Nathan Hessler on ExMex and Conferences

<p>Nathan Hessler, organizer of ExMex and RBQ Conf, is back four weeks out from ExMex 2026 in Austin. We cover MCing Rails World, how he picks speakers and keynotes for a single track, what running a Ruby conference taught him, and the free CFP he built on Google Sheets that's turning into an agent friendly event harness. Then we get into TUIOS and agents that talk to each other, why PR review still matters, bootstrapping vs VC, and why conferences beat job boards for landing your next role.</p><p>Use code MentoredFriends for $50 off your ExMex ticket (enter it in the promo code field on the site, not the checkout pop-up).</p><p>00:00 - Introduction</p><p>01:38 - MCing Rails World and introducing DHH</p><p>05:45 - Picking speakers for a single track</p><p>08:26 - What makes a great keynote</p><p>10:41 - Why he doesn't curate topics</p><p>14:01 - Four weeks out: hurry up and wait</p><p>16:14 - How RBQ Conf went</p><p>18:42 - Scheduling a single track</p><p>19:50 - Using AI for conference marketing</p><p>21:58 - Privacy and what agents can see</p><p>25:36 - A free CFP built on Google Sheets</p><p>32:30 - An agent friendly event harness</p><p>38:52 - TUIOS and agents that talk to each other</p><p>43:23 - Why PR review still matters with agents</p><p>45:03 - MCP, skills, and usage rules</p><p>51:23 - Building is the easy part</p><p>56:30 - Bootstrapping vs VC</p><p>59:01 - ExMex promo code and swag</p><p>1:06:47 - Why go to conferences</p><p>1:09:00 - Hiring, AI slop, and referrals</p><p>1:14:02 - Do conferences make money?</p><p>1:18:27 - MicroConf comes to Austin</p><p>1:23:33 - Remote work still needs in person</p><p>1:27:07 - Free community tickets</p><p>Resources Mentioned:</p><p>- ExMex: <a href="https://exmexconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://exmexconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor</a></p><p>- ExMex community tickets: <a href="https://exmexconf.com/community-tickets?utm_source=elixir-mentor" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://exmexconf.com/community-tickets?utm_source=elixir-mentor</a></p><p>- RBQ Conf: <a href="https://rbqconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://rbqconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor</a></p><p>- KinSwitch: <a href="https://kinswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentor" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://kinswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentor</a></p><p>Connect with Nathan:</p><p>- X: <a href="https://x.com/spune?utm_source=elixir-mentor" rel="noo