2011. I gathered 12 tech enthusiasts at a small café in Bekasi.
No sponsors. No hashtags. No live streaming. Just a table, some coffee, and one question:
“What are you building?”
From those 12 people:
- 3 are now startup founders
- 2 became CTOs at different companies
- And almost all of them still know each other today
No algorithm can replicate that.
I’m not anti-online. I’m pro-foundation. And the strongest foundation I’ve seen in 15 years of community building always started the same way: one room, one moment, people who showed up.
Community isn’t about the platform. Community is about presence.
Originally published on LinkedIn.