Direct Marketing

​At Progress, interns don't just shadow or observe. They own tasks, contribute to real projects and work alongside experienced teams from day one. 🚀 In this event with ***four former Progress interns***, the conversation will focus on what the experience actually looks like from the inside: 👉 What it means to do real work and make a tangible impact from early on 👉 How interns are trusted with their own responsibilities and what that feels like 👉 The mentorship and ongoing support that helps you grow with confidence 👉 How teams welcome interns and make them feel like they truly belong You'll also hear how the internship program is structured, what the recruitment process looks like and a few tips to help you put your best foot forward in interviews. This year Progress offers **13 internship opportunities** across a wide range of functions - Software Engineering, Product Management, Sales, Marketing, Business Operations and IT Security & Compliance, making this event relevant whether you're studying a technical or business discipline. **Applications open on April 20th**. ​ **Agenda** 1️⃣ Program Overview, Interview Insights and Internship Stories - 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. 2️⃣ Q&A & Networking - 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. ​**Our Speakers** **Valentina Petrova** \- Junior Software Engineer\, former 2025 Intern **Diana Evtimova** \- Junior Sales Representative\, former 2025 Intern **Tsvetilin Tsvetilov** \- Junior Software Engineer\, former 2024 Intern **Zhuliyan Penkov** \- Software Engineer\, former 2023 Intern ​ **Who Should Attend** Business and technical students who are curious about what a real internship looks like and want to hear it straight from people who've lived it. **To avoid duplicate registrations across platforms, we’re collecting all requests [here](https://luma.com/avn6uve7) (Request to join).** ​We look forward to seeing you there! 👋

* **About the event:** **Continuous Product Discovery & Targeted User Research** Building successful products requires talking to your users, but *how* and *when* you talk to them makes all the difference. Continuous discovery is your 15-minute product "health check." It does not replace proper feature-based user research, it complements it. Join us for a practical meetup where we will break down exactly when to use continuous discovery versus targeted user research, and how the two approaches work together to drive product strategy. We will share actionable frameworks for catching high-level UX feedback, validating direction, and knowing exactly when to transition into deep, area-specific research. **What We’ll Cover:** * **The Core Framework:** Understand the difference between a 15-minute continuous discovery session (a high-level health check) and targeted, feature-based research. Learn when to use which approach and how to prevent your discovery calls from turning into support tickets or therapy sessions. * **Smart Recruitment & Triage:** Stop relying on the loudest customers. Learn how to use Amplitude data, Account Managers, and Community channels to reach your *core* users. We will show you how to use discovery sessions to build a repository of "awesome users" triaged for later, deep-dive research. * **Interviewing Best Practices:** We will share real-life anecdotes on how to ask situational questions rather than leading questions like "would you use this feature?" * **Scaling with Automation & AI:** Learn how to automate your feedback sessions and leverage AI to synthesize notes, spot 80/20 pain points, and write up interview patterns. **Who Should Attend:** Product Managers, UX Researchers, Product Marketers, and Designers who want to optimize their user feedback loops. * **About the speakers:** Krassi is a Senior Product Manager at LucidLink, where she focuses on identity, access, and permissions. Before LucidLink, she spent nearly 8 years at Sitecore, leading product initiatives across identity, developer platforms, and Marketplace, with a strong focus on developer and user experience. She’s particularly passionate about user experience through continuous product discovery - running customer interviews, uncovering real needs, and turning insights into products that solve meaningful problems. Igor is a Senior Staff Product Designer at LucidLink, focused on solving the right problems. Over 20 years of design experience have shaped his belief that listening to customers, separating signal from noise, identifying the pain points that matter most, and addressing them in a timely manner is what helps any company grow and stay ahead. * **About LucidLink:** LucidLink is the storage collaboration platform that frees creative teams to work together from anywhere. With a single shared filespace protected by zero-knowledge encryption, your team can instantly and securely access, edit and share projects of any size. Combining the ease of a local drive with the power of the cloud, LucidLink gives you on-demand access to your files. Now you can get straight to work without downloading, syncing or versioning disasters. Just like its customers, LucidLink's teams work together from anywhere. Privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an office in Sofia, Bulgaria, LucidLink's hybrid and remote employees work across Europe, North America, and Australia. Discover more at [www.lucidlink.com](http://www.lucidlink.com) **Come join the conversation!** 6:30 PM – Pre-event networking 7:00 PM – Official start

