Why I Host a Weekly AI Meetup
Every week, I host an in-person AI meetup in Memphis called WeAddBots. Business owners, operators, and curious professionals show up to talk about what they're actually doing with AI. Not theory. Not hype. First-hand experience from people who are using these tools in their businesses right now.
People ask me why I do it every week. Here's the honest answer.
Nobody can keep up alone
The tools and technology are advancing too fast for any one person to track everything. New models drop every few weeks. Features change overnight. Something that didn't work three months ago suddenly works great. Something that was the best option last month gets leapfrogged by a competitor.
I spend hours every day working with AI — as Fractional CTO for a multi-location B2B company, as a consultant through Creating Value LLC, and building systems for my own projects. And I still can't keep up with everything.
But here's what I've figured out: I don't have to. When you're in a room with 15 or 20 other people who are all experimenting, you get 20 perspectives on what's working and what's not. Someone tried a tool you haven't heard of. Someone solved a problem you've been stuck on. Someone hit a wall you can help them get past.
What's working, what's not — from people who are doing it
The most valuable thing at WeAddBots meetups isn't a presentation. It's when someone says "I tried using AI for [specific thing] and here's what happened." That's information you can't get from a blog post or a YouTube video. It's real, it's current, and it comes with all the context — the tools they used, the problems they hit, and the actual results.
We hear from financial planners streamlining client onboarding. Ecommerce site owners automating product descriptions and inventory workflows. Sales professionals using AI to prioritize their pipeline. Consultants building AI-powered research systems. Banking professionals exploring compliance automation. Every week, it's different people with different experiments and different results. That's the whole point.
AI levels the playing field. A two-person company can now do things that used to require a team of ten. But only if they know what's actually possible — and the fastest way to learn that is from people who are already doing it.
Humans talking to humans about AI
Here's the thing people don't expect: an AI meetup is one of the most human things I do all week.
There's something that happens in a room full of business owners who are all figuring this out together. Nobody's pretending to be an expert on everything. Nobody's selling anything. People share what's working, what's not working, and what they're going to try next. The energy is collaborative, not competitive.
I started WeAddBots because I wanted a place to share what I was learning. Turns out a lot of people were hungry for practical AI guidance that wasn't trying to sell them something. That was February 2025.
We rotate locations around Memphis. The format is simple — show up, share what you've been working on, ask questions, learn from each other. Progress over perfection.
Why Memphis, why in person
Online communities are great. I'm in several. But there's something different about sitting across from someone and watching them pull up their laptop to show you exactly how they set up an AI workflow. You can ask follow-up questions in real time. You can see the parts they gloss over in a LinkedIn post. You build actual relationships — the kind that lead to referrals, partnerships, and the trust to call someone when you're stuck.
Memphis doesn't have the tech scene of Austin or San Francisco. That's actually an advantage. There's less noise, less posturing, and more people who are just trying to make their business work better. The Greater Memphis Chamber has been supportive. The business community here is tight-knit. When someone finds something that works, they share it.
Join us
If you're a business owner in Memphis — or even if you're just curious about what AI can do for your work — come to a meetup. It's free, it's weekly, and you'll leave with at least one thing you can try in your business that week.
And if you're not in Memphis, consider starting something like this in your city. The format is dead simple: get business owners in a room, ask what they're doing with AI, and let the conversation happen. The technology changes every week. The need for community doesn't.
