I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2023 Polyglot Unconference in Vancouver, put on by the Polyglot Software Association. I’ve been attending these for years. It is my favourite local conference.

An unconference, sometimes called an open spaces conference, is a participant-driven event where attendees choose the topics of discussion and provide the content themselves. They are meant to be open and inviting, and build interpersonal relationships. This year was no exception.

The event started with a brief introduction and some ground rules, and then attendees began pitching sessions. Anyone could pitch a session, and then organize it however they wanted. This year I pitched a session about how to start a software company. I got on stage, gave my name, and explained what I wanted to talk about.

After all the sessions were pitched, attendees voted on the sessions they want to attend. Organizers then assigned them to rooms. All the sessions can usually be accommodated, so the voting is only used to make sure that the number of interested attendees can fit in the rooms they are assigned to.

For my session, I used a fishbowl format. I put 5 chairs on the stage. Only people in chairs could ask or answer questions, but anyone in the audience could take a chair at any time. The group on the stage had to ensure that one chair was always empty. What you end up with is an intimated discussion with an audience.

A few experienced founders attended my session, and quite a few people who wanted to or had already started software companies were present too. I asked my questions, other people asked their questions, and we got a lot of great answers. I took 3 pages of notes that will absolutely be helpful in my endeavors.

The best part of this event is learning about what other companies in town are doing, what’s working for them, and where they’ve had problems. Traditional software conferences tend to have more vendor-sponsored presentations where everything is a sales pitch. These are valuable too, but the unconference is a better way to get a balanced opinion.

I can’t wait to attend again next year.