Connecting With Your Community
Some of the PNW Events We Love the Most
That Are Worth Checking Out
Tech Events
1MillionCups – A free, weekly national program designed to educate, engage, and connect entrepreneurs. Developed by the Kauffman Foundation, 1MC is based on the notion that entrepreneurs discover solutions and network over a million cups of coffee.
6 Month Startup – Potential Founders – are you looking to leave your day job but want to know if your idea is worthwhile? Find out before dropping your income. Corporate Innovators – want to apply a disciplined process for creating innovation within your enterprise? Students that want to be Founders – Want to learn a systematic view of successful startups?
Angels, Pitches and Beer Meetup This group is designed to hold meetups so entrepreneurs can meet Angel Investors and have a chance to pitch their company. Designed to reduce the inefficiencies with multiple pitches and running around town trying to get introductions to Angel Investors.
Appy Hour – The first happy hour for app developers to gather, relax with a drink in hand, and discuss everything that goes on in the world of apps and app development. Come share your projects and ideas with others. Maybe you’ll even meet that perfect addition to your team. Let’s grow the app community in Seattle, and make Appy Hour the best happy hour around.
Beer & Code Meetup – A coder’s meetup in Seattle.
Beers with Engineers – A monthly gathering for Seattle area tech junkies. More specifically, those focused on storage, HPC, and general IT. Industry guys, IT guys, nerds, geeks, tech philosoraptors, whatever…. Whether 3 or 30 this should be good times to get together talk shop, learn from peers, or just have some beers and a good time.
BrickCon – An annual Convention put on by Adult LEGO® Hobbyists – also known as AFOLs or Builders. The convention lasts four days (Thursday through Sunday) the first weekend in October. We gather in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall and on Saturday and Sunday, we invite the Public in to enjoy and share our love of LEGO. We call this BrickCon Exhibition.
Cofounders Connect – We are here to help you take the next step on your business journey. Whether you’ve never done a startup and don’t know where to start or are a veteran, feel free to reach out to us.
Co-founders lab – Did you know that founding teams with multiple co-founders have a greater chance of success? If you’re looking for someone to join your venture, looking for a venture to join, or open to either, sign up and attend our local, in-person Meetups to discover the perfect co-founder to round out your team. You’ll meet other entrepreneurs who are as energized as you are about launching a new business and who possess a wide range of unique experiences, ideas, and skills.
FBomb Breakfast Club – Flipping the paradigm for female founders. You are not alone, because you’ve got us. We’re a fucking fabulous community of female founders who cuss, cavort, and collaborate. We help each other every step of the way on this wild entrepreneurial journey. Whether you’re still noodling your idea, planning a pivot, or wondering what to do with that boatload of cash from your last exit, we’ve got a place for you.
Founder Dating – Connect with entrepreneurs, startup founders, potential cofounders, and company advisors.
Founder’s Live -a social platform and media channel created by Nick Hughes to inspire, educate and entertain entrepreneurs around the world. The Founders Live experience includes unique and unforgettable 99-second pitch competitions in more than 40 cities globally, which create local founder celebrities and bursts open additional pockets of creativity and entrepreneurial activity, as well as within the online network delivering curated articles, videos, live-streamed expert talks and AMA’s, posts and private member messaging that together make us world-class entrepreneurs.
Founders Dinner – Every month for more than a decade, Startup Haven has been hosting dinner and drinks for startup founders, execs and investors. Founders Dinner events are invite-only and feature great food, an open bar and an unheard of gathering of startup founders and investors. Special guest speakers at most events include some of the top investors and founders in Seattle. These events are for members only. Visit Startup Haven to apply for membership.
GeekWire Community Events Calendar – Meetups, conferences, startup events, and geeky gatherings in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
GeekWire Events – GeekWire hosts the Seattle region’s best tech events, including Startup Day, the GeekWire Summit, the GeekWire Awards and lots of other fun meetups.
