
START YOUR OWN HIVE 101
HOW TO HIVE1. 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:
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
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:
12. Hive events: After every event, we will kindly ask you to do the following:
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 STARTEDRead 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. |
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