When the Mainevent Team Gets Together Great Things Happen

Besides our annual companywide “Meeting of the Minds”, throughout the year we also host several smaller meetings at various locations. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on some of the work that we put in.

Last August the MainEvent team got together in Chicago. What follows is a short report by Marcel Appelman, our designer slash frontend developer.

chicago airport with lots of passengers.

Arrival at O’Hare International Airport is always pleasant. A modern airport with a great subway system that takes you straight into the city.

front of virgin hotel in chicago.

Most of us out of towners stayed in the Virgin Hotels, right in downtown Chicago.

dag statue chained to a wall.

ulgy trump tower in chicago.

If you’re lucky you might have a dog guarding your room (or “chambers” as Virgin Hotels like to call them). And if you’re unlucky you might have to face a crazy looking tower when you gaze out your window.

2 guys chatting on a rooftop with tall buildings behind them.

Time for a quick aperitif on the roof of the hotel.

path between two tall buildings with people walking.

Followed by a short walk through lovely Chicago where the entire team met up at Beacon Tavern for an amazing dinner.

breakfast buffet next to a bright red wall.

The next morning breakfast was waiting for us to load up for a day filled with some great presentations.

3 guys staring at a macbook.

Not even 9am and these guys were already deep into hunting down some outstanding bugs, which were squashed immediately.

3 people sitting on a table, one is presenting some slides.

Mr. Andy Plax, graduate of a prestigious middle school and founding partner of Network Ninja, gave a presentation of all the accomplishments and the tremendous growth of MainEvent.

several people enjoying a lunch buffet.

beared guy with 3 little cakes in front of him.

After everyone was pumped from Andy’s presentation we dove into some lunch. I may have liked the tres leches cupcakes a bit too much perhaps…

people sitting on a messy conference table.

Post lunch each member on the team give a pitch on a new feature or concept for MainEvent. Proof of concepts, props, bad jokes, were all welcomed. The best idea would win a prize money!

It was not only very interesting to see how and what each member presented but also to see how much in-tune people are with the product itself and our clients. Everyone brought ideas to the table that would so good add to our product.

handdrawn logo that says ningenius.

Some of the guys even drew up logos for their presentations, this Ninjenius logo was very clever!

gay with a stack of cash.

In the end we put names in a hat and with over 50% of the votes, Josh won a nice stack of cash for his winning ideas. The real winner will be clients that will see Josh’s (and many of the other features) implemented in MainEvent.

tiver in chicago with a boat.

In the afternoon we got together for a dinner at a rad restaurant next to the Chicago river. Did you know the city of Chicago had to be raised 6 feet in the 1800s?

big pastrami snadwhich with fries and ketchup.

I’m a sucker for a pastrami sandwich and this one that I ordered did not disappoint!

row of divvy rental bikes in the city.

The next day everyone had the day off to explore the city. Some went to Tilt, but I glady stayed with both feet on the ground and took a Divvy bike out for a spin.

a hilly bike path with chicago in the distance.

The hills in Chicago are pretty “epic”. Unfortunately I did not get the Strava KOM (I blame the heavy Divvy bike)!

the nutella cafe counter with menu options.

And of course I had to finish my day with a visit to the Nutella Cafe.

It was a wonderful couple of days in Chicago, good to meet face to face with the people you always chat with on Slack.

So rad to see the enourmous amount of talent on this team and the work they put out. The ever expanding list of MainEvent clients reflects that perfectly.

Can’t wait to see everyone at the next annual meeting, in Santa Monica, CA!