Girl Develop It – Want to learn how to code? Have a great idea? Don’t be shy. Develop it. It can be intimidating for women to learn and ask questions when they are in an extreme minority. While open and welcoming, today’s budding developer community is up to 91% male. There isn’t a comfortable place where women can learn at their own pace and not be afraid to ask “stupid questions.” We decided it was time to provide a place where all questions are OK and everyone can learn in a supportive environment. Our courses focus on coding, leveraging existing technology, and having something to show for it (aka building sweet websites). Stay tuned to this Meetup for upcoming scheduled classes.
Hacker News Meetup – This is a monthly meetup for entrepreneurs, hackers, techies, or anyone else who reads or likes the topics posted on Hacker News. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Hacker News or Y Combinator.
HERE Seattle – We foster a community that supports a diverse and inclusive culture in technology. We seek to grow, empower and inspire the community through social events, mentoring and crafting engaging programming around business and culture. We are experiencing lots of growth and it’s been a major motivator for us to continue to grow a community that exemplifies diversity and is driven by its members.
Impact Hub Seattle – There are dozens of meetings and events happening in our space each week. Whether you’re looking for an educational opportunity, a chance to network in the field, or just seeking new inspiration: we’re a one-stop shop.
IoT Hub Meetup – We are a community of Technologists, Industrialists, Entrepreneurs, and Corporate Innovators who want to connect locally to share, learn and discuss how the enabling technologies for the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 will impact our lives, jobs, communities, and industries.
IoT Nation™ | Seattle – IoT Nation’s mission is to inspire, engage, and connect entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and enthusiasts worldwide who are active in the Internet of Things (IoT). We hold regular events that focus on the intersection of IoT and an industry vertical (e.g. Healthcare, Energy Efficiency, etc.) or an industry horizontal (e.g. development platforms, Cyber Security).
IT Sports League – Promoting camaraderie, competition and health & wellness within our industry. Each season will feature one sport – Co-ed Softball (starts June 6), Co-ed Soccer (Fall), Basketball (Winter). We have partnered with the Seattle Parks Dept., Bellevue Parks Dept., NW Umpire Associations (USSA and ASA), and many IT companies in the area to form this league. Any IT company or supplier of IT companies are welcome to join!
Lean Startup Seattle – Lean Startup Seattle is for anyone interested in the application of Lean Startup Principles and the Customer Development process developed by Steve Blank and refined by Eric Ries. We are bringing the Seattle Lean Startup community together in a variety of formats to learn from each other.
Mobile Growth Meetup – What do we like to talk about? All things growth on mobile, from organic growth hacks to engagement strategies, from retention tactics to deep links and more. Come hang out, meet cool people in mobile, listen to some great speakers and share your learnings with fellow mobile growth experts.
MoDev – A community committed to providing the most relevant information to drive the development, design, and launching of mobile products. Our Meetups are intended for developers, designers, product managers, and entrepreneurs.
New Tech Eastside – Discover the people, partners, organizations, and resources to help you build your tech career or company at the Eastside’s largest and most fun monthly event – New Tech Eastside! We’re the first sister event to New Tech Seattle, Seattle’s largest monthly event! New Tech Eastside brings together smart, fun, innovative people with a ‘give first’ community attitude. Our members span across the full spectrum of our tech community from developers, investors, startup founders, marketers, Enterprise C-Level types to recruiters, managers, and their friends.
New Tech PDX – Portland’s premier ongoing monthly tech event. This event is for the community, by the community! Done in partnership with local community resources, our events happen on the 3rd Monday evening and the 3rd Friday morning of every month.
New Tech Seattle – Join us every month to experience Seattle’s most active tech community, and it’s largest and most fun monthly event! We’re a catalyst for all of the great Seattle organizations, events, companies, and people in tech to have a lot of fun connecting and helping each other make our companies better and faster together.
New Tech Tacoma – Discover the people, partners, organizations, and resources to help you build your tech career or company at Tacoma’s largest and most fun monthly event – New Tech Tacoma! We’re the new sister event to New Tech Seattle, Seattle’s largest monthly event! New Tech Tacoma brings together smart, fun, innovative people with a ‘give first’ community attitude.
