Customer Experience

This is a smallish-group, quiet-ish meetup for ADHD brains who want to connect with their tribe without their nervous system going, 'Alll riiight, I'm outta here!' Everyone welcome. You don't need a diagnosis, you don't even need ADHD. Just need to be a good egg. We’re meeting at **Picturehouse Central - UPSTAIRS cafe** (Piccadilly) because it’s one of those places where you can actually hear yourself think. Mostly. This is more of a tea/coffee and cake kinda venue. Sorry, booze hounds! **The environment is**: relaxed, validating, welcoming It won't be like whispering to each other at the back of the class, more less sensory Armageddon. **What to expect** A small group (human-scale, not “who are all these people” scale). A quiet-ish venue where you don’t have to shout your personality into existence. Conversation that can be normal (well, probably far from normal 😅. There is no need to worry about trying to fit in, no need to mask. A soft landing. Come late, ease in, do a gentle hello, no one’s timing you. Low-pressure hanging out. If you want to chat, great. If you want to sit and decompress near other people, also great. **The unofficial theme** How to be social without being assaulted by: fluorescent lighting overlapping conversations surprise music that one table doing a full volume podcast recording next to you. **Important Note:** If you cannot make it, please put 'Can't go'. This ensures there's space for others who want to attend 🙂 ‐------------------------------------------------------ Boundaries (quick, clear, important) Yay!-DHD is a consent-led space. Some people are chatty, some are quiet, some are pacing themselves. Please don’t push for personal details, contact info, or continued connection if someone isn’t offering it. This isn’t a dating event. ‐------------------------------------------------------- For you robots out there: ADHD \| Low sensory meetup \| Inclusive \| AUDHD \|

**Welcome!** Join us for **Thought Experiments in Hertfordshire**, a chance to meet new people and discuss interesting questions in a wonderful space. No experience necessary. We will discuss three different thought experiments (you could also call them scenarios) on the theme of **Curiosity.** This is one of our ‘taster’ sessions which means you can try out Thought Experiments in Hertfordshire for free (tickets are usually £5). The group is part of the [Thought Experiments in Pubs](https://alltogether.one/thoughtexperimentsinpubs) network so if you've been to one of those events, you'll know the score. **What to expect** We will discuss three thought experiments in small groups of four. There will be an opportunity to change groups between each thought experiment, so you’ll get the chance to meet and talk to quite a few different people at each event. At the end of the session we’ll have a short get together as a whole group to share thoughts and ‘vote’ on a few questions, so that you can get a sense of everyone’s views. After that feel free to stay and chat with your fellow thinkers! A link to the thought experiments will be posted in the comments below on the day of the event, in case you want to read them ahead of time, but there’s no requirement to do this. **Who should come?** Everyone. No experience required. Each session is standalone. The more perspectives, the richer the conversation. The vibe is calm and inquisitive so leave your boxing gloves at home! If you have friends who are not on Meetup but who might enjoy this event, feel free to get an extra ticket for them when you sign up. **The Venue** The beautiful [Old Manor](https://www.the-old-manor.co.uk/) pub in Potters Bar. Dating back to the 13th century, the building is the surviving part of an old manor house. We’ll be at the top of the stairs in a space called ‘The Eaves’. Ask at the bar if you can't find us! **Address:** **The Old Manor, Wyllyotts Place, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 2JD.** **By train:** the nearest station is Potters Bar (a 4 minute walk to the venue) with fast train links from Finsbury Park and Kings Cross as well as Welwyn Garden City and Cambridge. **By car:** there’s lots of parking including: the pub's car park; free on-street parking after 6.30 on Darkes Lane; and an underground car park (pay and display) opposite the pub (under Wyllyotts theatre).

