Everything starts as a spontaneous idea with friends — and before you know it, you’re negotiating venues, chasing sponsors, managing a volunteer team, and running an event for hundreds of people.
In this talk, delivered at the AGASOL communities track of AtlanticaConf 2025, I shared the real experience behind organizing several editions of HackUDC and participating in the team behind other conferences, from a refreshingly honest perspective: the behind-the-scenes chaos.
We talked about:
- How a hot-take idea becomes a 300+ person event
- Dealing with emails, venues, sponsorships, and people without losing your mind
- Improvising when something goes wrong (spoiler: something always does)
- And how to survive the mess without losing your passion for it (mostly)
If you’ve ever thought “I’d love to organize something like this” — this talk is for you, whether it helps you take the leap or run in the opposite direction.