✨ Ела на вечер, в която изключваме телефоните и се включваме в реалността. ❗️Още на входа ги прибираме на сигурно място - за да ти подарим качествено време тук и сега. Очакват те три часа спокойствие и смислена споделеност - без дигитален шум, без бързане, без екрани. 🌿 Програмата: ✨Регистрация: 20:00 - 20:20 (Пристигащите оставят телефоните си на сигурно място под наш надзор, регистрират се и се потапят в офлайн атмосферата) ✨Уединение: 20:20 - 21:10 Време само за теб. Без разговори, без уведомления - само тишина и присъствие. Можеш да си вземеш книга, дневник, скицник или нещо, което все отлагаш за „когато имаш време“. Ще има и подготвени материали, които да вдъхновят уединението ти. ✨Споделеност: 21:10 – 22:40 Истински разговори с истински хора. В малки групи, с подбрани въпроси, които отключват автентични диалози - без маски, без напрежение. Просто човешко присъствие и смислено общуване. ✨Свобода: 22:40 – 23:30 Оставаш колкото ти е приятно. Можеш да продължиш разговорите, да споделиш впечатления, да обмениш контакти (на хартия 😉) или просто да се насладиш на спокойствието. ⚠️ВАЖНО Билети се закупуват само онлайн предварително. Ако разполагате с подаръчен ваучер, моля пишете ни за да ви запазим място. Местата са ограничени. Моля, носете си пари в брой или физическа карта, за да можете, ако искате, да си купувате неща на място, когато телефоните ви не са у вас. 📍 Място: Bar Singles (НДК) 💛 15 EUR (в цената са включени подбрани вкусотии от нашия разкошен партньор Хармоника) 🎟️ Регистрация (задължителна): в Luma (https://luma.com/sg4iafsx) 📅 Дата: 23.04.2026 🕖 Начало: 20:00ч. (събиране до 20:20) Доведи приятел или ела сам - най-хубавите вечери се случват офлайн. ✨ #TheOfflineSociety #SpringEdition #OfflineIsTheNewLuxury

​**🚀 FinOps Bulgaria Meetup #1 - FinOps in a Multi-Cloud AI World** ​Join us for the inaugural FinOps Bulgaria community meetup! Whether you're a FinOps practitioner, cloud architect, finance leader, or just curious about cloud cost optimisation, this is your chance to connect with peers and learn practical strategies. **!!! Reserve your seat** \- https://luma\.com/arwwaj1h ​**📅 Agenda:** ​**18:45** - **Doors Open & Registration** ​**19:00** - **Building the FinOps Community in Bulgaria** (\~15 min) Speakers: Ivaylo Vrabchev, Yordan Dabov ​**19:20** - **FinOps in a Multi-Cloud AI World: How to Control Costs When Value Lives Across Azure, Google Cloud and AWS** (\~30 min) Speaker: Yordan Dabov ​**20:00** - **Open Discussion** Speakers: all ​**What to Expect:** ​**🎯 Building the FinOps Community in Bulgaria** (15 min) Ivaylo Vrabchev and Yordan Dabov will share the vision behind FinOps Bulgaria and why now is the perfect time to build this community together. ​**☁️ FinOps in a Multi-Cloud AI World** (30 min) Speaker: Yordan Dabov will dive into the real challenges of controlling costs when your AI workloads span Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS. Learn practical approaches to visibility, allocation, and optimisation across multiple cloud providers. ​**🤝 Open Discussion** Let's talk about what matters to YOU and connect with fellow practitioners, share experiences, and build relationships over drinks and snacks: * ​What are your biggest FinOps challenges? * ​How does cost optimisation work in your company? * ​What dashboards and tools are you using ​**Who Should Attend:** * ​FinOps practitioners and cloud cost managers * ​DevOps and Platform engineers * ​CTOs, CFOs, and technical leaders * ​Anyone interested in Cloud & AI cost optimisation ​**Language:** The event will be conducted mainly in Bulgarian with some English here and there. ​**What to Bring:** Your questions, your challenges, and your curiosity! ​Looking forward to seeing you there! 🇧🇬

