Chapter Leader Playbook

Running a Great Local Meetup

Your step-by-step guide for before, during, and after every event.

Download Playbook (Word)
1

Before the Event

Resources to Purchase Ahead of Time

Order these well in advance so they arrive before event day.

We’ll cover this for you

Nathan Latka and Founderpath are happy to purchase these ahead of time. We just need a shipping address where you can accept Amazon packages at least seven days before the event. If you want to purchase directly, they’re all bundled in this Amazon list.

Food & Drinks

The food rule: attendees should be able to hold and eat it while walking around, shaking hands, and networking. Avoid anything that needs silverware or a plate.

Good options
  • Protein bars
  • Bags of nuts
  • Pizza
  • Any sort of bar
Drinks
  • At least 24 bottles of still water
  • Wine / beer is a nice bonus
  • If the event is before 3pm, offering coffee is a nice touch

1 Hour Before: Pre-Flight Checklist

Work this top to bottom — it’s ordered on purpose. Lock in your people first, then test anything that can break (it needs lead time to fix), then set up the room, then do your final checks right before doors.

Step 1 — Assign your people
  • Who is checking people in? They need time to learn the Luma app — check-in tutorial here. Whoever checks people in must be made a co-host on the Luma event — that’s required to access check-in, on desktop or mobile.
  • Who is helping speakers connect to the projector / AV?
Step 2 — Test what can break (most lead time to fix)
  • Projector working?
  • Easy to connect either a Mac or PC to the projector?
  • WiFi working?
  • Luma app open on your phone (test it) so you can check people in quickly?
Step 3 — Set up the room
  • Sticker name badges with permanent markers at the front? (Check-in needs these ready.)
  • Food set up?
  • Drinks set up?
Step 4 — Final checks before doors
  • Reminder sent via Luma with location and start time?
  • Photographer / videographer ready?
2

During the Event

Keep Speakers On Time

Put an iPad or computer in front of the speaker running a timer so they can see when their time is up. Make sure the speaker knows how much time they have left. Use a presentation timer such as freetimer.app/presentation-timer.

Backup (order ahead): keep a set of red / yellow / green time cards on hand so you can flash a visual time warning if the digital timer fails or the speaker isn’t watching the screen.

Why this matters

If we don’t put a visible timer in front of speakers, they will run over and the whole schedule slips behind. A timer is required.

Projector & Slides

  • Use an HDMI cable at least 20 feet long so it reaches the projector and connects to the table next to where the speaker is standing. (Order one on Amazon if you don’t have it.)
  • Run the HDMI cable so it comes out in FRONT of the projector. This lets the keynote presenter stand next to the computer, screen share, and teach the audience directly.
  • Have an HDMI adapter on hand so any speaker — PC or Mac — can connect to the projector / HDMI cable.

Keynotes & Presentations

For each keynote, run this sequence:

  • Keynote speaker connects their computer.
  • Start recording their screen so we have a high-res version of whatever they share for post-production. Use the built-in tool for their computer (see below). No downloads or installs required.
  • Plug the Master USB drive into the speaker’s computer so we can record their screen and drop the file onto the USB before they leave.

Screen Recording the Speaker Laptop — No Downloads Needed

Both Mac and Windows have a screen recorder built in, so there’s nothing to install on the speaker’s computer. Use the steps for whichever machine they bring.

Mac
Screen Capture (built in)
  • Press ⌘ + Shift + 5
  • Select the screen area
  • Click Record
  • Click Stop when finished
  • Upload the video
Windows
Snipping Tool (built in, Win 11)
  • Open Snipping Tool
  • Click Record
  • Select the screen area
  • Click Start
  • Click Stop
  • Upload the video

Right After Keynotes — Before Networking

Immediately after the keynotes are done, and before general networking starts, take the group picture. Once people scatter, you won’t get them back together.

3

After the Event

End of Event: Wrap-Up Checklist

Before you leave (or first thing the next morning), confirm everything is captured and uploaded. Upload everything to the shared Event Recordings & Slides (Google Drive) folder.

  • Group picture taken?
  • Speaker transcripts added to Google Drive?
  • Speaker screen shares / slides added to Google Drive?
  • Photographer uploaded all raw photos and videos to Google Drive?

The Golden Rule

Capture everything, then upload everything. The transcripts, slides, screen recordings, and photos are what we reuse afterward — they only have value if they make it to Google Drive.

4

Marketing & Speaker Recruiting

Speaker Recruiting

The quality of the room follows the quality of the speakers. When you’re recruiting, vet the content before you confirm anyone — a great name with a weak (or salesy) talk will sink the night. Use the message below to pressure-test what they’re actually going to present.

Content vetting — ask every speaker

“Where did you guys land on content? Do you have something super compelling you can screen share where (a) the audience will learn, (b) you’re sharing real data, and (c) it cannot be a sales pitch (I know you won’t do this).”

The three criteria are the bar: it has to teach, it has to be backed by real data, and it can never be a pitch. If a speaker can’t clearly answer all three, keep working with them on the content before you lock them in.

Email Your List

A week or so out, email your list with a personal, low-friction invite. The ask is just “want me to add you to the invite?” — not a hard sell. Use merge fields so it feels one-to-one.

Template — use merge fields

Hey NAME, do you have any interest in meeting KEYNOTE1, KEYNOTE2, KEYNOTE3? I’m getting together with them in CITY at TIME on DATE. Want me to add you to the calendar invite?

Example

Hey Sam, do you have any interest in meeting Emeric ($25m ARR, CEO AgoraPulse), David ($9m ARR, CEO Submagic), or Romain ($15m ARR, CEO ArcAds)? I’m getting together with them in Paris at 6pm on June 12th. Want me to add you to the calendar invite?

When they reply “yes”, send them the Luma link.