START  YOUR   OWN    HIVE   101

  1. Make sure you read Hive Manifesto and Hive Spirit.
  2. Read the Terms of Use ("How to Hive") below.
  3. Fill out the new Hive Application Form.
  4. Wait for an email from us to get the green light.
  5. Book a "Getting started" coaching session with us. 
  6. Logo and design pack on Dropbox for you to create your logo, set up your website and social media profiles. They are all Creative Commons licensed, ready for ALL TYPES of modifications and use. Yes, including commercial use.
  7. More resources and tips and tricks are below, we will surely be adding stuff there as we go. 
  8. Go go go!

HOW  TO  HIVE

1. License: To start running a Hive event you need to be granted a license. To apply for a license please fill out this form (Google Form) and wait to hear from us. Once granted a license, it’s valid until explicitly terminated by us. All official Hive events will be listed on the JoinHive.com website. You can be loosely organised--you DO NOT need a legal entity to be granted a license.

2. Spirit and purpose: Your event must be aligned with Hive Manifesto and maintain Hive Spirit. Please read both the Manifesto and the Spirit and ask yourself it that’s what you believe in.

3. Language: We ask you to use English as the main language for communication. Not only is it the language of technology but this way you will make sure foreigners in your community are not excluded. Staying “English first” will make your online resources such as blog posts and video recordings more accessible to the rest of the world and will give you extra exposure. However, if the majority of people in your community do not speak English, it’s OK that your community is run in your mother tongue.

4. Format: Hive is a series of monthly meetups sometimes called "Swarms". Swarms are short interviews with or presentations by one or more inspiring entrepreneurs. We support many formats as long as they make sense for the community and add value. Here are some we could think of:

  • Interview or talk by an entrepreneur - max 40 minute, more than that hurts our bees.
  • Pitch sessions - 60 second pitches work really well. Feedback from experienced entrepreneurs is very important.
  • Failure pitch sessions - i.e. things that I failed at this week.
  • Lightning talks - around 5 minute ad hoc talks.
  • Conferences
  • Unconferences
  • Hackathons
  • Workshops
  • Open Coffee type meetups
  • Film screenings
  • Competitions
  • Speed Business Matchmaking / Dating

5. Name: Give Your Hive a Number! -  All local Hive community names follow the same convention: a name beginning with Hive, followed by a unique number that you choose. All Hive community names should be approved by the Hive team. For example, the Kraków Hive community picked the name Hive53 and some of our events have names such us: Hive53 and Hive53 Open Coffee. Hive53 calls their events ‘Swarms’ because they think it sounds cool! 

6. Domains and social media accounts: All approved Hive communities are free to book and manage their own domains, social media accounts as well as book the Facebook page name and unique URL.

7. Sponsors: You have our blessing to find sponsors who fit the spirit of Hive - encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs. Please make sure the sponsor’s brand is not overshadowing your Hive brand. Do check with us in case of any doubt.

8. Branding & more: As a Hive event organizer, you will be able to use all Hive marketing and graphical resources. You should use the official Hive logo pack to create your community’s own logo and branding. We will also help with know-how and, if we can, attend your Hive event to help you kickstart and give feedback.

9. Explaining the Hive mission: Make sure your local community understands Hive Spirit. Link to our Spirit and Manifesto and use the following copy on your website to describe what Hive is:

Hive is a startup community that connects people with entrepreneurial drive - to meet, get inspired and exchange experiences around marketing, tech, fundraising, sales, pitching and delivering value.

10. Speakers
  • Selection: Local Hive organizers are responsible for finding and taking care of their own speakers. Speakers should be entrepreneurs. Ask them to stay for the duration of the event so that your community gets a chance to interact with them.
  • Content: Speakers should tell a story or argue for an idea. They may not use the Hive stage to sell products, promote themselves or their businesses. Use your best judgement and make sure they are interesting. No-one likes listening to a boring story!

10. Resources: We support Creative Commons and openness. Put presentations and talks on the web if possible. We ask all Hive event organisers take and publish pictures. We also encourage you to record events and share them with the world. Video is a huge promotion mechanism and a source of traffic. 

11. Social media:
  • Facebook: The name of your Facebook account should mirror the name of your community. Setup your Facebook account as a "Page" - not as a "Group" or "Profile".
  • Twitter: Your Twitter account name should mirror the name of your Hive community.
  • Email lists: Never use your email list for any purpose other than communicating information specifically about your local Hive community.
  • Language: whenever possible use English to communicate with your community online. If you decide to use your local language you should include key information about your Hive events in English as well.

12. Hive events: After every event, we will kindly ask you to do the following: 
  • Send us a quick note on how it went.
  • Upload photos to Facebook and Flickr, tagged "Hive" + "Hive[name]" and don't forget to share them on facebook.com/joinhive page.

13. Financial Info: Financial details and and other deals with sponsors and partners should follow our transparency rule and should be shared with us. We assume that most events will net out as non-profit. If in the spirit of entrepreneurship, you’re planning to make money on your event, please ask us about it.

SOFTWARE   WE  USE   AND MORE    RESOURCES  TO  GET  YOU  STARTED


Read Brad Feld's book "Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City" or at least Mark Suster's post about it. Really, it's amazing.

We're big fans of TED and TEDx. We have been learning a lot from them and think you should check their resources and webinars.

We're using Twitter and Facebook for social media presence.
We use Weebly for our blog  & website but feel free to use something else (Tumblr, Wordpress).
We do our mailing with Mailchimp.

We use Google Docs for most things, and we'll be setting up
Google Groups to talk to all Hive organisers (+ maybe a Facebook group).

Starting this month, we'll be using Nicer for event management.
Email them to get your invite.