What the Tech, Bend?

Happy Hour with Tech Professionals

Thu, Sep 17 · 5:30 PM PDT

Crux Fermentation Project, 50 SW Division St, Bend, OR, US

IMPORTANT: If you're new to Meetup and don't want to pay the monthly subscription, go buy your ticket on Ticket Tailor at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whatthetechbend/2351345.

Are you bored with watching the aspens start to turn gold around the Cascades, sick of watching your favorite summer trails suddenly empty overnight, and looking for a reason to meet up with like-minded people?!

Let's make the most of this time by connecting over a beer or your favorite brewery drink.

Whether you're deep in the tech world or just tech-curious, if you're in Bend and want real conversations with interesting people, you belong here. Bring a friend, bring a coworker, or come solo and leave with new connections. No presentations, no sales pitches. Just good people and good conversation.

We'll gather at the indoor communal tables to the right of the main bar.

## Need a break on ticket price?
Whether you're between jobs, a student or have your own good reason, we've got you covered. Contact John McMahon at jpmcmahon@gmail.com to learn about our flex ticket program.

## Presented by...
Put your company at the center of the tech conversation in Central Oregon.
The presenting sponsor will reach an experienced audience of founders, executives, operators, and functional leaders. Our sponsors don't buy ads. They become part of the community.

The sponsorship includes prominent event recognition, attendee tickets, visibility across WTT promotional and attendee communications, and curated introductions to relevant people in the room. It can also help fund a limited number of access tickets for people who would otherwise be unable to attend.
This is more than logo placement. It is a credible way to demonstrate that your organization is investing in the people and capabilities shaping how work gets done next.

Contact John McMahon at jpmcmahon@gmail.com to discuss the presenting sponsorship.

## About What the Tech, Bend?
What the Tech, Bend? is Central Oregon's premier tech community — 900 members strong, with an average of 15+ years of professional experience. We host curated events that bring together the region's most experienced builders, operators, and advisors. Bend is the mountain town where serious work happens in an unserious setting.

IMPORTANT: If you're new to Meetup and don't want to pay the monthly subscription, go buy your ticket on Ticket Tailor at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whatthetechbend/2351345.

AI Builders Roundtable: What's Actually Working (And What Isn't)

Thu, Sep 24 · 4:00 PM PDT

TBA, Bend, OR, US

Bend isn't just a mountain town anymore. It's quietly becoming home to serious founders, operators, advisors, functional leaders, and AI builders figuring out where AI actually creates value. This roundtable is proof.

This event brings together founders, operators, functional leaders, and advisors making real AI decisions across companies of all sizes. We're running a curated roundtable discussion — real problems, real experiments, and the practical lessons you won't find in a LinkedIn post.

This is an invite-only gathering of people in the Great Bend Area actively using, building, advising on, or making decisions about AI. If you’re trying to figure out where AI actually helps your business, team, customers, product, or workflow, this is your room.

We'll operate under Chatham House Rule: you can use the ideas, but you can't attribute comments to individuals. This exists so people can discuss real business issues openly.
We'll connect you with the people working on AI in Bend — who's here, what they're building, and where collaboration makes sense. $25 all in.

## What to Expect

Curated introductions before and after: We match you with the right people based on what you're working on and what you need. No awkward networking — just targeted conversations with founders, operators, and advisors who can actually help.

Curated roundtable discussion: No panels, no pitches, no performative AI takes. Just an open, honest conversation among people who are actually building, testing, and deciding with AI right now — what's working, what's not, and what they'd do differently.

Networking before and after with food, drinks, and the people shaping Bend's AI future.

Chatham House Rule: You can use the ideas, but you can't attribute comments to individuals. This exists so real business challenges — not sanitized versions — can be discussed openly.

## Why Attend

• Practical perspective on what's actually working, failing, or overhyped
• Candid input from people using AI across products, teams, workflows, and companies
• Curated introductions to the people most relevant to what you're building or deciding
• A stronger sense of where AI creates leverage, confusion, or risk
• A high-signal room without the performative AI nonsense
• Be part of putting Bend on the map as an emerging AI hub

## Who Should Apply

Anyone seriously working with AI, including founders, operators, product leaders, marketers, consultants, advisors, investors, and functional leaders.

You do not need to be a software engineer.

This is an invitation-only event with a simple application process. We're curating for diverse perspectives and genuine challenges, not just success stories.

Ready to share a hot seat topic or just help solve on? Fill out the form at https://forms.gle/ULfpxwmNuS9pjuQw7.

