The members, the brand, the sponsors — all still here. What broke is the way we run: a few volunteers doing everything by hand. Here's how we rebuild it so the work runs on systems, and people do what only people can.
Today the same few people initiate, execute, and remember every task. In the new model, automation carries the busywork and produces a baseline no matter what — people add judgment, relationships, and presence on top.
Each piece powers the next. Right now the loop has stopped — the automation gets it spinning again, and finding the right people keeps it going.
Each pillar removes manual labor and adds leverage. Built together, they turn hours-per-week into hours-per-month.
A connected CRM as the single source of truth — site, email, and events all sync.
Bi-weekly newsletter and weekly posts, drafted by AI. ~20 minutes to review.
12 huddles a year on a published calendar. Each runs on a template — about one host-hour.
Auto-prospecting for sponsors, speakers, founders, partners. AI drafts; a volunteer sends.
One technical hire stands it all up in three months, then trains volunteers to run it.
Lead generation isn't volume, it's timing: making the right offer to the right group exactly when their need peaks.
Fix the plumbing first so it looks alive again, then relaunch events, then make the network valuable between events.
A technical intern, embedded — handles the data migration and training a dev shop won't touch, and adapts as we learn. Ongoing tooling ≈ $150/mo, ideally underwritten by a sponsor.
Do that, and the connections start happening on their own. That's the comeback.