Welcome to our June event. We're delighted to welcome [Marina Kim](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinawebdev/), Tech Lead, Vidatec and [Damien Jones](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrdamienjones/), AWS Consultant, Steamhaus You've seen the AgentCore demos. **Marina** has taken them into production, and lived to tell the tale. Tonight she's giving us the engineering reality behind building AI agents on AWS with Amazon Bedrock and tooling: what breaks, what costs you, and what actually ships. Five weeks. A brand new business. A Crufts deadline. **Damien** didn't whiteboard this one - he shipped it. Tonight he's walking us through every decision that made it possible: AWS CDK, Amplify, Q Developer, and Kiro working together under real pressure. A big thank you to our sponsors [Cloudscaler](https://rebrand.ly/cloudscaler), [Rayo](https://rebrand.ly/rayo-cloud) & [The Scale Factory](https://rebrand.ly/scalefactory) Programme: 18:00: Arrival, registration 18:15: Talks start 20:00: Networking with food and a drink provided by the generosity of our sponsors. Talk 1: ***AgentCore vs Reality: Lessons from Building AI Agents on AWS with Marina Kim*** In this talk, I will explore the reality of what happens when you try to build an AI agent on AWS using Amazon Bedrock and tool calling, inspired by still new and emerging AgentCore patterns. Through a live demo and practical examples, I’ll walk through what worked, what didn't work, and the unexpected challenges that appear when moving from theory to implementation, including hallucinations, incorrect tool usage, and trade-offs around cost and latency. The goal is to give a realistic, engineering-first perspective on building agentic systems today, and help developers understand where these patterns are useful and where they still fall short. By the end of this talk, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to approach building AI agents on AWS, what pitfalls to expect, and how to make informed decisions when applying agentic patterns in real-world systems. **Learning Takeaways** * How to approach building AI agents on AWS using Amazon Bedrock and tool calling, with focus on emerging AgentCore patterns * What actually happens when you move from theory to implementation, including common failure modes like hallucinations, incorrect tool usage, and overconfident decisions. * How to iteratively improve an agent by testing, identifying issues, and introducing guardrails and constraints * How to evaluate trade-offs between autonomy, reliability, cost, and latency in agentic systems **Marina** is a Tech Lead at Vidatec working with web, mobile, MS Teams and AI solutions across multiple industries. She has significant experience working with AWS services, managing deployments and maintenance across multiple production workloads. Marina is a founder of Catbytes - online community for women in tech and a co-organiser of AWS UG UK and AWS AI In Practice community events Talk 2: ***Best in Show: Building a Crufts-Ready AWS Business Platform in 5 Weeks with Damien Jones*** A new dog training business is launched. You have 5 weeks to develop a new production-ready platform before Crufts: the world's biggest dog show. Could you deliver? In this talk, I'll share the real-world journey of building WolfieAndFriends on AWS. We'll review my architectural choices, "build vs buy" decisions and the trade-offs made during those hectic early days. You'll learn how to use AWS serverless, IaC and AI services to enable rapid delivery, shorten development times and transform a greenfield project into a professional, scalable platform that pays the bills. Whether you're a startup founder or an enterprise dev, you'll walk away with a blueprint for rapid delivery without sacrificing long-term stability. Expect Amplify, CDK, Q Developer, Kiro and more! **Learning Takeaways** * How to make fast, defensible architectural decisions under genuine time pressure. * How to use AWS CDK, Amplify Gen 2, Q Developer, and Kiro as an integrated rapid-delivery stack. * Practical "build vs buy" trade-offs: what to own, what to delegate, and how to decide. * How serverless IaC enables safe iteration from greenfield to production. * A reusable blueprint for going from zero to a scalable, paying platform in weeks — not months. **Damien** is an AWS consultant, data specialist, and cloud enthusiast with a strong record of designing, building, and optimising cloud-native solutions. He has extensive knowledge of data engineering, DevOps and cloud architectures, fueled by a passion for using emerging technologies to solve complex problems and support data-driven decision making. Damien is also active in the cloud community, serving as a content creator, user group leader and public speaker. **Do you have a story to share?** If you are interested in speaking at one of our events, please check out our [call for papers here](https://awsuguk.org/call-for-papers/). We are advocates for greater inclusion & diversity in UK Tech and are especially keen to receive talk submissions from people in underrepresented groups. If you are interested in speaking at a future meetup but would like to discuss what to expect or need assistance, please contact our Inclusion & Diversity Lead Natalie Gray - graynataliej@gmail.com or DM her [@natjgray](https://twitter.com/natjgray) Check out our [website](https://awsuguk.org/) for more information about our community and our code of conduct. Remember to follow us [@AWSUserGroupUK](https://twitter.com/AWSUserGroupUK) and on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aws-ug-uk) for the latest updates, and you can find videos of our past meetups [here.](https://awsuguk.org/our-videos/)

Hi, Welcome to our midweek session of Superboys. The session is scheduled as our temporary midweek session . We will play for 3 hours between 6.30pm and 9.30pm at Rokeby School E16 4DD. The nearest station is Canning Town on the Jubilee or DLR. It is also 20 mins walking from Custom House on Elizabeth Line. It is £12 per person for 3 hours. We play with quality feather shuttlecocks. RSVP is now open on meetup. Once RSVP, please make payment to secure your spot. Any payment please make to: Monzo Name: Ba Quan Le Account number: 30719150 Sort code: 04-00-04

