mind
[2023-08-09 12:04:12 PM] : you can ask him how he ran them
[2023-08-09 12:04:53 PM] : I guess he ran one in 2023 too so still happening
[2023-08-09 12:06:25 PM] : oh great, i think i’ll do that
[2023-08-09 12:06:42 PM] : thanks for bringing that to my attention
[2023-08-09 01:23:55 PM] : +1 for retreats with limited spots
[2023-08-09 01:26:58 PM] : I've run a few of them. value is on the intimate group where certain knowledge can flow freely that doesn't in larger groups. rather than speakers being the main thing, the high value part is each person being able to show up with their unique challenge/needs and basically get group advice/feedback from other folks who have been there and worked through something similar themsleves.
[2023-08-09 04:30:48 PM] : Curtis did this for Apple developers: https://firesidecocoa.com/
One note of warning, if you promote it as an open event but the ticket number is so small that it almost becomes an invite-only event it can smell a little too “private club” type of thing. :man-shrugging:
[2023-08-09 05:13:48 PM] : maybe a “private club” isn’t bad though?
[2023-08-09 05:35:53 PM] : It’s probably a personal preference thing.
For me, I lean more toward open systems and so when something is promoted as if it were open but real access was limited to hand-picked participants it irks me. :man-shrugging:
Like the creation of BarCamp as a direct response to the invite-only nature of FooCamp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp#History
[2023-08-09 06:14:12 PM] : Another thing that I have seen work well is using unconventional venues. When the Fireside Conference was around Ontario, Canada, they chose remote locations like children's campground facilities. It gave the organizers massive land and lakefront during the fall. It offered a chance for multiple concurrent sessions, like a conference but more intimate, like a retreat and limited wifi access—tickets priced as high as $1-2K+ for sleeping on bunk beds. And they had great success. I'm not sure what the profits were, but sometimes different is what people are willing to pay premium for.
[2023-08-09 06:31:52 PM] : +1 to the general goal of “nature” — when I taught at Big Nerd Ranch, we did the week-long course at a remote log-cabin-ish venue, and nature walks were part of our schedule. It was a great time to reset your brain and mingle with the other students.
And in all honesty, us tech people need more nature in our lives. :slightly_smiling_face:
[2023-08-09 06:36:57 PM] : BIG +1 for nontraditional venues.
[2023-08-09 07:20:39 PM] : one idea me and my wife had was to hold an event in puerto rico, where we recently visited. the activities could include a jungle excursion.
[2023-08-09 07:24:54 PM] : > tickets priced as high as $1-2K+ for sleeping on bunk beds
EA that’s really interesting for me to hear! not necessarily the bunk bed part, but the fact that $1-2K tickets for an event like what i have in mind is not unprecedented
[2023-08-09 07:33:00 PM] : The attendees were mainly investors and entrepreneurs. So pricing and ROI were there to pay that amount. Their website is not updated, but here's a link for inspiration: https://www.facebook.com/firesideconf
[2023-08-09 08:07:57 PM] : So fwiw, retreats I've seen usually START at $1-2k.
I'm familiar with some that are upwards of $8-10k.
It all comes down to who it's for and what they're coming to get. When it comes to high-earning careers and business owner events, the price (and experience) can be a lot more than you're imagining.
Keep in mind, those high end events include things like a chef to cook for the group and other special/premium experiences. So expectations usually scale with price tag.