Skip to main content

Building Partnerships

How to build partnerships that help your chapter grow.

Core Principle: Win-Win​

A partnership should never feel like a favor. Both sides should get real value.

If you're asking someone to partner with you and they're not getting anything meaningful in return, it's not a partnership. It's a favor. Favors don't scale and they don't last.

What Applied AI Society Offers​

Before approaching partners, know what you bring:

Opinionated programming​

Most AI events are generic. They book whoever is available and cover broad topics.

Applied AI Society is specific. We focus on practitioners helping real businesses implement AI. We unlock tribal knowledge that people can't easily find elsewhere. That specificity is valuable to the right audience.

Willingness to do the work​

You're putting in the effort to make events happen: finding speakers, coordinating logistics, promoting, running the event. Partners who have venues or communities but not bandwidth appreciate this.

Growing community​

Even early on, you're bringing people. As you build, that audience grows. Partners benefit from exposure to your members.

Types of Partners​

Community partners​

Other meetup groups, Slack communities, or organizations with overlapping audiences.

What they bring: Email lists, social reach, credibility, warm introductions

What you bring: Quality programming they can share with their community

Example: AITX in Austin. One of the earliest AI-focused meetup groups, with thousands on their email list and strong venue relationships. They've built trust over years. Partnering with them means access to their reach and logistics; they get high-quality events for their members.

Venue partners​

Co-working spaces, tech hubs, company offices that host events.

What they bring: Space, AV support, sometimes F&B

What you bring: Events that make their space feel alive and valuable to members

Example: Capital Factory in Austin. A major tech hub that wants high-quality programming for their community of technologists and entrepreneurs. They offer venue space and tech support for free through their event program. You bring the content and the attendance.

How to Approach Partnerships​

Lead with the win-win​

Don't pitch yourself. Pitch the mutual benefit.

"We're building a community around applied AI practitioners. You have a great venue and a community that would find this valuable. We'll handle the programming and promotion. You get a quality event for your members, and we both grow."

Start informal​

For community partnerships, you don't need a formal contract. Keep it simple:

  • Do one event together
  • If it goes well, do more
  • If it doesn't, part ways cleanly

You can formalize later if it makes sense. Early on, flexibility matters more than paperwork.

One concrete way to make partnerships valuable: share the attendee list after the event (with attendees' permission). Both communities grow.

What Sustains Partnerships​

Two things:

  1. Quality programming — Events that deliver real value, not filler
  2. Solid attendance — People actually show up

If you nail both, partners will want to keep working with you. Your reputation in the local scene grows, which makes future partnerships easier.

Case Studies from the Founding Austin Chapter of Applied AI Society​

AITX (Community Partner)​

AITX has been running AI-focused meetups in Austin since around 2021. They have:

  • Thousands of people on their email list
  • Strong venue relationships
  • Trust built over years of consistent events

The partnership works because:

  • They bring reach and logistics
  • We bring opinionated, high-quality programming
  • Both communities benefit and grow

No formal contract. If the first event works, we keep doing it. If not, we adjust.

Capital Factory (Venue Partner)​

Capital Factory is a flagship tech hub and co-working space in Austin. They want:

  • High-quality events for their members
  • Programming that makes the space feel valuable

Their event program offers:

  • Free venue space (one event per month)
  • AV and tech support
  • Some event logistics help

The partnership works because:

  • They get quality content without doing the work
  • We get a great venue without paying for it
  • Both sides are invested in making it successful

Summary​

  • Partnerships should feel like a win-win, not a favor
  • Know what you offer: opinionated programming, willingness to do the work, a growing community
  • Start informal. One event. See if it works.
  • Quality events with solid attendance build reputation, which makes future partnerships easier

See Also​