​At Progress, interns don't just shadow or observe. They own tasks, contribute to real projects and work alongside experienced teams from day one. 🚀 In this event with ***four former Progress interns***, the conversation will focus on what the experience actually looks like from the inside: 👉 What it means to do real work and make a tangible impact from early on 👉 How interns are trusted with their own responsibilities and what that feels like 👉 The mentorship and ongoing support that helps you grow with confidence 👉 How teams welcome interns and make them feel like they truly belong You'll also hear how the internship program is structured, what the recruitment process looks like and a few tips to help you put your best foot forward in interviews. This year Progress offers **13 internship opportunities** across a wide range of functions - Software Engineering, Product Management, Sales, Marketing, Business Operations and IT Security & Compliance, making this event relevant whether you're studying a technical or business discipline. **Applications open on April 20th**. ​ **Agenda** 1️⃣ Program Overview, Interview Insights and Internship Stories - 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. 2️⃣ Q&A & Networking - 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. ​**Our Speakers** **Valentina Petrova** \- Junior Software Engineer\, former 2025 Intern **Diana Evtimova** \- Junior Sales Representative\, former 2025 Intern **Tsvetilin Tsvetilov** \- Junior Software Engineer\, former 2024 Intern **Zhuliyan Penkov** \- Software Engineer\, former 2023 Intern ​ **Who Should Attend** Business and technical students who are curious about what a real internship looks like and want to hear it straight from people who've lived it. **To avoid duplicate registrations across platforms, we’re collecting all requests [here](https://luma.com/avn6uve7) (Request to join).** ​We look forward to seeing you there! 👋

* **About the event:** **Continuous Product Discovery & Targeted User Research** Building successful products requires talking to your users, but *how* and *when* you talk to them makes all the difference. Continuous discovery is your 15-minute product "health check." It does not replace proper feature-based user research, it complements it. Join us for a practical meetup where we will break down exactly when to use continuous discovery versus targeted user research, and how the two approaches work together to drive product strategy. We will share actionable frameworks for catching high-level UX feedback, validating direction, and knowing exactly when to transition into deep, area-specific research. **What We’ll Cover:** * **The Core Framework:** Understand the difference between a 15-minute continuous discovery session (a high-level health check) and targeted, feature-based research. Learn when to use which approach and how to prevent your discovery calls from turning into support tickets or therapy sessions. * **Smart Recruitment & Triage:** Stop relying on the loudest customers. Learn how to use Amplitude data, Account Managers, and Community channels to reach your *core* users. We will show you how to use discovery sessions to build a repository of "awesome users" triaged for later, deep-dive research. * **Interviewing Best Practices:** We will share real-life anecdotes on how to ask situational questions rather than leading questions like "would you use this feature?" * **Scaling with Automation & AI:** Learn how to automate your feedback sessions and leverage AI to synthesize notes, spot 80/20 pain points, and write up interview patterns. **Who Should Attend:** Product Managers, UX Researchers, Product Marketers, and Designers who want to optimize their user feedback loops. * **About the speakers:** Krassi is a Senior Product Manager at LucidLink, where she focuses on identity, access, and permissions. Before LucidLink, she spent nearly 8 years at Sitecore, leading product initiatives across identity, developer platforms, and Marketplace, with a strong focus on developer and user experience. She’s particularly passionate about user experience through continuous product discovery - running customer interviews, uncovering real needs, and turning insights into products that solve meaningful problems. Igor is a Senior Staff Product Designer at LucidLink, focused on solving the right problems. Over 20 years of design experience have shaped his belief that listening to customers, separating signal from noise, identifying the pain points that matter most, and addressing them in a timely manner is what helps any company grow and stay ahead. * **About LucidLink:** LucidLink is the storage collaboration platform that frees creative teams to work together from anywhere. With a single shared filespace protected by zero-knowledge encryption, your team can instantly and securely access, edit and share projects of any size. Combining the ease of a local drive with the power of the cloud, LucidLink gives you on-demand access to your files. Now you can get straight to work without downloading, syncing or versioning disasters. Just like its customers, LucidLink's teams work together from anywhere. Privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an office in Sofia, Bulgaria, LucidLink's hybrid and remote employees work across Europe, North America, and Australia. Discover more at [www.lucidlink.com](http://www.lucidlink.com) **Come join the conversation!** 6:30 PM – Pre-event networking 7:00 PM – Official start