🎉 Come along to the London Scala Talks for a deep dive into functional architecture! 🎉 In this event you'll hear from David Lebl and Przemysław Pokrywka. **Agenda** 6:00pm - 🥤 Doors open. Come along and grab a drink! 6:35pm - 🗣️ Introduction 6:40pm - 🗣️ Przemysław Pokrywka: Ports and Adapters for People on Tight Schedules 7:20pm - 🍕 Intermission: Join us for some free food and drinks! Vegan and vegetarian options are provided. Let us know if you'd like something special - we'd be happy to accommodate. 7:50pm - 🗣️ David Lebl: Complexity is a Sin, But Hexagons Forgive 8:30pm - 🥤 Socialising: Grab a drink and let's discuss the talks. 9:00pm - 🍻 Join us in a pub to discuss the talks! 🌐 **This event will not have a live stream** We hope to see you there in person. **🗣️ Przemysław Pokrywka: Ports and Adapters for People on Tight Schedules** Focus on software architecture is not always associated with pragmatism in common perception. Terms such as architecture astronautics and the ivory tower stereotype highlight the perceived disconnect between many architects and the realities of day-to-day code maintenance. Too often, architectural patterns are applied with insufficient understanding, leading to cargo-cult adoption and increased waste in the software development process. When applied in the right context, however, certain architectural approaches can be powerful enablers. In this talk, I would like to share the story of a serverless application in which elements of the Ports and Adapters architecture made a tangible, positive difference. ⭐ Przemysław Pokrywka ⭐ Husband, dad, grandad, software engineer. Functional Scala enthusiast with imperative OOP Java background. Fan of the command line. **🗣️ David Lebl: Complexity is a Sin, But Hexagons Forgive** A visual journey from spaghetti to sanity. This talk traces how cognitive load accumulates in unconstrained codebases, how domain-driven design and bounded contexts restore order, and how hexagonal architecture provides a practical, forgiving structure for real-world systems — all laid out on a single zoomable canvas where every example links back to the bigger picture. ⭐ David Lebl ⭐ David is a software developer with a CS background and 5 years of Scala and FP experience. He leads a small team, occasionally survives his own accidental complexity, and is here to share what he learned the hard way. ———————————————————— 🗣️ Would you like to present, but are not sure how to start? Give a talk with us and you'll receive mentorship from a trained toastmaster! Get in touch through [this form](https://forms.gle/zv5i9eeto1BsnSwe8) and we'll get you started 🏡 Interested in hosting or supporting us? Please get in touch through [this form](https://forms.gle/3SX3Bm6zHqVodBaMA) and we can discuss how you can get involved. 📜 All London Scala User Group events operate under the [Scala Community Code of Conduct](https://www.scala-lang.org/conduct/). We encourage each of you to report the breach of the conduct, either anonymously through [this form](https://forms.gle/9PMMorUWgBnbk1mm6) or by contacting one of our team members. We guarantee privacy and confidentiality, as well as that we will take your report seriously and react quickly.

**Hello there!** Our Face-to-Face Afternoon Classes are back this June in London! Are you learning English as a second language and looking for an opportunity to practise your English? Interested in **free, in-person classes**? We’ve got you covered! Here at **Stafford House,** our teachers-in-training are gaining hands-on experience by teaching enthusiastic English learners. Each lesson is interactive and fun, with plenty of opportunities to practise speaking, meet other learners, and improve your English along the way. We also offer **free online English classes**. Check out our other events for more information! Please see the **updated** details below! 🕑 **When:** From **8th June - 2nd July (4 weeks)** ➡️**Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays** 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ➡️**Fridays** 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m 📍 **Where:** Stafford House London, 2 Southampton Place, WC1A 2DA (just 2 minutes from Holborn Station) 📚 **Level: Both levels available** **\- Pre\-Intermediate \(A2\-B1\)** **\- Upper\-Intermediate \(B2\)** Spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Please arrive **15- 30 minutes early** to secure your spot. We will ask for your name and email upon arrival. *Please note⚠️ confirming attendance on Meetup does not guarantee a place in the classroom.* **Please note that class times or dates may occasionally change due to the nature of the course. If this happens, we will inform you by email.** We look forward to seeing you all very soon! Got Questions? send us an email at [[[teachertraining@staffordhouse.com](mailto:teachertraining@staffordhouse.com)]

Beloslava concert https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beloslava-live-in-london-tickets-1986163041122?aff=ebdsshsms&utm_share_source=listing_android&sg=38dd17b5e940cae6b2fceafc9889606c2409fe04faca0f12ccd27af27bab52a8d48f568dcdda8df2b55de05ac81e23f5102ab98ed7752e85e0bdf07e889e20ea9355739c20642603c6d496a1