Next Money SEA – Come together to discuss the intersection of banking, design and technology in creative spaces, with inspiring people, talking about really interesting and global topics, with a few drinks to boot. Casual, entrepreneurial, inquisitive minds are welcome!
node.js Meetup – This is a group dedicated to learning, spreading the knowledge of, and improving Node.js – the evented, server-side javascript platform harnessing the underlying power of Google’s V8 JS engine. You should join us if you want to learn about, share experiences with, or work to improve Node.js and its modules.
Open Coffee – Started to encourage entrepreneurs, developers and investors to organize real-world informal meetups to chat, network and grow. This is the online complement to that offline network. Meet people, find out what’s going on nearby you and then go and take part.
Puget Sound Programming Python (PuPPy) – We are a fun and friendly user group dedicated to proliferating a diverse and talented Python community in the Puget Sound region. We are devoted to exploring Python-based programming knowledge, embracing new and experienced members from all walks of life, and helping those members to achieve their professional goals. Please join us for a meetup, or in our social media discussions to get started!
PyLadies – PyLadies is an international mentorship group with a focus on helping more women become active participants and leaders in the Python open-source community. Our mission is to promote, educate and advance a diverse Python community through outreach, education, conferences, events, and social gatherings. PyLadies also aims to provide a friendly support network for women and a bridge to the larger Python world. Anyone with an interest in Python is encouraged to participate!
Seattle 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s – Did you just move to Seattle? Or have you been here for a while, and don’t mind sharing your love of the city with the noobies? Let’s get together to explore the city and the PNW while making new friends. We’ll try to do some of the quintessential Seattle activities, while making new connections in this part of the world. All ages are welcome, but the group will be targeted more to 30s/40s activities.
Seattle Android Developers – If you’re interested in developing applications for the Android platform, looking to network with other Android companies and developers, or hoping to test your applications against other devices, then come to one of the meetups! Presentations will be offered covering all skillsets, and we will be contacting vendors and other local agents to come in and present their tools and techniques.
Seattle Anti-Freeze – A group for anyone who has encountered the Seattle Freeze and persisted in the face of it — whether you’re new in town and wondering why it’s so hard to connect, a long-term transplant who’s all too familiar with the chill, or a native who wants to break out of the Seattle shell, we’re here to give you a group to hang out with and some like-minded people who are also looking for friends, not just being “Seattle nice”.
Seattle Angel Conference – The Seattle Angel Conference is a recurring Seattle Angel-driven event where the investors create an LLC, engage in due diligence of the applying startup companies, and ultimately pool funds to invest in one of the presenting finalists. The Seattle Angel Conference is the primary method Seattle Angel uses to find and fund new startups. The Seattle Angel Conference is open to any member of the community interested in learning more about both starting and investing in a new business and to hear the investment pitches from the finalists.
Seattle Google Developer Group – Our members are using or want to learn more about developing applications using Google technology, including: Android, App Engine, Google Cloud Platform, Chrome, TensorFlow, Google Plus, Go, and Dart programming languages.
SeattleJS – Meet other local JavaScripters to share knowledge, learn about the latest in JavaScript at the largest Javascript Meetup in the world.
Seattle Kotlin – a community for anyone interested in the Kotlin programming language. We provide opportunities to discuss Kotlin and related topics, socialize with people who are interested in Kotlin, and most importantly learn and grow our Kotlin skills.
Seattle Entrepreneurship Club – Founded by a group of professionals and entrepreneurship enthusiasts in the Greater Seattle Area. Its mission is to network the high-level professionals and entrepreneurs around Seattle, build a communication and collaboration platform for startup business, venture capital, and professionals, and support different parties’ pursuit of success, so as to encourage the startup activities and enrich the entrepreneurship culture in the Seattle community and beyond.
Seattle Game Developers Meetup – A group for game developers, designers, artists, sound designers, musicians, and all other related disciplines. This includes everyone from the professional AAA workers to the independents, hobbyists, and those with an interest. We will have informal meetings in the Seattle area where people can demo and share their work, spend time working on projects, and interact with others with similar interests. Events from other groups and organizations related to game development in the Seattle area will also be posted to this group.
