This document summarizes Demi Ben-Ari's experience starting and growing two tech communities in Israel called "Big Things" and Google Developer Group Cloud Tel-Aviv (GDG Cloud). It describes how the communities started on Facebook and Meetup, grew to thousands of members through monthly meetups and online content, and provides insights into effective strategies like focusing meetups around business and technology talks.

1. Bootstrapping a Tech
Community
Demi Ben-Ari

2. About Me
Demi Ben-Ari, Co-Founder & VP R&D @ Panorays
● Co-Founder @
○ “Big Things” Big Data Community
○ Google Developer Group Cloud Tel-Aviv
○ Ofek Alumni Association
● BS’c Computer Science – Academic College Tel-Aviv Yaffo
In the Past:
● Sr. Data Engineer @ Windward
● Software Team Leader & Senior Java Software Engineer
● Missile defense and Alert System - “Ofek” – IAF

3. About Me - Leading Communities
“Big Things”
● Big Data
● Data Science
● DevOps
GDG Cloud
● Cloud
Technologies
○ Private
○ Public
● Ofek Alumni
○ General
Tech
GroupFocus

4. Agenda
● Story Telling
○ Course of action in the past 2+ years
● Insights: “What actually worked for us”
● Questions that came in mind
● Conclusions

5. What is A Tech Community?
(IMHO)

6. How we started?
● Facebook Group - Knowledge Sharing
○ Closed Group - Invite Only
○ Most of the posts were share by a really small group of people
● Reason
○ Share technological posts
○ Create a platform for people to communicate instantly
○ Basically - Most of the people we already on Facebook
● After a month we had ~150 people only by Invites
○ Because of the high adoption, opened up to a public group

7. Face to Face is always better
● Created a Meetup group
○ First initiative - Gave the a talk myself
○ Found a place that will host the event through friends
● The Plan was:
○ Monthly meetup
○ Each one will have 2 talks
○ Talk’s outline the Works
■ Business Problem
■ A bit about the Tech
■ How we solved the problem with the Tech

8. Face to Face is always better

9. Face to Face is always better
● After a year of Meetups (Stats)
○ Facebook Group - ~ 650 people (Around 10-20 really active)
○ Meetup Group -
■ ~ 1500 people
■ 12 Meetups
■ High Demand by companies to give talks and to host
● After 2 Years
○ Facebook Group - ~ 1200 people (Around 20-30 really active)
○ Meetup Group -
■ ~ 2500 people
■ 16 Meetups
■ High Demand by companies to give talks and to host

10. Face to Face is always better
● One year anniversary meetup

11. What is not Face to Face?
● All of the meetups are recorded and uploaded to YouTube.

12. Effective Meetup Outline
● 2 Talks per meeting
○ 30-45 minutes each.
● Talk’s schedule and structure
○ Business Problem.
○ A bit about the technology (Really high overview).
○ “How did we solve the problem with the technology”.

13. Questions that came in mind
● What language to conduct it in?
● Should it be in a single location?
● Should you take on sponsorship of some company?
● What other events to hold?
○ Hackathons
○ Workshops
○ Webinars
● Which Platform to spread the word at?

14. Conclusion
● Be on the Media the Community is at.
● Create a Platform for people to feel comfortable to communicate.
● Try recording as much as you can to share the data.
◦ As you know, people are “Busy”.
● The “30% Rule”.
● Keep it as Detached as possible from any Commercial company.
● You basically become a router in the end.
◦ Try leveraging it to help people out!
● Meet your audience where they are and not where you are

15. Questions?

16. ● LinkedIn
● Twitter: @demibenari
● Blog:
http://progexc.blogspot.com/
● demi.benari@gmail.com
● “Big Things” Community
Meetup, YouTube, Facebook,
Twitter
● GDG Cloud