Join us for the **Cloud Native & Open Source AI Conference**, a full-day, in-person event bringing together engineers, architects, platform teams, AI practitioners, technical leaders, and open-source communities working at the intersection of **cloud-native infrastructure, open-source AI, and production-scale systems**. **MAKE SURE TO REGISTER HERE: https://www.communitystack.io/conferences/cloud-native-london USE CODE: CommunityStack for a free ticket** ## Opening Keynote **Evolving the Kubernetes User Experience: More Intuitive, More Extensible, More Agentic** With: **Andrew Randall** — Principal PM, Office of the CPO, Microsoft **Pal Lakatos-Toth** — Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Kubernetes has become the default platform for modern workloads, and increasingly for AI systems. This keynote will explore how the Kubernetes user experience is evolving for both humans learning the platform and AI agents operating within it, with a focus on usability, governance and production readiness. ## Full Conference Programme **09:00 – 09:30** Doors Open **09:30 – 10:15** Opening Keynote: *Evolving the Kubernetes User Experience: More Intuitive, More Extensible, More Agentic* Andrew Randall, Microsoft Pal Lakatos-Toth, Microsoft **10:15 – 11:00** Panel: *From HFT to Enterprise Banking: The Talent War for Cloud Native, Open Source and AI Engineers* Moderated by Ethan Sumner, Community Stack Craig Whiting, RLS Search Jon Freedman, Quant Fin **11:30 – 12:00** *The Massively Parallel Agent Stack* Peter Bhabra, Doubleword **12:00 – 12:30** *Controlling AI Agent Access in Cloud-Native Engineering Workflows* Viola Lykova, nuclecode **12:30 – 13:00** *Preventing Silent Interpretation Errors at Scale* Maebh Booth, Senior Engineering Leader, Former M&S **14:00 – 14:30** *Prompt Driven Platforms: The Future of Self-Service Infrastructure* Salman Iqbal & Amir Tayabali, Appvia **14:30 – 15:00** *Platform as a Product: What Happens When We Treat Security as a User?* Hannah Foxwell, Bimp **15:00 – 15:30** *Beyond the Portal: Architecting AI-Native Platforms with CNOE and MCP* Hossein Salahi, Liquid Reply **16:00 – 16:45** *Intro to Apache Kafka on Aiven: From Managed Simplicity to Inkless Architectures* Hugh Evans, Aiven **16:45 – 17:15** Closing Keynote: *The Age of “Big Tech” is Over* Sean M Tracey, Mitchell Technologies **17:15 – 17:30** Closing Remarks Ethan Sumner, Community Stack Mercedes Moxon Greenfield, Community Stack ## Speakers We are delighted to welcome an exceptional speaker lineup, including: Andrew Randall — Principal PM, Office of the CPO, Microsoft Pal Lakatos-Toth — Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Peter Bhabra — Member of Technical Staff, Doubleword Viola Lykova — Senior Software Engineer, nuclecode Hannah Foxwell — Co-Founder, Bimp Sean M Tracey — Founding Technologist, Mitchell Technologies Craig Whiting — Director, RLS Search Jon Freedman — Chief Technology Officer, Quant Fin Ben Davison — Founder, Axiologik Salman Iqbal — Solutions Architect, Appvia Amir Tayabali — Tech Lead, Appvia Maebh Booth — Senior Engineering Leader, Former M&S Hossein Salahi — Senior Principal Engineer, Liquid Reply Jon Shanks — CEO, Appvia Hugh Evans — Senior Product Advocate, Aiven Ethan Sumner — Co-Founder & CEO, Community Stack Mercedes Moxon Greenfield — Co-Founder & CTO, Community Stack ## Sponsors and Partners This conference is made possible through the support of our sponsors and partners: **Headline Sponsor** BrainStation **Platinum Sponsors** Overmind Appvia Harvey Nash Axiologik **AI Native Sponsor** Nearform **Supporting Sponsors and Partners** RLS Search Doubleword Postman X4 Group Engaging Data BIMP Aiven If you'd like to get involved with a future event, please email: ethan.sumner@communitystack.io

