[dmitrybrant]

> I stay active on a Slack community of devs and creators in my country, as well as go to meet-ups and events in interesting communities

How does one find these supposed Slack groups and meetups? I live in a major metropolitan area, but the meetups I've been able to find have been underwhelming.

[dv35z]

Check out if a university near you has a startup incubator / entrepreneurship program. They often have events, probably socialized most on their Instagram account. From expert talks, to hackathons - go to the next event. While there, tell the organizer what type of community you’re looking for, and ask if there is a group chat.

For example, I’m in a city, and there are at least 2 or 3 very active WhatsApp groups - a mix of tech devs, creative entrepreneurs (one of those groups has 800+ members). Every day - there are 2-3 events posted, talks, seminars, workshops, code jams, pitch workshops, digital marketing how-tos.

Idea: Co--working spaces often have a formal or informal group chat (often WhatsApp). You could take a tour and ask around.

Business incubators - Business incubators, often have a Slack channel (with channels like #dev, #design, #3d-printing). They often have a networking site where you can book free office hours with vetted experts / founders / engineers / executives / angel investors). The one I participate in has a Slack group containing 2,800 creative entrepreneurs, founders, investors, etc. At the co-working space, they host events, social mixers, etc. You’ll aways find some interesting people there. Find the group chat, get on it. Eventually you’ll get “dragged” into an interesting social group of startup / entrepreneurship / growth minded people. I jokingly say dragged, but what I mean is - if you go to an interesting talk on CNC routers, you’ll likely meet someone interesting there, they’ll tell you about a cool upcoming event, you book it - over time, you’re just spending more time per week with interesting people.

I know you just asked about WhatsApp groups, but I wanted to just share some of what I’ve learned, within 1 year of moving to a new city.

[Aeolun]

In the absence of any good ones you start one?

[langsoul-com]

Joining and starting a meetup are two completely different things. Joining is low effort, you just need to rock up. Starting one now needs venues, advertising (as in posting the event, updates) and other work like things.