The Door 64 Tech Fair, Matt Genovese, and a Café Americano please.

I know this blog is very very late, the event mentioned below took place on April 30th… there is nothing like living in the past!

Last October, or was it November, I found myself alone, curious, and not really scared at an after-hours networking party thrown by one of Austin’s friendliest, most innovative dudes: His name was Matt Genovese, and I’d heard of him, read his linkedin page, and familiarized myself with his website for the local tech site Door 64.

So here I am in the dark, loud pub on Burnet and 183, very very late (as usual) and looking for my coworker who was supposed to meet me there but was running even later than myself. By the time she arrived, I had somehow managed to mush myself into a group of nerds who were actually talking about Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), opposed to the more predictible IT programming. Then the neon-blonde boss of mine arrived, and in no time at all we were the silliest two to be seen.

Standing in the group with us was Matt G. I knew his face, introduced myself, and then proceeded to tell a few, hilarious, though inappropriate jokes that had the geeks shaking in their tech-boots with laughter. Okay, so maybe not the most professional decision I’ve ever made, but it wasn’t the worst, and guess what? Matt remembered me when I sent him a linkedin request. Awesome! This is how to network: Tell inappropriate jokes, add a friend-link on the web.

Since Hallowed Grounds became a living, breathing (non-profit) entitiy way back in the December of ‘08, I still check the Door 64 website, because there is something inherently technical about coffee… in that people drink it while working on computers. (Or perhaps I just feel smarter when I drink it.) Anyway, I contacted Matt G. about his tech fair on April 30th and he said yes, of course, they need coffee and he’d love to have us in there.

Like a true businessman he got us a generous sponsorship from BLANK so that we could offer the delectable espresso drinks at about 35% of the normal price;  nerds of every size and shape were happy with their $.75 Americanos and $2 Iced Toddys, and we had a blast.  Sponsorships, in general, are what we want to work with.

The Door 64 Tech Fair was a good gig for us: We were profitable, we met a lot of people, and our customers were very happy with the product offered. A huge thank you to Matt Genovese for supporting us and helping us get a sponsorship. Austin is neat in this way, that there are so many people innovating and starting (by accident or on purpose) their own local trends leaves Meg and I with a small oasis of people who know what we’re doing, know where we’re coming from. What a wonderful thing to reach out to them and receive nothing less than their genuine interest and support in the success and growth of our tiny coffee operation.

Here is the video on YouTube by Reel Social Media of Matt Genovese speaking about the Tech Fair.