Hi All, There is a few free late art gallery evenings in Mayfair/Soho - so I thought to create this mellow low key event to see this. Lets meet at the Grosvenor Gallery https://www.grosvenorgallery.com/exhibitions/398-george-claessen-works-from-the-estate-of-the-artist/overview/ we will then visit Pilar Corrias Gallery https://www.pilarcorrias.com/exhibitions/523-kat-lyons-the-familiars/ We can visit the following galleries in crawl... 1\. Grosvenor Gallery 2\. Pilar Corrias Optional - More galleries TBC 3\. Plaster shop gallery 4\. Lehmann Maupin 5\. Satchi Yates End at the Kings Head Tavern posts - top floor dinning area for reflection (this is one of my best quiet pubs of london) plan on google maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ng4pEQ2aa7X5GLYN7 The event is free - I would like a pint of orange juice or a £1 donation if you like the event as a good gesture. Cheers I will be dressed in a GREEN jacket, cream colour trousers inside the first gallery - will write in the comment

**Note this is a ticketed event, please purchase a ticket from here to attend.** 🚀 Ready for the UK's premier Microsoft Community event? Experts Live UK is back and bigger than ever! 🚀 If you want to skyrocket your technical skills, forge invaluable industry connections, and get a front-row seat to the future of Microsoft technology, you need to be in the room. This year’s edition is a powerhouse of practical knowledge split across two action-packed days! 🌐 Event Details: 📍 Location: London 📅 Date: Thursday – Friday, June 11–12, 2026 🎟️ Website & Tickets: [eluk26.expertslive.co.uk](https://eluk26.expertslive.co.uk/) 📅 Agenda at a Glance: The Ultimate Two-Day Formula We are changing the game this year. The conference is structured into two distinct, high-impact days designed to give you the ultimate learning experience: * DAY 1 (June 11) – 5 Elite Deep-Dive Hands-On Workshops: Bring your laptop, log into real lab environments, and configure systems side-by-side with Microsoft MVPs. No endless slide decks—just pure, practical implementation. Choose your elite track from the 5 available core topics: Intune, Entra, Agents, Fabric, and Power Platform. Wrap up the day at our legendary Evening Happy Hour with complimentary drinks, canapés, and great music! * DAY 2 (June 12) – Dynamic Breakout Sessions & Keynotes: A highly-charged, multi-track day featuring 35 expert-led sessions, live technical demonstrations, real-world field experiences, and the latest enterprise announcements. To help you navigate the ultimate Day 2 experience, the sessions are organized into core cutting-edge pillars directly sourced from the official agenda: * 🤖 The AI & Data Agent Track: Demystify the enterprise AI landscape! Dive deep with core sessions focused on real-world engineering and architecture, including "Navigating the Copilot Maze: Choose the Right AI Agent for Your Enterprise", "Architecting multi-agent solutions with Copilot Studio vs. M365 Agents Toolkit", and "Building & Scalable Enterprise AI Agents". Plus, learn common pitfalls to avoid in "You Give Agents A Bad Name: Key Copilot Studio Mistakes To Avoid", accelerate organizational rollout with "GitHub Copilot Adoption: Lessons Learned", prepare your architecture via "Containers first, files next: a layered path to Copilot readiness in Microsoft 365", and enhance analytics using "Conversational Experiences in Microsoft Fabric with Data Agents". * 🔐 The Next-Gen Security & Identity Track: Arm your defenses with frontline security infrastructure tactics. Learn to build modern network perimeters with "Zero Trust Network Access with Microsoft Entra Private Access", accelerate incident containment using AI via "AI-Speed IAM Response with Microsoft Security Copilot", and secure data using "Securing AI Apps and Agents with Microsoft Purview & Beyond" alongside "Signal Over Noise: AI-Powered Data Security at Speed and Scale". Master forensic cloud investigations with "Sherlock in the Cloud: Solving Compliance and Investigation Mysteries with Microsoft Purview", leverage AI monitoring via "AI-Driven: Modernising Enterprise Security with Microsoft Sentinel", and discover how to "Strengthen cyber resilience for Entra ID and Microsoft 365". * 💻 The Modern Endpoint, Cloud PC & Infrastructure Track: Walk away with actionable field blueprints directly from deployment experts. Catch live infrastructure configurations in "What’s New in Windows 365 & AVD: Live Demos, Real-World Practices, and the Future of Cloud PCs", explore virtualization strategies with "Choosing the Right VDI & DaaS Strategy in 2026: A Practical Guide for Real-World Use Cases", and streamline endpoint compliance with "OpenIntuneBaseline 101 - Intune Easy Mode". Maximize your environments using "What to watch when configuring your Intune tenant - notes from the field", "Ten(-ish) learnings from ten years of Windows Autopilot", "Simplifying Android Enterprise Management: Selecting the Right Mode for Your Organization", and master advanced telemetry through "Mastering KQL: A Guide for Endpoint Admins". * 📊 The Workplace Productivity & Power Stack Track: Supercharge business processes, data flows, and team collaboration. Discover advanced analytics integrations with "Dataverse, Power BI and Microsoft Fabric", optimize dashboard creation using "AI for Power BI Professionals: The Prompt Pack That Actually Makes You Better at Your Job" and "Wireframes to Wow: Building Beautiful Power BI Dashboards in Minutes". Learn how to clean up digital workspaces in "Spark joy in Microsoft 365: Marie Kondo your data", organize deployment rollouts with "Everything under control: The new Microsoft Planner as a command center for projects", and tackle workforce deployment challenges in "Solved: The challenge of onboarding and involving mobile first users". 🌟 Don't miss inspirational and vital community panels including "The Human Hack: The Future of Consulting Culture", "Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Stories of Struggles and Superpowers", and "Women in Tech: Real Stories, Real Change." 🎯 Why You CANNOT Miss This This isn't just another passive webinar where you sit back and scroll through your phone. Experts Live UK 2026 is built for real impact. * Top-Tier Global Speakers: Learn directly from internationally recognized Microsoft MVPs, community champions, and tech leaders who are deploying these solutions at scale every single day. * The Most In-Demand Tech Skills: From Agentic AI and Fabric to cutting-edge Entra ID security and Intune policies. You’ll walk away with skills that immediately increase your market value. * Unmatched Community Vibes: Network during the Vendor Expo, ask your burning questions in MVP roundtable discussions, and unwind at the end of Day 1 at our Happy Hour with complimentary food, drinks, and career-changing conversations! 🎟️ Secure Your Ticket Before They Sell Out! Because Day 1 features fully interactive, hands-on labs, seats across the 5 workshops are strictly limited to ensure a high-quality experience for every attendee. Don't wait—invest in your career and become the go-to Microsoft expert in your organization. Your ticket is an all-inclusive pass to premium growth: * Full access to your choice of the 5 hands-on workshops and all 35 Day 2 breakout sessions, * Catering, coffee, and refreshments throughout both days, * Entry to the official Expo and the evening networking parties (complete with free drinks and food!). * 👉 Get your ticket now: [Experts Live UK 2026 - Registration](https://eluk26.expertslive.co.uk/) See you in London!