✨ Ела на вечер, в която изключваме телефоните и се включваме в реалността. ❗️Още на входа ги прибираме на сигурно място - за да ти подарим качествено време тук и сега. Очакват те три часа спокойствие и смислена споделеност - без дигитален шум, без бързане, без екрани. 🌿 Програмата: ✨Регистрация: 20:00 - 20:20 (Пристигащите оставят телефоните си на сигурно място под наш надзор, регистрират се и се потапят в офлайн атмосферата) ✨Уединение: 20:20 - 21:10 Време само за теб. Без разговори, без уведомления - само тишина и присъствие. Можеш да си вземеш книга, дневник, скицник или нещо, което все отлагаш за „когато имаш време“. Ще има и подготвени материали, които да вдъхновят уединението ти. ✨Споделеност: 21:10 – 22:40 Истински разговори с истински хора. В малки групи, с подбрани въпроси, които отключват автентични диалози - без маски, без напрежение. Просто човешко присъствие и смислено общуване. ✨Свобода: 22:40 – 23:30 Оставаш колкото ти е приятно. Можеш да продължиш разговорите, да споделиш впечатления, да обмениш контакти (на хартия 😉) или просто да се насладиш на спокойствието. ⚠️ВАЖНО Билети се закупуват само онлайн предварително. Ако разполагате с подаръчен ваучер, моля пишете ни за да ви запазим място. Местата са ограничени. Моля, носете си пари в брой или физическа карта, за да можете, ако искате, да си купувате неща на място, когато телефоните ви не са у вас. 📍 Място: Bar Singles (НДК) 💛 15 EUR (в цената са включени подбрани вкусотии от нашия разкошен партньор Хармоника) 🎟️ Регистрация (задължителна): в Luma (https://luma.com/sg4iafsx) 📅 Дата: 23.04.2026 🕖 Начало: 20:00ч. (събиране до 20:20) Доведи приятел или ела сам - най-хубавите вечери се случват офлайн. ✨ #TheOfflineSociety #SpringEdition #OfflineIsTheNewLuxury

**Founders Running Club** (FRC) brings founders, investors, tech, creative people and startup enthusiasts together for weekly easy runs and networking. We like to be comfortable when we run and finish with coffee and conversations. Choose your pace or follow a pacer—pets, friends, family, are welcome. 🗓️ Launched in San Francisco, July 16, 2022 🌍 Now in 35+ cities 📅 Running + Networking events + Community **Join the community** [http://foundersrc.com/chats](http://foundersrc.com/chats) **Stay updated**: Instagram [http://instagram.com/foundersrc/](http://instagram.com/foundersrc/) Podcast [http://podcast.foundersrc.com/](http://podcast.foundersrc.com/) LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/](http://linkedin.com/company/foundersrc/) Strava [http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC](http://strava.com/clubs/foundersRC) Website [http://foundersrc.com/](http://foundersrc.com/)

​**🚀 FinOps Bulgaria Meetup #1 - FinOps in a Multi-Cloud AI World** ​Join us for the inaugural FinOps Bulgaria community meetup! Whether you're a FinOps practitioner, cloud architect, finance leader, or just curious about cloud cost optimisation, this is your chance to connect with peers and learn practical strategies. **!!! Reserve your seat** \- https://luma\.com/arwwaj1h ​**📅 Agenda:** ​**18:45** - **Doors Open & Registration** ​**19:00** - **Building the FinOps Community in Bulgaria** (\~15 min) Speakers: Ivaylo Vrabchev, Yordan Dabov ​**19:20** - **FinOps in a Multi-Cloud AI World: How to Control Costs When Value Lives Across Azure, Google Cloud and AWS** (\~30 min) Speaker: Yordan Dabov ​**20:00** - **Open Discussion** Speakers: all ​**What to Expect:** ​**🎯 Building the FinOps Community in Bulgaria** (15 min) Ivaylo Vrabchev and Yordan Dabov will share the vision behind FinOps Bulgaria and why now is the perfect time to build this community together. ​**☁️ FinOps in a Multi-Cloud AI World** (30 min) Speaker: Yordan Dabov will dive into the real challenges of controlling costs when your AI workloads span Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS. Learn practical approaches to visibility, allocation, and optimisation across multiple cloud providers. ​**🤝 Open Discussion** Let's talk about what matters to YOU and connect with fellow practitioners, share experiences, and build relationships over drinks and snacks: * ​What are your biggest FinOps challenges? * ​How does cost optimisation work in your company? * ​What dashboards and tools are you using ​**Who Should Attend:** * ​FinOps practitioners and cloud cost managers * ​DevOps and Platform engineers * ​CTOs, CFOs, and technical leaders * ​Anyone interested in Cloud & AI cost optimisation ​**Language:** The event will be conducted mainly in Bulgarian with some English here and there. ​**What to Bring:** Your questions, your challenges, and your curiosity! ​Looking forward to seeing you there! 🇧🇬