Seattle Get Up Get On Out – GUGOOS are a laid back fun bunch of folks who like to spend time enjoying the outdoors! Join us on our adventures – hiking, kayaking, surfing, backpacking, bungee jumping, food, skydiving, sailing, white water rafting, urban hikes etc.
Seattle Hardware Startups – Apple is a hardware company. This group is for entrepreneurs, engineers, business developers, investors and others who would like to build innovative new devices or platforms. Please come and meet other like-minded people, talk about your ideas, present to the group and find partners, mentors, and others. You never know what you can achieve unless you try!
Seattle Interactive Conference – The premier technology event in the Northwest. The conference connects the most influential ideas of the year with emerging trends that will shape the industry. Leading brands, marketers and technologists turn to Seattle Interactive for inspiring speakers and tactical content to plot their next course. Sessions cover marketing, branding, communications, UX/UI design, and professional development, along with structured networking events. Seattle has emerged as an industry pacesetter, and a critical new hub for the digital marketplace. Seattle Interactive is its definitive event. With so many influencers gathered in one location, Seattle Interactive is a rare opportunity to make critical connections.
Seattle .js gaming meetup – Meet other local JavaScripters to share knowledge, learn about the latest in JavaScript.
Seattle Marketing Analytics Group – A collection of marketers and analysts that want to share best practices and learn about new trends. We want to start a group that gets together on a monthly basis for a casual gathering. Let’s keep the discussion going at #MktgAnalytics!
Seattle Mobile Web Apps – A group for developers who use or want to learn about PhoneGap, Cordova, Ionic, Famo.us, Unity, React Native and other frameworks for building cross-platform mobile and wearable apps for Android, iOS, Windows Phone and other mobile operating systems.
Seattle Networking Guide – Connecting you to Seattle’s leading community-building groups and networking opportunities.
Seattle Startup Digest – The personalized insider newsletter for all things startup in Seattle and around the world.
Seattle Startup Mentoring and Networking – We created a group to: 1) Meet and network with fellow tech co-founders in Seattle who already have traction. 2) Learn how to get more clients for your startup and take it to the next level. 3) Find out what other co-founders have done to acquire clients.
Seattle Startup Week – Startup Week is a five-day celebration of the Seattle community during the last week in October each year. Join our community in a new type of conference that builds momentum and opportunity around entrepreneurship, led by entrepreneurs and hosted in the entrepreneurial spaces you love. Startup Week is a reflection of your hard work and the Seattle community’s unique entrepreneurial identity.
Seattle Startups Open Coffee – Every week Entrepreneurs and investors gather to talk about the startup experience. They meet each week to discuss new startup ideas, access to funding, startup resources and generally to connect with interesting people. If you are looking at starting a growth company or looking at investing in new startups, come join the conversation.
Seattle Technical Forum – The Seattle-wide discussion forum for technology (esp. IT, web, mobile, game, cloud, social, telecom …). The forum is a platform for professionals to collaborate, share ideas, foster creative brainstorming. It is also a platform for companies to increase their branding and network.
Seattle Virtual Reality Meetup – Seattle Virtual Reality Meetup is for storytellers, professionals, students, artists, educators, and everyone interested in VR, AR, and immersive technologies. We meet every month – rain, hail or shine (but it’s usually raining). Gotta love Seattle!
She Codes Now – We empower women by giving them free programming classes, because we believe education should always be free.
That said, we believe that any gender who would like to learn to code should always have the opportunity to learn! It is in this spirit that we guarantee that anyone from any education level will always be welcome.
Startup and Growth Company Group Meetup – A group for anyone interested in meeting to discuss legal and regulatory developments applicable to startups and growth companies.
Startup Grind Seattle – The largest independent startup community, actively educating, inspiring, and connecting 215,000 founders in over 185 cities. We nurture startup ecosystems in 70 countries through events, media, and partnerships with organizations like Google for Entrepreneurs. The cornerstone of our global community are monthly events featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Founded in Silicon Valley, Startup Grind has now hosted 2,000 fireside chats since its founding in 2010. To date, Startup Grind has helped millions of entrepreneurs find mentorship, connect to partners and hires, pursue funding, and reach new users.