We love a good chat. Come and join us at Table 45

Tired of small talk and ready to connect on a real level? Join us for **deep**, **meaningful conversations** and **new friendships** 👯‍♀️🎉 with a group of like-minded individuals who share your interests. This event is **free** but you will be **required** to buy food or drink before you can join us 🍭🍬🧁🍰🥤🧃- having water doesn't support the venue **Who is it for?** * You want more satisfying, deeper conversations * You want more meaningful and long-lasting connections in your life * You crave more from life and know its out there * You are bored of just socialising and want to have fun and explore a new type of event! **What's in it for you?** * **No more awkward silences!** We'll provide questions to spark engaging conversations. 💡 * **Meet like-minded people** who crave deeper connections. 🤝 * **Have fun** in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. 😊 **How does it work?** * We'll pair you up with different people for **15-minute 1-1 chats**. 🔄 * **Use our questions** as a starting point, or go off on your own tangent! 🗺️ * Be **open**, **honest**, and **curious**. 👂 * 15 minutes is a good amount of time to explore a question deeply and **not have awkward silence**.⏳ * You are also **free to take the conversation in any direction** you choose.🤩 * You can always sit out a round to **take a break** 😪 **Examples of questions that we provide:** * "If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?" 🦸‍♀️ * "What's your biggest fear, and why does it scare you?" 😱 * "What's the most meaningful thing you've ever done?" ❤️ * "What would you do if you had all the money and time in the world?" 💰 **Why do we love deep conversations?** * They're **authentic**, **raw**, and **honest**. * There are **no limits** to where they can go. * You'll feel **uplifted**, **inspired**, and **connected**. 🌟 **How to be a great conversation partner?** * **Be Respectful:** Listen attentively and avoid interrupting others. 👂 * **Be Open-Minded:** Consider different viewpoints and challenge your own assumptions. 🧠 * **Be Engaging:** Ask thoughtful questions and contribute to the conversation. 💬 * **Be vulnerable:** We are a safe space, so it’s okay to be yourself 🥺 🙈 * **Be honest:** Be honest about our experience of life 🌍 * **Be curious:** Be interested in the other person ❓ 🤔 👀 **Ready to take the plunge?** 🌊 Join us and experience the magic of deeper conversations! 💫 You may leave feeling **uplifted**, **inspired**, **connected**, **invigorated**, **positive**, **grateful**!❤️ **What others have to say**: * **Parimal**: "I had the most amazing time! The conversations were refreshing and genuinely authentic." * **David Saville**: "This is a wonderful event run by two extraordinary individuals." * **Edomi**: "This is one of the best meetups I've been to. Highly recommended!" We really hope to see you there! 👋 **About Deeper Connections** We have a mission at Deeper Connections to improve the quality of people's lives through conversation. All our events are centered around the concept of connecting deeply, because we believe we all deserve to be seen, felt and understood for who we really are. To have the 'deeper conversation' approach when relating with others can change our lives and can change the world. **Our Values** * **Respect:** Treat everyone with kindness and consideration. ❤️ * **Open-mindedness:** Be open to different perspectives and ideas. 🧠💡 * **Active Participation:** Share your thoughts and engage in meaningful discussions. 🗣️💬 * **Accessibility:** We believe meaningful connection should be accessible to everyone. Our community makes this possible by supporting each other. 🤝 **Staying in touch** Interested in finding out about all the events sooner than on Meetup or staying in touch beyond the events, you can join our WhatsApp channel and community using 👉🏽 [Deeper Connections WhatsApp Channel](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6CBAdIN9ijrEYdv33z) 👉🏽 [Deeper Connections WhatsApp Community](https://chat.whatsapp.com/EqGsmF3021RKTwBpGcuR80) **Keep This Event Free 💝** If this event brings you something meaningful, you can help others access the same transformational experience. Whether it's £5 or £15, every contribution keeps these events accessible to everyone in our community. You'll find a QR code on your conversation sheet during the event, or you can contribute here #SupportYourCommunity 👉🏽 [Ko-Fi](https://ko-fi.com/deeperconnections) 👉🏽 [Buy Me A Coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/deeperconnections) 👉🏽 [PayPal](https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/DDSNCCFCYUEB2)

