How overwhelming are conferences? Even good overwhelm is still sensory overload. I endeavored 3686 on a much looser plan then I would’ve liked, limited in my prep time signing up so late in the game. A week before the event, my friend Meik Elliot (Meik Meals, The Lotus Program, Rooted East Collective) received a complimentary ticket for participating in Innov865’s Startup Day but, like any person working a traditional job, couldn’t take three days off work without notice. Meik sent me in her stead to report back on the vibe and the crowd; if it was our scene.

Key Takeaways —

It can be your scene if you decide so. At first, 3686 didn’t feel like my scene. I looked different, dressed different, and didn’t have cohesive answers to “Are you a founder? Investor? What’s your business?” It took a bit to settle in — I’m the type to get to a social outing and take a seat just to get the lay of the land, see who’s who, and look for my next move.

Folks usually come up to me before I’m ready to get up and that always feels like an olive branch. This person saw me in all that difference and chose to connect. Staying conscious of that helped me make any scene (at the very least) feel like it was my scene.

It’s okay to not be the target market. Meik and I may be “founders” but that term hits different in circles that parallel pitch competitions, funding rounds, and successful exits. This felt alienating until I started to translate what I was learning in sessions (like Fundraising through the storm: the VC perspective) and where conversations meandered into reflections on my own journey:

Am I a founder or investor? I’m a founder who “exited” by handing the brand over to someone who could do more with it. I’m an investor of in-kind consulting and services with the intent to invest in my local business community. Are either of those things as impressive as inventing a pain-relieving medical device or the next SaaS unicorn? I don’t think so. Am I going for impressive? Yeah, I guess I was. Stepping back from the feeling that my journey needs to be “on par,” what’s my par?

I’m circulating my Christmas movie script and formulating an organization to produce and support regional filmmaking. These are pretty new focuses and I’m supporting them in my ongoing work as a business architect — consulting on efficiency, systems & processes, growth, team & culture, all the “business” parts.

What’s your business? I don’t specifically have a ‘business,’ I have a venture. An experiment. A series of projects, collaborations, and products which sustain the journey while serving as the foundation for the next step. A business would require too much commitment, too many of my hours for an outcome I don’t want (right now). The “business” I’m building is a self-sustaining career that provides what I need to pursue life’s purpose, as it evolves.

I suppose you could say I’m in the business of time. Creating it, reclaiming it, investing it, spending it, helping people enjoy more of it. How does that sound?

“I’m in the business of time. Helping people enjoy more of it and keeping as much as I can for myself.”

You can get a lot out of the experience even if you don’t go to the sessions. 3686 is the most socially accessible conference I’ve ever attended. You could walk through the main room (presentation track) and somehow not disturb the experience. You could stand in the back and work or chat quietly. You could sit in the middle of the crowd and be totally enveloped in the panel on stage.

But, if you’re like me, sitting and listening is not my learning style. The session I got the most from was the one I attended sitting next to a colleague. We kept up a steady Q+A of me asking for more info on what was just said and he speaking from his experience on the subject. I learned more in that hour (that I still remember) than I learned in my first attempt at economics (third time’s the charm!).

Instead of sessions, I scheduled 1:1s ahead of time (an extra add on and probably only worth it if you’re “hunting” or have the disposable income ($50) to spend on network development. I caught up with Knoxville locals. I made small talk with strangers and sometimes, an excellent conversation emerged. These were the experiences I came for.

Overall, the vibe checked out. But, where we both are in our business, most of the opportunities available in this environment would be more of a distraction to each of our missions than a stepping stone on our paths.

• Access to investors is amazing but we’re not pitching in their spheres of interest.

• Access to founders is inspiring and a consulting/coaching opportunity but spreading intellectually and physically thin won’t help in the long-term.

• Access to education could be very impactful but only if the content is accessible.

• Access to the community is unparalleled at 3686 and I’d go again simply for the energy of the crowd, for the sweet treat of speaking to *everyone* in my native language: entrepreneurship.

Did you go to 3686 this year? Have you been in the past? Are you thinking “wtf did I just read on a blog that posts about gardening and vision casting??”