In this bonus episode of Startups For the Rest of Us, we realized that we have never talked about the refocusing of MicroConf US and MicroConf Europe and growing our extended hallway track to focus on helping founders build more connections.

Since we started the event in 2011, we've done 35 of them now. The feedback we've always gotten is that the hallway track is the best part of MicroConf, and the speakers are an excuse to get us all in a room so that we can meet one another and build those relationships.

After Covid hit, we decided to take a chance and adjust our traditional format. We cut down the number of speakers and focused more on additional ways to grow the hallway track. In MicroConf US - Denver - this April, we’re at 5 speakers. All the rest of the time is spent doing activities and connecting with other founders, including through offsite adventures, roundtables, workshops, etc.

Finally, we’ve also introduced Founder by Founder, which is like speed networking. We set a seven-minute timer and encouraged everyone to talk to someone they don't know and introduce themselves.

Whether it's at the workshops, the offsite adventures, or Founder by Founder, we've found getting out of your bubble and connecting with other founders has been an extremely valuable change and a shift to the way that the MicroConf in-person events happen.

Head over to Microconf.com/events to see all of our events happening this year.