**Looking for a business networking event in London with a more social, founder-led atmosphere, and on a Saturday?** Join us for a Business Networking & Founder Mixer in Covent Garden. Hosted by London tech startups GMax Card, Ciitab, and Getshop Today. **What to Expect** Quality **conversations**, relaxed socialising/**networking**, and **a live DJ throughout the evening** \- a business crowd in a social setting\. Meet new people\, exchange ideas\, build **partnerships**, and **grow your network** in a relaxed but professional atmosphere. Our hosts will help introduce guests early in the evening, before the event naturally flows into open networking, drinks, and **DJ music**. **Who You’ll Meet** • **Founders** and **entrepreneurs** • **Business owners** and **decision makers** • **Finance**, **FinTech, banking**, and **investment professionals** • **Tech**, **startup, AI, digital, and product professionals** • International **business professionals visiting London** **How the Evening Flows** 18:30 - Arrival & welcome 19:00 - Short guest introductions 19:30 - Open socialising/networking with live DJ 21:30 - Close **Venue - Sycamore Bar, Middle Eight Hotel** A refined cocktail bar inside the 5-star Middle Eight Hotel in Covent Garden, just a short walk from Covent Garden, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road stations. **Dress Code** Business or smart attire. Think polished Saturday evening out with a professional touch. **Tickets & GMax Cards** * Free RSVP tickets include only the access to the event. * Selected paid tickets include a premium contactless GMax Card and 1 drink. **Hosted by founder-built tech startups:** • [GMax Card – digital & contactless business cards](www.gmaxcard,com) • [Ciitab – AI-powered LinkedIn networking](www.ciitab.com) • [Getshop Today – UK ecommerce platform](www.getshop.today) **Important Details** • 18+ event. ID may be required at the bar. • Photography and filming may take place for promotional use by [Cine Eye (Audiovisual Production).](www.cineeye.co.uk) • Attendance is at your own risk. Organisers and venue accept no liability for loss, damage, or injury. **Spaces are limited and early booking is recommended.**

## 🤝 Host Information A co-hosted event by ProductTank Columbus & Women in Product Columbus 💡 About the Workshop AI adoption is stalling across organizations — not because of a lack of motivation or tools, but because it's fundamentally a behavior design challenge. This hands-on workshop applies proven Behavior Design models and methods to help you move from a vague organizational wish to boost AI adoption to 3-5 concrete, testable interventions you can act on starting tomorrow. Whether you're a product manager, on a product team, or just someone trying to get AI to actually stick at work, you'll leave with a clear picture of what's worth focusing on, what to ignore, and how to drive real, sustained adoption — no guesswork required. 🛠️ What to Bring Laptop: Fully charged and ready to go. AI Assistant: Have your favorite AI assistant pulled up. (Dom will be using Claude, but feel free to use whichever assistant you prefer!) 🍕 Logistics & Perks Food & Drink: Pizza and drinks provided! Parking: Plenty of free spaces available on-site. ###