### Format

A 60-minute facilitated roundtable discussion starting at 430pm with curated introductions before and after.

### Tickets

$25

## Need a break on ticket price?

Whether you're between jobs, a student or have your own good reason, we've got you covered. Contact John McMahon at jpmcmahon@gmail.com to learn about our flex ticket program.

## Sponsors

Presented by… your company?

We're bringing on a founding partner for the AI Hot Seat series. Our sponsors don't buy ads. They become part of the community. If getting in a room with senior operators, founders, and advisors making real AI decisions sounds like your kind of thing, let's talk: jpmcmahon@gmail.com.

## About What the Tech, Bend?

What the Tech, Bend? is Central Oregon's premier tech community — 900 members strong, with an average of 15+ years of professional experience. We host curated events that bring together the region's most experienced builders, operators, and advisors. Bend is the mountain town where serious work happens in an unserious setting.

Help put Bend on the map as a place where serious AI conversations actually happen. Space is intentionally limited.

Finding the Customers Who Actually Need You: A Hands-On Workshop w/Todd Laurence

Wed, Sep 30 · 3:00 PM PDT

TBA, Bend, OR, US

IMPORTANT: We're managing headcount on Ticket Tailor, so buy your ticket there: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whatthetechbend/2409488.

Most people think they have a product problem. They usually have a customer problem — they can't say precisely who their product is for, and they haven't validated that anyone urgently needs it.

In July, Todd Laurence spent an evening with 50 people making the case that sales isn't a dirty word. This is the follow-on: three hours, ten people, and your actual business on the table.

Todd has spent 30 years closing some of the largest deals in enterprise software history. Eight-figure contracts at Oracle. The largest enterprise deal in Cloudera's history. VP of Global Sales at Avidbots. As Managing Director of Thimble Peak Advisors and a former adjunct instructor at OSU-Cascades, he now works with founders, product teams, and business owners on exactly this problem.

Whether you're launching something new, taking a product to a new market, or trying to grow an existing business, the work is the same: know exactly who you're for, and prove they need you.

No lecture. No theory. No hypothetical case studies. You bring a real business and leave with real answers.

## What to Expect
A working session on ICP and Product Market Fit: How to define your Ideal Customer Profile, how to test it in discovery conversations by asking insightful questions, and how you'll know when you've actually found Product Market Fit.

Hands-on team work: You'll work in small teams, apply the frameworks to your own business, and give each other feedback. Todd coaches throughout and the room discusses as a group.

Pre-work: When you register, you'll receive Todd's presentation from the July talk plus two short articles on the power of silence and saying no. Read them before you arrive. The session assumes you've done the reading.

Bring:

• Your product or service
• A live prospect or deal
• A customer conversation you're struggling with

Ten seats: Small enough that Todd works with every person. That's the entire point.

## Why Attend

• A qualification framework applied to a real prospect
• Sharper discovery questions you can use in your next customer conversation
• Practice applying the techniques to an actual sales situation from your own business
• Direct coaching from someone who's closed at the highest levels of enterprise software
• Feedback from nine other founders working the same problem

## Who Should Attend
Founders, product leaders, solopreneurs, and business owners who are looking for their first customers, entering a new market, are the sales resource, or are trying to figure out whether they've found Product Market Fit. You don't need a sales background. You do need a real business or product to work on.

## Format
Three hours starting at 3:00 PM with a short break. Brief review of core concepts, then application to your own business. Drinks and snacks provided.

## Tickets
$195 early bird — first 4 seats or through September 16, whichever comes first
$245 regular

Includes light drinks and snacks. Full refund up to 7 days before the workshop. Within 7 days, tickets are transferable but non-refundable.

## Sponsors
Presented by… your company?
Our sponsors don't buy ads. They become part of the community. If getting in a room with early-stage founders doing the hard work of finding their first customers sounds like your kind of thing, let's talk: jpmcmahon@gmail.com.

## About What the Tech, Bend?
What the Tech, Bend? is Central Oregon's premier tech community — 900 members strong, with an average of 15+ years of professional experience. We host curated events that bring together the region's most experienced builders, operators, and advisors. Bend is the mountain town where serious work happens in an unserious setting.

Ten seats, three hours, and one of the most accomplished sales leaders in enterprise software working on your business.

IMPORTANT: We're managing headcount on Ticket Tailor, so go buy your ticket over there at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whatthetechbend/2409488.