StartupCafe

Edinburgh is blessed with a thriving tech and startup scene, but it’s not just the activity that makes this city special. In my opinion, it’s the community. I lived 18 years in Northern California and 3 years in Chicago, but it was only when I came to Edinburgh that I became enamoured with technology and entrepreneurship. My experience started with iCUE and SIE… and then E-Club… and then came Tech Meetup… and eventually my diary started filling up with Edinburgh Coffee Morning, OpenCoffee Club, Informatics Ventures events, and several other lovely groups.

Eventually my meetup and event attendance was so dominant in my life, I started a blog called Entrepreneurship Event Addicts Anonymous. Unfortunately, the more events I attended, the less time I had to write about them so I didn’t manage to keep up on the reporting side. It always surprises me though to meet people at Tech Meetup that have never heard of Internet Marketing Meetup, or folks who attend OpenCoffee Club but have never heard of Edinburgh Coffee Morning. With new groups like Mobile Monday adding to the mix, it seems a handy meetups guide would help everyone make the most of the Edinburgh community.

I don’t recommend becoming a total event addict, as it is a time-consuming condition with no known cure at the moment, but I do highly recommend checking out some meetups you’ve never visited and seeing what groups you click with. We are lucky to to be surrounded by an enthusiastic tech community, startup resources, and people eager to exchange tips and insights so you may as well take advantage. If you were previously confused by the options or unsure where/when to go, Meetups A-Z will make it easy for you to figure out what you’re missing. So have a look, check out more of the community, and get involved!

Meetups A-Z does not cover every single group at the moment, but I’ve started off with what I see as the core offerings. Let us know what we’ve missed, and we’ll keep adding to it… I’ve so far focused on groups that are run purely for the benefit of attendees as opposed to networking businesses, but may address that category at a later date. To help you even further, Kate will be providing a fun meetup navigator to get you pointed in the right direction. Coming soon!