Organizing the Uneed Residency

Hey 👋🏻

Today, I wanted to share the “behind the scenes” of organizing the Uneed Residency: everything you don't see behind the social media content.

In less than a month, 14 entrepreneurs from across Europe will be moving into a manor in Nantes, France for a week of work, exchanges and communal living. This is the first edition of the Uneed Residency, and I'm organizing it almost entirely on my own. I wanted to show you what that actually involves, because from the outside you see the LinkedIn posts and the nice photos, but behind all of that, there's a level of logistics I really didn't anticipate 😬.

The Friday evening: an event within the event

On May 29th, I'm hosting an open-doors evening at the manor. The idea is to invite the Nantes tech community to come meet the residents. Sounds simple enough. In reality, it's a project of its own. You need a caterer for the drinks and food, you need to coordinate with the manor for the space setup, handle ticketing, calculate the budget, find someone for the music, plan talks… Each of these is its own little workstream. And all of this is on top of organizing the week itself 😂

Sometimes I think I’m a bit crazy

The food puzzle

This is probably the topic that surprised me the most with its complexity. 16 people in total to feed for a week, three meals a day. In France, you can't just order catering every day or bring in a private chef, it would be too expensive.

So I've gone with a mix: a few ordered meals here and there, some restaurant outings, and mostly… we cook ourselves. Which means: finding recipes, buying groceries in bulk, figuring out storage, and coordinating meal prep for seventeen. To be completely honest, I haven't fully figured out that last part yet. I think it's a problem that will partly resolve itself once we're on site 🤞🏻.

I actually visited the manor a few days ago, to meet the time and check the furniture, the rooms, and… The fridge 😂

It’s big, but I think it’s not big enough for a week of groceries for 16 people, which means we will have to refill it at least one time 🥲.

Goodies, merch and material logistics

On top of all this, there's everything we're preparing to make the experience memorable. T-shirts and caps with Uneed branding. Eco Cups for the Friday evening. A banner. Merch from sponsors. Gift boxes to welcome each resident. And one detail that's not really a detail: finding about ten external monitors to rent in Nantes so everyone can work comfortably during the week.

I’m actually about to give up on this one, as no one seems to be renting external monitors at an affordable price for a week 😬.

Content, the other never-ending workstream

Organizing an event like this also means bringing it to life online before, during and after. Blog posts, Twitter threads, LinkedIn posts, newsletters, questionnaires sent to residents to prepare their profiles… Content has been a constant effort for weeks now, and it's not slowing down.

The impossible math

I'll be transparent: this residency is costing me money. Uneed is sponsoring the event, which means I'm investing instead of earning. The idea behind it is that the visibility generated (the content, word of mouth, the community) benefits Uneed in the long run. But will it be measurable? Probably not, or at least not directly. It's a bet, and I'm making it with full awareness.

One thing I am certain of, though: the residents and I are going to have an incredible week. We'll meet fascinating people, learn from each other, work hard, and have a great time. And honestly, maybe that's the real return on investment 😊🫶🏻

I will publish a few more blog posts with more photos really soon 👀.

Thomas