Recently Raul (@rj_c) has been helping out our friend @Mark_Hayward, owner of The Palmetto Guesthouse in Culebra, Puerto Rico, with organizing a 140Conf Meetup in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once the details were finalized, we were able to spend time with @JeffPulver , founder of the 140Conf.com and @AlanWeinkrantz who helps with media relations of the #140Conf. We also met Gilad Zirkel and Marc Fischman from @Hashtagart (@Zirkel and @MarcF) who accompanied Jeff and Alan.
We stayed at the San Juan Marriott (Our Client and sponsor of the event) where the event took place and enjoyed conversations with people from all industries in Puerto Rico. The great thing about the event was that many of the individuals, 125 in total, were small businesses owners, entrepreneurs, web and app developers, bloggers who write on a variety of topics, and even a professional clown.
Jeff took the microphone and told us what sparked the #140Conf and what he expected people to learn while attending. One of the key takeaways that stuck in my head was that he wanted all types of people attending the event. There is no elitism and everyone from the farmer to the fisherman should attend this conference.
Prior to the event, Alan had the chance to tour and interview Dana Montenegro, owner of Seriously Creative or @Space4Ideas on Twitter. This leads us to the video below where you can hear Dana explain the concept behind this unique workspace and his views on startups and entreprenurialship.
I agree with Dana when he says there are talented individuals on this island that are starting their own businesses and collaborating with like minded individuals provided that they are able to come together and meet. This is exactly what the 140Conferences are about; collaboration, innovation, and perhaps the chance to work together in order to create mutually beneficial opportunities.
If we are to enable these types of collaborations on the island we must find Sponsors to bring this 140Conf, that is becoming a global event, to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. If you or your company are interested in Sponsoring, please let us know in the comments or contact form.
Were you at the #140Conf Meet-Up in San Juan last Tuesday?
What were your key take aways?
Thanks to Alan Weinkrantz for the video.