**The Behavior Gap: Where Products Win or Lose** Teams today have more data than ever, and yet many still struggle to understand why customers adopt, engage with, or abandon their products. Teams sprint, ship faster, and chase more signals… all while metrics stall and confidence drops. The missing piece isn’t more data. It’s often the behavioral insight between the metrics, explaining why the numbers move in the first place. Dashboards can tell you what customers did, but understanding why they did it (and how to influence what they do next) requires a deeper blend of insights. This session is about closing that gap. Drawing from real-world experience designing and scaling products as [ZoCo Design](https://zocodesign.com/)’s CEO, [Lacey](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) will share how to cut through the noise and identify the insights that actually change behavior—moving people, and moving metrics. You’ll learn: * Why understanding customer behavior is a quant and qual challenge * How to spot the signals that actually predict behavior change * Where AI accelerates insight, and where it creates distraction * How to get meaningfully closer to customers, without adding more tools This talk reframes how to evaluate performance and identify what levers actually improve it, helping your team to make smarter bets with greater confidence. Every meaningful outcome is driven by behavior change. And when you know how to design for behavior, you stop guessing, and start building things that work. **About Our Speaker** [Lacey Picazo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) is the Founder and CEO of ZoCo, a healthcare product studio that turns complex, high-stakes ideas into products that drive real-world adoption. She partners with healthcare organizations to uncover critical care delivery insights, focus product strategy through behavior design, and build solutions that patients and providers actually use. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Customize the IDE: Building Extensions for Visual Studio Code* Visual Studio Code is one of the most widely used development environments today, and much of its flexibility comes from its extension ecosystem. Extensions allow developers to customize the editor with new features, integrations, and workflow improvements tailored to their needs. In this session, we’ll cover what extensions are and the different types available, including full extensions written in TypeScript or JavaScript, along with lighter-weight extensions such as color themes, language packs, language support, code snippets, and keymaps. We’ll also look at practical reasons a developer might create an extension, from automating repetitive tasks to adding custom tooling. The session includes a hands-on walkthrough of creating a new extension, testing it locally, and understanding the basic project structure. We’ll close with a brief overview of how extensions are packaged and published to the Visual Studio Marketplace and other distribution options. **YouTube Link** TBD

Couldn't make Knowledge? Or want to debrief the dancing robots or Autonomous Workforce? Join us for a Knowledge '26 recap, insights sharing, a couple rounds of golf, and fun at Topgolf. As always, drinks and food will be provided. More details to come — mark your calendar, RSVP, and save your spot today!

Join us for our June Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss [The Queer Principles of Kit Webb](https://catsebastian.com/the-queer-principles-of-kit-webb/) by Cat Sebastian in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

Topic to be announced. **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

## Candle Making Night at The Arcane Foundry \| Design Your Own Custom Candle **SPECIAL PROMOTION**: Buy 3 and get 1 Free! Step into The Arcane Foundry and create your own custom candle from start to finish. This is a laid back, hands-on experience where **you’ll blend fragrances, choose your vessel, and pour your own candle using 100% soy wax**. Whether you’re coming solo or with friends, it’s designed to be simple, creative, and a good time. We’ll walk you through the entire process, from picking your scents to choosing between a traditional cotton wick or a crackling wood wick. You can go with one fragrance or mix your own blend to create something completely unique**. No experience needed**, just show up and we’ll handle the rest. While your candle sets, feel free to hang out, play a game, explore the shop, or just relax and talk. Drinks and snacks are available, and the atmosphere leans into the **fantasy**, **dark academia**, and **gothic horror** vibe The Arcane Foundry is known for. Learn More: [Candle Making in Columbus, Ohio at The Arcane Foundry](https://thearcanefoundry.com/candle-making/) *** ### What to Expect: * Guided candle making experience * Choose your own vessel, wax, wick, and fragrance * 100% soy wax candles * Optional drinks and snacks * Time to relax while your candle cools *** ### Important Notes: * Please arrive on time so we can start together * Candles will need time to set before taking home * This is a beginner-friendly event *** ### RSVP Required Reserve your spot on Meetup to lock in your seat. **Candle Making** (includes vessel, your choice of wick, wax, scented oil, labels and lids) 5oz Glass Jars $15 8oz Candle Tins $25 12oz Glass Candles $35 12oz Amber Jars $40 16 oz Skull or Jack o Lantern Candle Mugs $65 (Limited Edition!) **All materials included. You just bring yourself (and your drink of choice).** **Payments accepted:** * Credit Card * Venmo: @Daclaud-Lee * Cashapp: $DaclaudL