
the importance of meetups in it and fintech
Meetups
are becoming progressively present and important, especially in the tech world.
They are different from big conferences and create a much more intimate
atmosphere between speakers and the audience.
the Importance on meetups in IT and Fintech
The IT and
fintech industries are constantly developing because technology is rapidly
developing and it is sometimes difficult to keep up. There are new professions
emanating steadily. Just to give an example, you couldn't have heard of a UX/UI
professional since 10 years ago. Therefore, there are no or not many
professionals with decades of experience in certain areas that have recently
emerged.
That is why
it is always a good idea to go to meetups and get some advice and news on all
things concerning. Meetups can be easily attended. You can check out some of
them on meetup.com whether
you're interested in tech, botany or fashion.
They are organized by individuals or
by companies, in formal venues or cafés, with or without attendance fee or
goodie bags, but what they share is connecting people, communicating knowledge,
and creating a community.
Leading in Tech
We started 2020 by participating in one such meetup called Leading in Tech which deals with the topic of leadership roles in IT. For the 10th event, our Head of IT Operations David Llewelyn took the podium.
David
mostly talked about his 30-year-long professional experience and
all the events that led him to the role of a leader. Being in a leading
position in Mercury PSI wasn't his first time as a leader, but on his long
career path, he said he learned so many things that he can now use in such a
dynamic and challenging industry.
No one in
the audience resisted his funny stories but the truth is that beyond the humor,
these stories had some very valuable lessons. David didn’t just talk about his
successes but all of the mistakes he made along the way that strengthened him
and taught him a lot.
After the
Q&A session with David, the organizer announced some discussions and
roundtables. The audience divided into teams discussing change management. In
the end, groups told everyone what they gathered out of their experience in
change management and some conclusions on how to handle transformation.
When the roundtables ended, David commented on the conclusions made by saying: "many of the ideas and comments emanating from the groups’ discussions
demonstrated a clear maturity of thinking and interest around organizational
development.“
If you
haven't attended meetups before or if you asked yourself whether you should go
to a meetup, here's what David has to tell you:


We asked
one of the organizers of the Leading in Tech meetup, Srđan Stanić, about his views on the importance
of meetups revolving around IT and his experience in organizing them:
Why did
you start organizing Leading in Tech meetups, what was the motivation behind
it?
My
co-organizers Petar and Andrea and I participated in a panel discussion on the
topic of technical leadership at a small one-time event. We received a lot of
positive feedback and interest from the audience, which started the idea of
making this a regular thing. There were plenty of meetups already on a broad
range of technical topics. You could name any programming language, development
platform, or even software topics like agile processes, project management, and
product management, and there was a meetup for it.
But there
was one topic shared across all technical teams, and more often than not, an
area that needs improvement, and that was teamwork and team leadership. And it
was completely ignored.
So we
decided to start the Leading in Tech meetup and make it a place where people
from all areas of tech can come and discuss how to work better in teams and how
to be better leaders.
What do
you think is the importance of meetups, especially those revolving around IT
and fintech?
It's easy
to get wrapped up in a bubble of a known environment. We get used to doing
things in a certain way. And we are reluctant to question and change our
approaches, especially under the pressure of daily to-do lists and
deadlines.
Conferences
are very effective at throwing us out of the saddle a bit and exposing us to
new ideas and different ways of solving problems. They are also great for
meeting new people and starting new relationships. But conferences are often
expensive both in terms of money and in terms of time commitment, so we rarely
attend them. And even when we do attend, we feel spread thin between numerous
interesting talks and people we want to meet.
Meetups, on the other hand, have all the benefits and none of the drawbacks: they are either free or cost a small entree fee, they last for a couple of hours, they are happening after work, they are fairly frequent, and they are more intimate than larger events.
In
summary, meetups are a very efficient way to expose yourself to some new ideas
and build relationships within your industry.
What was your experience in almost two years of organizing Leading in Tech and what are the most important lessons learned in your opinion?
I am an
introvert, as many people are in the tech industry, and it takes a lot of
energy to organize and host an event, even if it's just a couple of hours long.
But the
energy that we get back from our guests and the audience more than compensates for
the effort.
It's an
incredible feeling to see our audience shower the guests with questions, then
hold discussions among themselves, and finally enjoy a slice of pizza while
casually discussing their most pressing challenges at work. My co-organizers
and I always go home pumped to organize another event as soon as possible.
We've
learned over the last two years that with a little bit of effort and
consistency, you can make a significant impact in the community.
What is the feedback of people attending the meetups?
One of the
things that we hear a lot from the audience is how much they enjoy the
opportunity to discuss matters among themselves. Usually, meetups are organized
around a guest talk or two, followed by some food and drinks. But in the tech
industry, people are not so keen to network and start conversations with
strangers.
That's why
very early on we introduced semi-formal group discussions to the mix. With
guidelines and prepared topics, this format makes it very easy for the
attendees to start a conversation and get to know each other. People love it,
and we hope more meetups start incorporating some form of guided discussions.
3 Key Reasons To Join A Fintech Meetup
Meetups are
a great way to not only network and meet new friends, but also to engage
current and potential new customers, increase brand awareness, and generate
sales leads. As for fintech meetups, the following are the key reasons to join
one or even start one.



Here are some fintech meetups to join all over Europe:
- Paris Bitcoin Meetup – Paris, France
- Finance Meets Fintech – Hamburg, Germany
- Fintech Meetup Frankfurt - Frankfurt, Germany
- Fintech Meetup @Budapest – Budapest, Hungary
- Fintech Aviv - Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
- Holland Fintech Meetup – Amsterdam, Netherlands
- NewFinance Ljubljana- Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Fintech Zagreb Meetup – Zagreb, Croatia
Read more on Fintech meetups here:
https://mercury-processing.com/blog/fintech-meetups-importance/.