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👨🏽‍💻 Building Chicago’s Top AI Meetup

AND Tech Events Around the City

Author

Landon Campbell
October 28, 2024

In partnership with

82nd Edition

✍🏽 This Week on Landon in the Loop:

👨🏽‍💻 Building Chicago’s Top AI Meetup

đź“Š Chart of the Week

📆 Events Around the City

đź”™ Previous Newsletter Editions

👨🏽‍💻 Building Chicago’s Top AI Meetup

A year ago, we launched an AI meetup, which has become the top technical meetup in the Windy City.

What started as a simple idea has now grown into a thriving group of over 880 devs, engineers, and data scientists.

Our mission: create a space where Chicago's technical talent can connect, share, and explore the cutting-edge of AI.

Here are four key lessons we’ve learned in building this community:

  1. Prioritize the who and why over the what

  2. Reimagine the event format—think beyond happy hours

  3. Spotlight success to inspire success

  4. Embrace a growth mindset

Prioritize the who and why over the what

We keep our events exclusive, focusing on active practitioners and technical experts in AI, with a particular interest in LLMs.

While this means sometimes limiting attendance, it preserves the quality and relevance of the discussions.

By being selective, we’re able to create a valuable experience tailored to our core audience.

Instead of simply defining what your event is, ask yourself: Who needs to be in the room, and why will they return?

Reimagine the event format—think beyond happy hours

From day one, we envisioned something more than just another networking event.

Each meetup feels like a mini hackathon, with hands-on workshops and deep dives into the latest AI models.

Attendees actively participate—plugging into our projector, sharing screens, and openly discussing their work.

Once you identify a unique niche for your event, authentic engagement will follow naturally.

Spotlight success to inspire success

In addition to project presentations, we feature short panels with speakers from top companies like OpenAI, Replit, Tegus, Cameo, and Tempus.

These discussions do more than inform; they inspire.

Making sure we source leaders that are actively building in Chicago makes it even better.

Seeing local experts succeed on a global stage fuels ambition within the community, showing members what’s possible.

Embrace a growth mindset

Community-building is dynamic.

Staying adaptable, incorporating feedback, and experimenting with new ideas keeps each event fresh.

Every meetup is an opportunity to evolve, refine, and deliver a better experience than the last.

We’ve even launched dinners and smaller events for the community on the back of the main meetup.

đź“Š Chart of the Week

This map shows GDP of major cities in the US, and it’s worth noting that Chicago stands alone, not surrounded by any of the other top 10 cities.

📆 Events Around the City

Escaping AI POC purgatory: Techniques for enterprise AI engineers

  • From POC to production: practical strategies for bringing AI to production successfully

  • Expert insights: Led by Sam Julien, Director of Developer Relations

  • Real-world examples: Drive business impact with AI

mHUB Presents: Product and Strategy 102 - The What

Founder Night Out: In-Person Startup Networking in Chicago

IRL Chicago - Coffee & Conversations

Mark your calendars for next week’s Healthcare Hackathon at Drive Capital, co-hosted with Architect Health! Learn more here

đź—ž Previous Newsletter Editions:

đź‘‹ See you next week!

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