hey there -I head up DevRel at AppsFlyer - happy to see how we can help make the conf happen. Happy to lend support. Let us know what you need.

hmmm only 53 tickets sold for this year... no wonder Skillsmatter went bust.

El Reg has an article as well: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/05/skills_matter_goes_into_administration/

I'm normally happy when the reg savages someone. I'm hoping they don't this time

I heard that the VCs pulled the funding out after agreeing to it, but that is starting to feel like rumours. idk

@otfrom Wendy had posted the full story on Linkedin saying the VC had pulled out after agreeing.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/skills-matter-appointed-administrators-wendy-devolder/

that sucks indeed.

bastards

that is terrible

Hi 👋 Matthew here from Twilio. We were sponsors of the event, and don't have any real hope of getting that money back. But we can help with costs of venue/food if we find somewhere else to host it.

Glad to hear it @matthew613

Awesome @matthew613!

@salaun.clement did any of the speakers get back to you ?

I’ve also created this Google Doc where we can put notes all in one place: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11WzJsVFrjIp4vQcfVweQXtXGi5lbJ6s9IRLjOvZo8zI/edit?usp=sharing

Totally @dotemacs, the up to date list is here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1flEvhRNLH6qbAGfdxdUNnaylnX-GK1fdNNMz9OndlBY/edit#gid=0

So far we have 5 speakers 🙂

Great!

So Twillio would be able to sponsor the venue, the pub where Lambd Ale was held. If we get a free venue, then the £ can go towards something else: filming, food/drink… To me it looks like we’ll have a place where we can hold this be it the pub above or some place else.

5 speakers, with potential more coming because the event should be super cheap

Yeah exactly, the non-profit could even end up interesting more people than the paid event

That’s what I’m hoping for too!

I mean, we just have to get 53 people interested 🙂

Yep!

Personally, I’m leaning towards this pub, because the food and drink is there, plus it has the capacity for 130 people. Twillio is willing to put the money down to cover the venue costs. So that to me seems like the conf is going to be on!

Does anybody want to reach out to any UK based companies that do Clojure to ask them for participation? Like uSwitch, Swirrl, Juxt…

and if you need more speakers I am happy to prepare something... even if it is some sort of session for people new to clojure.... or just ramble for a random amount of time.

we could make people pay extra to heckle...

@otfrom will you be making an appearance at the conf ? 🙂

I'm not sure atm and if people pick up my suggestion I'm not sure I could afford it if @thomas was going to speak. If @jasonbell spoke I'd go bankrupt. 🙂

(apologies for the inside jokes)

Heckles are currency, you are aware of this @otfrom 🙂

is it a proof of work system? Heckle-coin?

Ask on Twitter, someone, somewhere will have done a proof-of-heckle system somewhere.

but then the blockchainers will find me and my life won't be worth living as I'll be drowning in pyramid scams

I'll offer my Heckling-as-a-Service for free!!!

One more speaker, Karl Brodowsky is in too 😉

Nice

In theory, since this is not under SM any longer, and some speakers will pull out, maybe others wish to step forward and present? Yes, it’s a short notice, but this whole thing is short notice…

Yeah i think that would be possible too

It would be good to keep it to a single day I think - feels like a smaller commitment. I love the idea of something low key and cosy in a pub.

Good point @danieleneal

What would be the next step to make this happen now that we have some speakers, sponsors and a venue? (prospectively speaking, of course)

Yes. instead of trying to replicate what was scheduled in December, given the circumstances, keep it to 1 day, a few talks, keep things alive - give time to get something else in place for next year

I think the most important thing is the mingling and mixing and making connections

more so than talks (although they are very valuable too!)

I think the next thing is to get some committment, unfortunately, that means putting some money down to secure a venue - someone/thing has to stump up the cash. Once the venue is secure, then people will come.

Just for record, @cfeckardt is meeting somebody from http://talent.io today to discuss a free venue. Once we know the outcome of that, we can decide which venue it’s going to be exactly.

free venue means more money for ice cream!

I have a concern over http://talent.io, they are a recruitment agency. I would be careful that they will want to see a list of attendees/email addresses for mail shots and leads.

At the very least, a good GDPR policy of not sharing any personal information with 3rd parties, unless there is explicit consent given.

We could look at booking the Microsoft Reactor space perhaps?

Are we looking to keep it on the same dates 2-3rd of December? I'm assuming people who are travelling bto London have their tickets and accommodation booked for then. It's also the most likely time all attendees are free.

Yeah I think we should completely capitalize on that, possibly December 2nd only if we aim for a single day event

FYI. We have received an offer to use an 80 person venue if we wish to run the conference in January. It would be venue only and bring your own food (or organise a separate sponsor for food).

RMT rail strikes may also be occurring on 2nd-3rd December https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50307665 in some areas of Greater London

I don't mind it being a non-food event, since there are plenty of eateries around in London

keeps the cost down too

Got a response from the the administrators: >As you may be aware, Skills Matter Limited was placed into Administration on 31 October 2019 and Mark Supperstone and Ben Woodthorpe were appointed Joint Administrators. > >As a result of the Administration certain events have had to be cancelled to date. > >Unfortunately I am unable provide confirmation whether the below event will proceed at this stage and I will be in a better position to inform you by close of business on Friday. I understand that you may need to make alternative arrangements and will endeavour to provide a response as soon as possible. > >Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. > >Kind regards > >Evelyn (Emphasis mine)

I have emailed all confirmed speakers about the SkillsMatter company going into administration and have highlighted that the community is discussing a replacement conference in this channel.

I don't mind it being non-food either.... but the dates are kinda more important to me... I wouldn't go a second time to LDN again in such a short period.

Would a date in January be more suitable?

not for me

kewl, just guaging options 😉

The guy has postponed our chat for tomorrow so no update from me tonight :(

Cognitect wish to help out too https://twitter.com/jgehtland/status/1192218809635090434