Event hosting

Event Hosting

When to Use

• Founder wants to host a meetup, workshop, demo day, or community event
• Founder wants to use events to build pipeline, recruit, or establish thought leadership
• Founder wants to create a Luma event page with compelling copy
• Founder wants to plan a recurring event series to build community around their product or space

Context Required

• Event goal (lead generation, community building, recruiting, brand awareness, product feedback)
• Target audience (developers, founders, enterprise buyers, designers, etc.)
• Format (in-person, virtual, hybrid)
• Topic/theme and any confirmed speakers
• Capacity and venue (or virtual platform)
• Budget (many founder-hosted events are $0-500)

Workflow

1. Define the event concept — clarify:
   • Goal: what success looks like (X attendees, Y leads, Z brand impressions)
   • Format: panel, workshop, demo night, fireside chat, networking, hackathon
   • Audience: who should attend and why they'd show up
   • Value prop for attendees: what they'll learn, who they'll meet, or what they'll get
2. Write the event page — create copy for Luma (lu.ma) or similar platform:
   • Title: specific and compelling (not "Tech Meetup #4" — instead "How 5 YC Founders Got Their First 100 Customers")
   • Description: problem/hook → what you'll cover → who should attend → speaker bios → logistics
   • Image/banner: recommend dimensions and style (Luma: 1600x900px)
3. Plan the run of show — minute-by-minute agenda:
   • Doors/login open (15 min buffer)
   • Welcome and context (5 min — who you are, why this event exists)
   • Main content (30-45 min — talks, panels, demos)
   • Q&A or discussion (15 min)
   • Networking / unstructured time (30 min for in-person)
   • Close and next steps
4. Build the promotion plan — how to fill seats:
   • Post on relevant communities (use community-discovery)
   • Personal outreach to 20-30 "anchor attendees" who make the event worth attending
   • Cross-promotion with speakers' audiences
   • LinkedIn/X posts from founder personal account
   • Luma's built-in invite and reminder features
5. Prepare follow-up — plan what happens after the event:
   • Thank-you message to attendees (same day)
   • Share recording/slides (if applicable)
   • Connect with high-value attendees individually
   • Announce next event (if recurring)

Output Format

## Event Plan: [Event Title]

### Concept
- **Goal:** [what success looks like]
- **Format:** [panel / workshop / demo night / etc.]
- **Audience:** [who and why they'd come]
- **Date/Time:** [proposed]
- **Capacity:** [number]
- **Platform:** [Luma link / venue]

### Luma Event Page Copy

**Title:** [title]

**Description:**
[Full event description — 150-300 words, structured as hook → content → audience → speakers → logistics]

**Tags:** [relevant Luma tags]

### Run of Show
| Time | Segment | Owner | Notes |
|------|---------|-------|-------|
| 6:00 PM | Doors open | — | Networking, food/drinks |
| 6:15 PM | Welcome | [Founder] | Context, housekeeping |
| 6:20 PM | Talk 1 | [Speaker] | [Topic] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Promotion Plan
| Channel | Action | Timeline |
|---------|--------|----------|
| Luma | Publish event page | 3 weeks before |
| LinkedIn | Founder post + speaker reshares | 2 weeks before |
| Communities | Post in [specific communities] | 2 weeks before |
| Direct outreach | Personal invite to 20 anchor attendees | 2 weeks before |
| Reminder | Luma auto-reminder + personal note | 1 day before |

### Follow-Up Plan
- [ ] Same-day thank you email with key takeaways
- [ ] Share recording/slides within 48 hours
- [ ] Personal follow-up with [N] high-value attendees
- [ ] Announce next event date

Frameworks & Best Practices

Event formats that work for startups:

Format	Best For	Typical Size	Effort
Fireside chat	Thought leadership, intimate discussion	20-50	Low
Panel	Diverse perspectives, networking draw	30-100	Medium
Workshop	Teaching, product education, lead gen	15-30	Medium
Demo night	Showcasing products, community building	30-80	Medium
Hackathon	Developer community, product feedback	20-100	High
Dinner / small gathering	Investor/executive networking	8-15	Low (but high cost)

Luma-specific tips:

• Use the "Require Approval" feature to curate attendees (quality > quantity)
• Enable "Ask a Question" during registration to qualify attendees
• Set up co-hosts so speakers can also invite their networks
• Use Luma's calendar subscription feature for recurring events
• Luma's built-in reminder emails have high open rates — don't duplicate with external email

The 40% rule: Expect 40-60% of RSVPs to actually attend for free events. For paid events, expect 80-90%. Overbook accordingly.

Making events a growth channel:

• Host monthly, not "whenever" — consistency builds an audience that returns
• Each event should have a natural next step (join our community, try the product, attend the next event)
• Record everything — one event becomes 5-10 pieces of content
• The best events are conversations, not presentations — leave 30%+ of time unstructured

Common mistakes:

• Making it about your product instead of your audience's interests
• Inviting everyone instead of curating for quality
• No follow-up after the event (the event is the beginning, not the end)
• Over-programming — leave room for serendipity and networking
• Not starting the series until everything is "perfect" — first event can be 15 people in a coffee shop

Related Skills

• community-discovery — find the right communities to promote your event
• founder-thought-leadership — events are a powerful thought leadership channel
• content-strategy — repurpose event content into blog posts, social, and newsletters
• employer-brand — hosting events signals culture and attracts talent

Examples

Prompt: "Help me create a Luma event for a monthly AI founders meetup in SF."

Good output includes: Event page copy with a compelling title and description, run of show for a 2-hour evening event, promotion plan targeting AI-focused communities, and a follow-up template.

Prompt: "I want to host a virtual workshop teaching developers how to use our API."

Good output includes: Workshop structure with live coding segments, Luma event page optimized for developer audience, promotion through developer communities (from community-discovery), and a lead capture strategy.