If you’re building a company or working on a side project, you may crave a community to relate to and learn from.
Enter Philly’s meetup ecosystem, which hosts tons of events that bring together people with the same interests to build up the scene.
Informal meetups are an opportunity for professionals to share ideas, discuss challenges and build relationships, Lawrence Rich, organizer of the Life Sciences Meetup, told Technical.ly.
“For founders in particular, these events provide candid insights and connections that are critical in the early stages of building a company,” he said.
Some groups are focused on specific tech topics, like AI or data. Some groups are more founder-focused, like Philly Tech Entrepreneurs. But no matter whether you’re a founder, designer, developer, investor or just someone who wants to be part of a tech-focused community, there’s probably a meetup group for you.
Check out these 10 active meetup groups in Philly, listed in alphabetical order.
Code and Coffee Philadelphia
Code and Coffee Philadelphia hosts weekly coding sessions where attendees can get help with coding challenges, meet new people, learn about tech and find collaborators for projects. The group also hosts paper reading sessions, coworking days and workshops, aiming to foster a community of developers who help each other, according to its website.
Data Science Philadelphia
DataPhilly welcomes data enthusiasts of all levels, hosting monthly meetups, including happy hours, discussions, panels and workshops. The programming ranges from predictive analytics, applied machine learning, big data, data warehousing and data science, among other data-related topics.
Life Sciences Meetup
Rich started the Life Sciences Meetup as a way for local life sciences professionals to meet and chat in a casual setting, something he says is integral for the life sciences industry in Philly to thrive. The monthly happy hour is hosted at Technical.ly’s office.
PhilaCon Valley
Waskar Paulino launched PhilaCon Valley to create a space for underrepresented people in the tech industry, he previously told Technical.ly. The group hosted a game night this summer and is hosting Collab Lab, a session for attendees to share and work on projects, this fall.
Philly AI Connect
This group brings together AI and machine learning enthusiasts, hosting events about tech trends and discussions about how these tools may impact Philadelphia. Philly AI Connect also has a newsletter to keep up with its activities.
Philly Data and AI Meetup
This group targets anyone in the Philly area who is passionate about data and artificial intelligence and wants to discuss these topics with other enthusiasts. Philly Data and AI meets for monthly happy hours and hosts other community-building activities like networking opportunities, educational sessions and professional development workshops.
Philly Hardware Meetup
If you’re specifically interested in hardware, check out this meetup to connect with a community of people building physical products. Engineers, designers, founders and investors are all welcome at Philly Hardware Meetup’s events.
Philly Tech Entrepreneurs
Philly Tech Entrepreneurs fosters an online and in-person community for local tech founders, developers, designers and others interested in the tech industry. The group hosts in-person and virtual events and maintains an online community via Slack and Meetup.
Sports Business Leaders
Sports Business Leaders convenes founders, investors and other stakeholders in the sports industry, to help sportstech startups grow. The group started in Philly last summer, hosting happy hours and other networking events, and recently expanded to New York.
The Ground Floor
Formerly known as Welcome Wagon, venture studio United Effects Ventures took over the monthly meetup with plans to revamp its programming. Still on the first Wednesdays of the month, founders can introduce themselves and what they’re working on to the group and network with like-minded people.
