@producthuntbos @producthuntsf @kunalslab Hi Kunal, I am interested in hosting in the south bay area >> Mountain View << What advice do you have for best practices to connect with other makers? Are there resources that can help with that? What steps did you follow to organize your first event?

@kunalslab Hi Kunal thanks for offering your expertise as most of us want to know few basic things about the meetup.How do we go about it.Do we have to arrange the venue , sponsors ,agenda , talks and so on or will all these be set by the PH team and we are supposed to follow. Also what kind of support do we get from the PH team. These are few things on my mind right now as there is a lot to be done. Thanks once again

@producthuntbos @producthuntsf @kamiarkordari sorry for the super slow response here, Kamiar. The best advice I can give for connecting with other makers + hosting your first event is to get to know people at a deeper level through the existing communities that you find interesting in your area. For example, I got to know the entrepreneurial circles first through TiE Boston, then other companies in YC Startup School in Boston. When it came time to hosting my first Meetup, I knew so many founders, and our format lended itself well to having built that network–it became easier to recruit people we knew for demos + drinks events. Find out what's lacking in your area, serve an existing need, and you'll end up creating an experience that people love.

@dineshpirla sorry for the terribly slow response here, Dinesh. Yes, generally a lot of the event planning is left to the local meetup organizers. We partnered with HubSpot for the first three events to get our venue. We had an idea that we wanted the format to be demos + drinks, and that we wanted to help early stage startups solve their current biggest challenges. You should think hard about what your local audience wants and would love + build around that. The PH team supports by helping you connect with others in your area and promoting cool things you do on social. They also send you kitty swag sometimes to give to your attendees. It's all very organic and that's the beauty of it all. You have a lot of freedom to create something unique with the PH community.

@kunalslab Thanks a lot for the reply Kunal. No need to apologize for the delay in responding. I did speak to @abadesi and she had a detailed webinar on how to go about organising this.That was very helpful. I liked your idea of demos +drinks.I was thinking on similar lines of helping the local startups and other product guys. I have been talking to a few coworking spaces to sponsor the venue as well. I liked the freedom that PH team offers us in letting us set the agenda and all. Appreciate your help once again Kunal. Will reach out to you if I need any other help. Cheers!

@larrymickie Hi Larry. I'm hosting in tbd location in RDU area, so not far away.

@unosusanto nice to meet you, same here. have you found other hosts in LA? I'd like to start working on this but I need some guidance from some experienced host... feel free to message me to coordinate

@raffasquer hi! I have not found other hosts yet but am jumping on a call with Abadesi soon so will probably know more then. I'll send you a message so we can chat more

@raffasquer @unosusanto which city are you in?

@raffasquer @abadesi @unosusanto I've hosted many events for startups here in LA. None via producthunt but too many to count.

@raffasquer @unosusanto @jessicagottlieb sweet!

@renatocapasso I suggest reaching out to Kunal...hes run some succesful PH Boston meetups for a few years now @kunalslab

@akady Hi Ahmed! We are launching yourstack on Jan 28 and ahead of that Ryan will be giving meetup hosts access to the private beta so you can start using the product and talk about it with people at your meetup who sign up but were not in the beta. Does that make sense?

@abadesi is it working now ? I tried before but asked me for user name and password.

@akady we'll be posting guidelines and an event code of conduct soon - feel free to ask other hosts what format they are taking with their events. You should be able to visit meetups.producthunt.com and create a username

@abadesi same question, specially regarding a way to contact everyone

@dineshpirla we've got a new event mgmt site where you can set up your event page, and manage attendees! I'm onboarding hosts this week, find a time to join or wait to see the onboarding video! https://calendly.com/abadesi-pro... Will share another update via email this week

@abadesi Thanks for the response.Looks like your calendar is full. If possible could you open up few more slots for the month of December as we need to start the preparations early. Also could you please share the link for the event management site. I found this link not sure if this is the right one https://www.producthunt.com/events . Kindly let us know. Cheers

@dineshpirla hi Dinesh - I updated the discussion info to include links to an onboarding session I recorded and a helpful next steps doc. The event site will go live today meetups.producthunt.com. Which city are you based in? Be sure to connect with other hosts in your city! I can link you up