Evolve exists to connect women entrepreneurs connect with one another, serve one another, and help one another overcome challenges in marketing, sales, networking, and professional development. **[Add to Calendar](https://www.evolvewomensnetwork.com/columbus-oh.html)** **What to Expect:** \~ Welcome team to greet you, introduce you to others, and make sure you feel a part of the group from your very first meeting \~ Welcome & Introductions: 15 second introductions \~ 15 Minute Speaker Spotlight: Member speaker who shares a bit of her story, how she got to doing what she does, and a tangible tip she uses to gain success in her business. No hard selling...no expectations. Simply giving the group an opportunity to get to know her and her journey. \~ 20 Minute Break Out Sessions: Small groups is where we connect best. Extroverted and Introverted alike get the opportunity to share on a deeper level and learn from one another. \~ Take Aways: Hear what the other groups talked about and share resources to grow yourself and your business \~ Grow Time!: Do you need a specific connection to a person, company, or industry? Share it with us! We love to open our networks to one another and grow together! Guests are always welcome. Please contact Mentor Director Donna Schomer at Donna@EvolveWomensNetwork.com for more information. We'd love to meet you!

Have a small business? Ever wish you could just ask some questions around how to grow your business, get more customers or just know what the freak you are doing with sales? Now is your chance!! Every month we are hosting the "Ask an Expert" at the Columbus Metro Library, Main campus. I will be there to answer your Sales related questions. Drop-in for sales coaching designed to help small business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals sharpen their sales approach. Whether you have questions on how to refine your pitch, are looking to close deals more quickly, or are working on building better client relationships, Smashing Your Sales Goals Coaches are here to help. Drop-in to get expert insights, actionable strategies and real-time solutions to grow your business and generate higher profits. Drop-In Sales Coaching is FREE + OPEN to the public. No appointment needed. First come, first served. EPIC Learning created. Accelerate Columbus supported.

Let's grab some coffee/food and share a morning chat! The East Market has an ample parking lot and outdoor and indoor seating. Grab a cup of coffee from Winston's Coffee & Waffles or on your way to East Market and meet us on the second floor - table behind or east of the elevator. Per what this group is about: "Everyone is welcome! International transplants to Columbus who want to improve language skills, Columbus residents who want to discuss international travel and culture, and anyone who enjoys getting together for good conversations."

Bring your business cards and network in person with other business professionals! Gold Star Referral Clubs is one of the most established professional networking organizations in the country, with multiple groups in central Ohio. Join us!

At Evolve Synergy Sessions, you'll be part of a supportive mastermind where we share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and inspire one another to take bold steps in our businesses. Grow your network, gain fresh perspectives, and build meaningful relationships with like-minded women who are committed to success. Whether you’re looking to move the needle in your business or simply need a space to connect and recharge, this is the perfect place to fuel your entrepreneurial journey. [Add Event to Calendar](https://evolvecolumbus.eventcalendarapp.com/) \*\* Please note, we will be arriving around 8:15a for open networking! Get there early and get connected! Contact Alexis Morley at [alexis.morley@edwardjones.com](mailto:alexis.morley@edwardjones.com) or Terri Lawson at [terri.lawson@e-merge.com](mailto:terri.lawson@e-merge.com) for more information.