LessConf Oct. 17
written by Steven on September 08, 2009
On October 17th in downtown Jacksonville we will be hosting the first LessConf.
About a year ago I started pestering Allan with the idea of doing a conference. He was never interested, so I'd wait and then bring it up again. On June 30 I spoke at The Small and Special Conference in Seattle and after my talk I called Allan to chat and tell him how it went, and he said the most amazing thing: "We should do a conference." I'm so glad he had such a great idea.
We've been going to technical and business conferences for a while and have been inspired and made a lot of great friends. That's what we want LessConf to be, a place where you can hear some great speakers, people that have actually made something awesome and where you can see old friends and make new ones. We also wanted it to be really personal and a place where the speakers are really approachable, so we came up with a plan to make that happen. First we decided there should only be one track, that way no one is missing anything. Next we decided to make a lunch with the speakers. Each speaker will have there own table and, on a first come first served basis, you can pick which speaker you want to eat with. There will be Q&A time after each talk. We also decided to have a social after the day of talks so you can meet new people and get more time with the speakers.
Allan and I also wanted to be very accessible so starting the Wednesday before the conference, anyone that RSVPs can work with Allan and/or I on those days. We decided that working with you folks is the priority, so if you have questions about your stuff, you want to pair program or get design help or UI tips, we have set aside that time for you.
We worked really hard at picking speakers that have inspired us. So although they may not be the most famous, these are talks that will change your life and your approach to business and work.
Des Traynor & Eoghan McCabe of Contrast.ie
If you haven't heard these guys speak or read their blog make sure you check them out. They are two of the coolest and most straight forward guys out there. They totally "get it" and have a wonderfully no nonsense approach to business and the web.
Kevin Hale of Wufoo.com
Kevin is one of the key people behind Wuffoo. If you'd like an example of great UI, check them out.
David Hauser of Grasshopper.com
Grasshopper used to be called GotVMail. They have killer customer support and amazing marketing. We've watched this company use Gary Busey as a spokesmen and send chocolate grasshoppers to people as apart of their re-branding.
Mike McDerment of Freshbooks.com
Freshbooks is the largest invoicing application on the web. They have really good UI and are all around good people. Mike knows how to build a web company.
Derek Sivers founder of CDBaby.com
When Derek was at the helm of CDBaby (he sold it) it was one of the companies I admired the most. The personal attention and killer aesthetics, right down to the purchase confirmation email, were always brilliant. Derek remains inspirational, his blog is a source of wisdom and always offers a fresh perspective on business and how to relate to customers.
Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibrary.tv & VaynerMedia.com
I first met Gary at FOWA Miami 2008. I admit that I didn't know who he was, but listening to him was then and remains a kick in the pants reminder to always be genuine and engage my customers whenever I can.
And if that wasn't enough, here are some more reasons to attend:
- Great speakers.
- Get to hang out with Me and Allan.
- Free massages all day long in the lobby.
- Dinosaur petting zoo.
- 1 in 5 attendees will get super powers.
- There will be no snakes on any flights to or from the conference.
- Spend a day at the beach.
- Everyone will get a free copy of Gary's new book Crush It!
- Gary will choose three people at random from the audience and become best friends with them.
- Derek will show you how to turn your LessConf t-shirt into a hat.
- Mike will balance your checkbook.
- Kevin will interpret your dreams.
- David will feed you chocolate grasshoppers for lunch.
- Des and Eoghan will teach everyone how to speak with an Irish accent.
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Steven Bristol has written code for the past 20 years. He like green vegetables and kittens, oh and butterflies too. He loves to throw ninja stars at his enemies.
6 Comments
“on a first come first served basis”
Per the LessConf website, eating lunch with speakers is just for the first 100 signups, correct? How do we know if we were the first 100?
@yardboy,
You’re in.
Good luck! I hope it goes well for you both! I would attend if I were a programmer, but I am merely a blogger. Let us know how it goes though, as I have talked about doing our own small conference on sustainability here in Cleveland.
Best regards guys! Lesseverything rocks. I’m sure LessConf will be astonishing.
Best regards guys! Lesseverything rocks. I’m sure LessConf will be astonishing.
Best regards guys! Lesseverything rocks. I’m sure LessConf will be astonishing.