Startup Poker 2.0 – The flagship event of Startup Haven, a community-driven organization dedicated to connecting tech entrepreneurs with information, opportunities and each other. The format of Startup Poker 2.0 is a monthly poker tournament. The event supports the startup community by bringing them together in a relaxed and fun atmosphere where the free flow of ideas, beer and trash talk are encouraged.
Startup Seattle Events Calendar – Startup events in the Seattle area.
Superheros of Science – The Superheroes of Science lecture series brings renowned scientists to RAIN’s downtown Tacoma location. The storytellers unfold their work and its importance, fantastic failures and lessons learned, the future of their field, and war stories from the lab.
Techstars Demo Day and After-party – Looking to meet others in the Seattle startup community, or just get more involved? Now is your chance. At the end of October each year TechStars throws one of the biggest startup events of the year. Demo Day After-Party. Bringing together tech startup founders, execs and investors for some high stakes networking, casino games, amazing prizes and a good time!
UX Happy Hour – Simply drinks with designers and friends interested in design.
Washington Technology Industry Association Event Calendar – Tech events in the Seattle area.
WeWork – Want some feedback on your app? Ready to launch your product? Want to teach a class or host a workshop? Or perhaps you’re just ready to celebrate something? Our members are welcome to host an event in one of our flexible event spaces.
Women in Technology – hosts quarterly events to educate, empower, and connect women working in or aspiring to work in technology. All event proceeds are donated to partner organizations – working to increase diversity in the technology industry.
Women Who Code – A global nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers by creating a global, connected community of women in technology. The organization tripled in 2013 and has grown to be one of the largest communities of women engineers in the world.
Pitching Events
Angelhack – The industry leader for Hackathons. The first company of it’s kind, we’ve been leading the hackathon revolution since 2011.
Code.org – A non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color.
CodeDay – Join students in 36 cities nationwide and build something awesome in 24 hours.
First Look Forum – WTIA’s bi-annual, in-depth coaching program that culminates in an invitation only presentation showcase for start-ups.
Founders Live – An unforgettable happy hour competition where up to five handpicked companies take the hot seat, with only 99 seconds to pitch their company and describe their value proposition in front of an eager audience. After the pitches and audience Q&A, the crowd will vote on a winner who will not only receive an award, but recognition from the crowd and also the opportunity to talk more about their product or service. So bring your friends and coworkers, grab some food and drink, get to know your local entrepreneurs and vote for what you think will be the next big thing… built in Seattle.
Keiretsu Forum – A global angel investor network with more than 1500 accredited investor members throughout 39 chapters on 3 continents.
Lion’s Den – Take your start-up, your late-night garage project, your genius idea and toss it into The Lion’s Den.
Seattle Angel Conference – A recurring Seattle Angel-driven event where the investors create an LLC, engage in due diligence of the applying startup companies, and ultimately pool funds to invest in one of the presenting finalists. The Seattle Angel Conference is the primary method Seattle Angel uses to find and fund new startups. The Seattle Angel Conference is open to any member of the community interested in learning more about both starting and investing in a new business and to hear the investment pitches from the finalists.
SVP Fast Pitch – A business pitch competition for innovative nonprofit and for-profit social impact entrepreneurs – organizations that are solving today’s important social problems and making a positive impact in the Greater Puget Sound area. In its first four years, SVP Fast Pitch has connected social impact entrepreneurs with over $1.2 million in investments and grants. Thanks to our generous sponsors we are raising the 2015 award pool to $375,000 – $125,000 in grants and $250,000 in investments.
Startup Weekend – A global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate, and empower individuals, teams and communities. Come share ideas, form teams, and launch startups.
Techflash Cup – This one-of-a-kind online competition is for startups from all industries — a pitch session in front of area venture capitalists. The goal: Getting the chance to pitch your business ideas and products live in front of seasoned venture capitalists at a special event in November and win the coveted TechFlash Cup.
