Why subscribe?
The real-time story of building a gathering for 500 independent creators. Montreal, September 2027.
In September 2027, five hundred independent creators are going to gather in Montreal for four days.
Every morning, a historic theater. Four hours of stories from people who’ve built audiences, businesses, and bodies of work in public — not panels, not pitches, but conversations about what broke, what worked, and what they’d do differently.
Every afternoon, the city becomes the venue. Creators host their own meetups in bagel shops, parks, and cafes across Mile End — teaching what they know, meeting the people who follow their work, building things together that don’t happen through a screen.
No corporate sponsors. No booths. No lanyard culture. Just independent creators in one of the most walkable cities in the world, making this thing we do alone feel less lonely.
This publication is how we’re building it.
Carolina Wilke and I will be documenting the entire process from the venue search, the budget math, the conversations that won’t leave me alone and the ones I’m not sure I have answers to. We’ll be publishing it in real time. Not after the fact. Not polished. As it happens.
Subscribe for free and you get the building-in-public journal every few weeks: what we’re learning, what we’re deciding, what we’re getting wrong. You’ll be first to know when registration opens, and you’ll help decide what this becomes — speaker nominations, meetup ideas, all of it.
Become a Founding Builder and you get the full playbook. The actual vendor quotes, the real P&L, the negotiation details, the spreadsheets. Builder roundtable calls roughly every six weeks where we crowdsource the decisions. First-in-line access to every opportunity from speaker submissions, workshop hosting, to ambassador roles. And when registration opens, your membership converts to a credit toward your ticket.
This is being built in the open because that’s the whole point. The people making a living from what they publish should be the ones who decide what the gathering looks like.
Free tier description:
The building-in-public journal. Every few weeks: venue research, budget decisions, fears, and what we’re learning as we build this. First access when registration opens. A say in what this becomes.
Founding Builder tier description ($250/year):
The full playbook, published as it’s written. Real vendor quotes. Real budget lines. Real negotiation details. The spreadsheets behind every decision.
Monthly Builder Roundtable calls — live conversations where we crowdsource the choices that shape this event. Should the closing party be on a boat or in a warehouse? Here are the numbers. What do you think?
First-in-line access to every opportunity: speaker submissions, workshop hosting, ambassador roles. Not exclusive — but you’re always first through the door.
When registration opens, your $250 membership converts to a credit toward your ticket. If you join us in Montreal, this investment comes with you.
Founding Builders who attend get recognized — a distinct badge, a designation, something that says I helped build this from the beginning.
Building Founders
The people who are showing up first:
