How to Start a Meetup for your Interest in your Geography

17 Mar, 2025

How I Built a Thriving Software Engineering Meetup in Berlin

In an age where online communities dominate, sometimes you just want real meetings with real people—face-to-face conversations about topics that genuinely interest you. That was exactly what I was looking for when I started my software engineering meetup in Berlin.

The Idea: Bringing Engineers Together

As I walked through my neighborhood, passing by numerous pubs, I realized that there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of software engineers nearby who lacked a common space to meet and connect. Instead of waiting for something to appear, I decided to take action and create a monthly meetup.

Structuring the Meetup

I wanted the meetup to be structured in a way that ensured commitment while keeping things casual and engaging. Here’s how I set it up:

1. Hosted on Meetup.com – This provided an easy-to-use platform for people to discover and join the event.
2. A Small Fee to Join – I charged 10 euros per sign-up. This helped reduce last-minute cancellations because if someone didn’t show up, they lost their money.
3. A Shared Bar Tab – All collected funds went toward a bar tab at the chosen venue. This meant that if someone didn’t show up, the remaining attendees had more free drinks.

This simple model worked, and I’ve been running the meetup successfully for over two years. Today, the group has grown to around 500 subscribers on Meetup.com, with new members joining regularly through organic discovery and word-of-mouth.

The Key Growth Strategy: Targeted Ads

While the meetup has strong organic growth now, the key to getting it off the ground was a small but effective advertising campaign. Here’s the strategy I used:

1. Running Facebook and Instagram Ads – I allocated a budget of 50-100 euros to promote the meetup.
2. Hyper-Targeting the Audience – The ads were only shown to people in my specific zip code in Berlin. This ensured that the ads reached only relevant individuals.
3. Simple and Direct Messaging – The ad copy was straightforward: “Are you a software engineer in Prenzlauer Berg interested in a meetup?”
4. Easy Sign-Up Process – Facebook and Instagram ads allow users to sign up directly within the app through pre-filled forms. People simply had to confirm their email address and click submit.

Building the Community

With this initial strategy, I gathered around 100 email addresses of local engineers interested in the meetup. From there, I took the following steps:

• Created an Email Newsletter – To keep the community informed and engaged.
• Started a WhatsApp Group – Invited all interested members via email, fostering more immediate communication and interaction.
• Launched Regular Events – With a consistent monthly schedule, the meetup gained traction and became a regular fixture for local engineers.

The Outcome

What started as a simple idea has grown into a thriving community of software engineers who regularly meet, exchange ideas, and expand their professional networks—all while enjoying drinks at local pubs.

The most valuable takeaway from this experience is that launching a successful in-person community doesn’t require a massive budget—just a strategic approach, targeted outreach, and a commitment to fostering genuine connections.

If you're considering starting your own meetup, try using targeted ads to bootstrap initial interest, set up simple sign-up funnels, and build a sense of community early on. It’s been a rewarding experience for me, and it might be for you too!