[capableweb]

> Or if you create a conference that will largely be attended by tech employees you can make bank with a few months of after-work grinding

Most the people I know who organize conferences or are a part of organizing conferences don't make much "bank" to brag about and it's mostly about getting contacts, having fun and giving back to the community somewhat for them. But these people are all based in Europe, maybe elsewhere it looks differently.

[some_random]

I know some people who put on US conferences and holy shit they put in an incredible amount of work and do not make money at all

[ChancyChance]

I consider 100k USD for a few months of work sending out emails just to coordinate a three day conference to be “bank”.

[ghaff]

I doubt $100K is anything like a typical profit for putting on a small time conference, i.e. one that can be done with just some additional volunteer staff to help with registration etc. A conference like that is doing well to get a few hundred attendees and even a $100-200 registration fee is probably on the high side. OK. Maybe you can get some sponsorships but that's another task to do--and vendors get a lot of requests for sponsorships. Considering all the expenses, you're probably doing a good job if you breakeven--especially for a conference with no track record and an existing attendee mailing list.

[bryanrasmussen]

In much of the world the path to making bank is dependent on getting contacts.

[michaelt]

Sure, but if I grind leetcode to get a good job, then work 50 hours per week at it and by doing so make bank - describing my action as "people who grind leetcode can make bank" conceals more than it reveals.

[bryanrasmussen]

yeah but as we increase what amount we mean by bank we will notice that having contacts becomes more and more an essential component.

Grinding leetcode has an upperbound as to how much 'bank' it contributes, and in some conversations people would laugh and say that small amount you are talking about does not constitute bank as they sip on their fancy little drinks on their private jets whilst going through their contacts list.

[capableweb]

Yeah, but you usually don't count them as the same thing, but more like "more contacts > more work > more bank", but that's just doing normal client work for money.