Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
57 lines (47 loc) · 3.97 KB

further_walkabout_details.md

File metadata and controls

57 lines (47 loc) · 3.97 KB
Raw

Sample Timeline For Organizing Your Own Walkabout

4 months prior - WEBSITE

  • Get a clear picture of what the day should look like, and begin site architecture.
    • Open office hours or timed events? NOTE: In NYC, we found timed events increased the effort, but substantially improved the quality of the event.
    • City map
    • Roster of companies
    • Neighborhoods?
    • Types of businesses?
    • Company requirements for participation (ie. are you including co-working spaces and incubators)
    • Do you want to have RSVPs?

3 months prior - GET CORE COMPANIES ON BOARD and INITIAL PREP

  • Set up form for companies to submit their info for participation.
  • Began contacting your network.

2 months prior - onward - GET MORE COMPANIES ON BOARD

  • Cold contact more companies to get them on board, after you have a core group of companies already committed.

1-1/2 months prior - WEBSITE and DESIGN

  • Site should launch at least 1 month prior to event, to build excitement.
  • Other design assets you might need: Stickers, signs, company swag.

Four weeks prior - GUIDELINES and PRESS PUSH

  • Press outreach.
  • Local schools and community outreach .
  • Use listing services to promote: Facebook, Eventbrite.

The week of the event - FINAL STUFF

  • Sticker distribution.
  • Signs for companies distribution.
  • Food for visitors on-site.

Lessons Learned: The Nitty Gritty

General:

  • You will need more prep time than you think for everything: website, map, designing stickers, getting press, promoting.
  • Decide early on if you want to put in your own time or leverage your community.

Website:

  • Website is crucial, mobile is even more important.
  • Get the map/mobile site/schedule up early and make it clear this is how participants should plan their day.
  • People love structure (they may say they don't, but they do). Find a way to provide structure for the companies and the walkers, and to set their expectations of how things will go. This can be a schedule, a guided tour, recommended itineraries, anything you'd like.

Recruiting companies and supporters:

  • Start attending community events and talking about the Walkabout well before it's finalized (months in advance)- get the leaders of these events to share with their network early on - even if the website is not up!
  • Get info from companies when they express interest: Set up a Google Doc to capture company info + logos from the beginning, to capture interested parties immediately
  • Discover who is interested early on and actively ask them for help.
  • For less dense cities or where the tech companies are very dispersed, locate a core neighborhood and stay within that area of town.
  • Find a way for companies not in your "core neighborhood" to participate. For example, are you hosting an after party? Invite them to attend.
  • Don’t include companies that have not yet launched -- there’s really nothing to see, and visitors wind up frustrated and confused.
  • Sponsors: Think about what you need and approach sponsors if they can help. Do you need money for a party? Do you want logistical support? Do you want to defray food costs for participating companies? Get creative!

Planning and execution:

  • Give plenty of direction to the hosts: In NYC, we asked companies to have dedicated greeters, and for an event or experience led by a co-founder, lead designer, or lead developer.
  • You can make a starter kit for each company, with all of the info they needed, including all logos, signs, stickers, a best practices guide.
  • Signage/stickers: Require companies to use signs so that people know they are in the right spot. Stickers can be used on clothing to identify participants who are walking around.
  • People like structure. Hosts like timed events and an RSVP system so that they know how many people to expect and at what time, and it also helps create a critical mass of folks at the same spot at the same time. Attendees like timed events because it means that they know when to show up and where, and what to expect at that time.