To work remote, what a dream! Some choose the life of the digital nomad, making do with less and seeing more. Some stay in the place they kn0w, trading the dreaded commute for homemade espresso. Others, like me, relocate to a ski town and wonder, where are the nerds?
My mission, as a new Digital Local, is to help build a tech community in Whistler. Follow along for practical tips and trying prose on connecting the digital to the geographic.
Start with a Meetup
The first step, as described by Clayton Banks on the Jim Rutt show, was to start a meetup. I needed to find others who shared the goal of building a tech community in Whistler. Originally I created a group on meetup.com, but switched platforms in order to collect contact information, an important component in building community. I opted to create the first event on eventbrite for free. The next step was to get some Digital Locals to RSVP.
I already had a few key contacts:
I met a guy on the gondola who worked at a startup called CXO Nexus
The organizer of Whistler's squash club created an app called ActivScout
I knew the lead developer of ridebooker.com through my housemate and owner of Function Growth
In addition to my handful of contacts, I reached out on a highly active local facebook group for backcountry enthusiasts, figuring some tech people would take interest. In the end the eventbrite event garnered 30 RSVPs and 16 tuned into the Zoom meeting.
Imagine the Future
Following Clayton's advise, I asked attendees of the first meetup to consider the question,
What could the technological future of Whistler look like?
The discussion was lively with engineers, developers, IT professionals, digital marketers, entrepreneurs and the quietly curios all contributing. One common thread was clear - everyone was excited about the local region developing as a technology hub.
Some other interesting topics were community organizing software, educational software, local ski and snowboard manufacturing, venture funding and
What's Next - Speaker Series
So what happens after the initial meetup? Following the topics discussed by the attendees of the first meetup, I'm searching for speakers to schedule for future events. Potential topics include,
A local snowboard manufacturer (including digital design aspects)
A developer of a live weather and conditions web app
An urban planner with experience building tech hubs
Stay tuned for the next episode of Digital Local - Building Tech Community in Whistler. 🏔🤓