Twiistup is Growing Up

Twiistup was created to showoff innovative creations, share new opportunities and above all else, have some fun. Since Twiistup 1 in February, 2007 we have experienced five exciting events that have served as a catalyst for even more growth in SoCal. I’m proud to say that we’ve participated in a grassroots movement that has unified some highly original bits and pieces, attracted a global audience and redefined the mid-week mixer.

Through Twiistup, I personally have had the privilege of connecting with some seriously talented individuals. My initial intent was to connect with designers and developers in the LA area, but the community that I was introduced to far surpassed my craziest dreams. Throughout tech, media and entertainment, the entrepreneurship and energy that exists in SoCal is off the charts. So much so, that I ditched my Silicon Valley gig for a startup in the heart of Santa Monica.

After the initial experiment, and success, of Twiistup 1, my intention was to grow it into something much bigger and brighter. And grow it did! Our first event had a capacity of 200 people, our fifth event had over 1000 attendees. While I’ve had great support of some key people in LA, I’ve now realized Twiistup has grown beyond my own capacity limitations (aka, my day job).

So, I am really excited to announce that Twiistup will take on new ownership and expand beyond its trademark “Showoff” competition, and signature evening event, to include a full conference agenda. There are also plans to help seed similar event models in other cities. This is huge for the LA tech community and the Twiistup brand, and seems to be the logical next step in it’s evolution. No worries, Twiistup will remain “an alternative to traditional networking events” and continue to serve up the unique, creative and unexpected.

[quote from the new boss] “Twiistup had expanded from a small grassroots local event to one of the most well regarded regional showcases for tech and media. This investment allows us to carry out Mike’s vision of adding a full conference agenda to the famed evening event and making it more of a national draw,” said new Twiistup Producer, Francisco Dao, a LA-based entrepreneur who will be taking over day-to-day management. [end of quote]

I will still be involved with Twiistup as a creative advisor and will continue to participate in all of the excitement that’s happening in SoCal. I’ll still be in the area focusing more attention to another company I helped start called Tsavo Media.

Thank you to all those that have contributed to Twiistup’s success – so many in the LA tech scene made this a true community effort, but I have to call out Nicole Jordan and Jeremiah Abraham. Another is my wife, Steph Macadaan, the self proclaimed Director of Pretty Much Everything. While I’d love to say that I am some kind of genius-magician pulling off these events on top of my day job, it just wasn’t the case and she deserves way more credit than she ever received.

See you at an event soon!

@macadaan