“Why not!” I decree.
But seriously, why start a community? There are plenty of communities out there already, right? Why not just go to one of those?
The surprising answer is: are there really? What if the ones out there don’t interest you, aren’t accessible, or are run in a generic way? Maybe you simply have something in your mind: a niche, a format, a vibe.
“I couldn’t find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself,” said Ferdinand Porsche. The line isn’t only for 20th-century car designers. In its broadest form it applies to almost anything in life. If you can’t find the thing you’re looking for, go build it yourself. You really can just do things.
Over the last number of months I’ve had the chance to do just that with my friend Lynetta Wang.
I’ve always loved the vibe of Demos Anonymous in Dublin. Any sense of ego and feudal protectionism that we all so often carry around with us was left outside at the door, leaving an underground room full of open-minded hackers, nerds, and above all, builders. I hadn’t been to an event since that felt so open and real.
London is home to some brilliant communities. But many are sponsored directly by startups or VCs, and that brings an air of transactionalism. It’s hard to share and develop interesting ideas when you’re being sold something so directly, or unsure whether your idea is ‘ready’ for VCs’ ears, and the silent judgement that is unavoidably made by them with their investor hat on. Events sponsored by a particular startup also tend to attract similar people, with similar assumptions about similar technologies. That can so easily create a monoculture of linear thought.
In my opinion, the truly great ideas, or at least the ones I find most interesting, come from unrelated fields crossing paths. They’re the non-obvious connections that only happen when one person with one interest ends up chatting to another person with a completely different one, over food that may as well be pizza. That’s the vibe Lynetta and I set out to create.
There’s a second, more selfish answer to “why start a community?”: it’s a way to immerse yourself in a new environment.
When Lynetta and I moved to London to start university, we were completely new to the city’s startup scene and hacker culture. Reaching out to interesting people you’ve never spoken to before can sometimes feel difficult to justify for the sake of conversation. Reaching out to that same person with the gentle ask of ‘would they like to demo a side-project at this small event?’ is much more justifiable. You can just do things.
The format we landed on is simple: an event every two weeks, 30-plus hackers and builders, three project demos, and free pizza and drinks. I think this works for our community, but I encourage others to try out what works for them. You won’t regret it.
That said of course, if you would like to pop by one of our events and join the community, I’d encourage you to check out this neat site: demoslondon.com