Mission
To make Chicago's AI, tech, and content community discoverable, human, and accessible —
one week, one voice, one room at a time.
My intention is to create a space where non-technical people can learn and explore ways AI can help
with their workflow — to enhance their capabilities and agency outside of the traditional structures
of business.
Purpose
A single trusted space where Chicago people find what's happening, connect with the people building
it, and show up in real life — with no algorithm deciding who gets seen.
The group chat exists to bring real-life events into an online conversation: an ongoing exchange
between hosts and their communities, not a feed. Built for the non-technical, the curious, the open
minded — artists, small businesses, freelancers, and founders.
Platform
- A weekly digest posted every Sunday at 8am — scraped and assembled with the help of bots and AI,
but written to be short and easy to scan: direct links, small descriptions, capped at three events
per source. The full list always lives on this site.
- Curated picks from Natalia, one community leader, and a small-business community list — a short,
human-vetted addition to the automated digest. The website hosts additional lists beyond what's
posted to the chat.
- Real human conversation. No bots reply to people — they only post event lists and speaker reminders.
- Voice chat / live broadcast for event hosts, before or after their event — think Clubhouse.
- Members who go quiet for 30 days get a check-in to see if the active chat still fits. Opting out
moves you to the passive channel below; you can opt back in any time.
Community Leaders
The people whose picks make up the curated list alongside Natalia's each week.
- Umama Kibria @umamakibriaContent, tech, community, founders
- Landon Campbell @landon20sAI, tech, Chicago, investment banking
- Onion DAO @onion.daoDev Bharel, mastermind
- Justin Bergeron @developwithjbAI, sports, community
- Jorge Viramontes & Oscar DelgadilloTechqueria
- Gustavo CasasMercado Mondays
- Daniel AlvaradoLaFamilia
- Chrystal PriceTechWalk
- Sid KhaithanMilan Meetups
- Rajiv NathanStartUp Grind Chicago
- Natalia Montoya & Sofia LorenziniRosaTech
- Sunny ShahAI GTM & Dinner Club
- Martina MatthewsMiss ChatGPT
- Mary GrygleskiAI Collective
- Gerardo Lopez @gerardolopez.mxChido Reels, Baja California — workshop co-host
- Digest-only — for members who've opted down from the active chat, or just prefer a quiet feed.
- One-way. No conversation, just the weekly list.
- Sponsor slots available — sponsored events are labeled [Sponsored] at the top of the digest.