The Board Walks are not a networking event.
What makes them special?
Everyone follows these ground rules…
1. Be curious and have fun. The intention of our walks is to have engaging, two-sided conversations and share random musings... about what? Well, that’s up to you! We’ve talked about bonsai farming, how to set boundaries, the perils of iPad tipping, getting fired and starting companies, the learnings from Pokémon Go… and everything in between. But don’t worry, you don’t need to prepare a TED talk; we’re all barely awake and winging it. (Except for the hosts, who have goldendoodle energy.)
2. Follow the flow. We show up with a “let’s muse together and think out loud” mindset… not a “let me talk at you and ask no questions” mindset. We’re feeling relaxed, having a good time, and playing conversational Legos – but we don’t know what we’re building until it’s over. (Sometimes, not until weeks later!) And that’s the coolest part.
3. Hop in, hop out. We highly encourage people to float into multiple conversations with zero judgment. Some folks even have a goal of talking to 5+ people each time. Our walks are 5 miles (~2 hours) of organic and unguided conversation – you choose your own adventure. It might feel awkward to switch at first, but that’s part of the magic: everyone does it, including the hosts.
4. Lead with empathy. We’re a kind crew of people who care about the impact we have on others. This is a welcoming space with newcomers on every walk (yay!) — we have zero tolerance for bullying, discrimination or harassment. You won’t click with everyone, and that’s okay… no one does! But please treat everyone with kindness and respect.
5. Come with insights, not agendas. Please don’t sell or promote anything to our community. We get enough of that from bots on crypto twitter.
6. Romance is not in the air. If you think “Huh, the walks might be a good place to find a date!”… please think again. We will say something if it seems like you approach the walks like a speed dating event. We have a strict “one reach out, no response, keep it moving” rule. If you shoot your shot and don’t receive a yes, respect the person's decision and do not try again.
If you join us, you agree to these rules and understand that we will disinvite anyone who doesn’t follow them.
No biggie. It happens sometimes. There are a lot of communities and events in Austin that might be a better fit – The Board Walks are not for everyone.
But if our walks sound exciting… join us every Saturday, 8 AM, at Bennu Coffee on Congress. Rain or shine, we’ve been out here every week since July 2022.
Our hosts are intentional about creating a relaxed environment for conversation to flow and fresh insights to bloom. We want to know if anyone is not following our ground rules.
Please reach out to Elle Beecher, Veronica Peñaloza Wolfermann, or Nick Prijic with thoughts or feedback.
P.s. If you can't make it to the walks... no worries, we collect all our walk topics and put them in a newsletter called Bored & Curious.
