Overview:
Picture an IRL Reforge-meets-factory tour for modern operators. You pick a theme (say, AI-powered support), grab a vetted dozen people, and take them on a half-day hop to 2–3 companies. Inside each office, the PM/growth/ops folks actually show their dashboards, workflows, and tradeoffs—the messy real stuff you never get in a webinar. You finish with a quick debrief and then ship a clean notes pack and playbook that everyone can use back at work. You make money on tickets and passes, and tools/vendors kick in sponsorship because your attendees are perfectly targeted buyers. Hosts get employer branding and hiring pipeline benefits; attendees get hard-won operator tactics without the fluff.
The Trends:
Rising demand for experiential, hands‑on learning from employers and adult learners. (1, 2)
Cohort-based and small‑group learning formats are scaling as premium education products. (1)
Micro‑events and niche, IRL meetups are resurging as high‑value networking and learning channels. (3, 4)
Brands and vendors are shifting sponsorship budgets toward experiential and micro‑sponsorships tied to measurable engagement. (5, 6)
Companies are more open to curated access and industry collaboration for talent pipelines and PR. (1, 2)
Your Answer:
Curated half-day safaris where small cohorts visit 2–3 companies for backstage sessions with PMs, growth and ops leaders, plus a themed debrief and a shared actionable notes pack.
Solves the theory-to-practice gap: gives learners real-world workflows, tools, and tradeoffs you won't get from online courses — ideal for makers, operators, early PMs and career shifters.
Hosts get employer branding, a hiring pipeline and product feedback opportunities — incentivize participation with recruiting credits, sponsor slots, or paid workshop upgrades.
Monetization mix: single-ticket pricing (suggested $75–$250 for half-day depending on city/value), city/seasonal annual passes, company passes for teams, plus tool/vendor sponsorships aligned to each theme.
MVP playbook: launch a single-city pilot with 10–12 attendees, 2 host companies on a high-demand theme (e.g., AI support automation), a simple landing page + waitlist, and one paid pilot to validate pricing.
Productized deliverables: standardized post-trip note pack, template playbooks, short video snippets and a searchable archive — creates recurring value and sponsor-friendly inventory.
Scale strategy: replicate city-by-city, deepen verticals (fintech ops, remote-first growth), build an alumni community and offer referral/ambassador discounts to lower CAC.
Operational safeguards: cohort vetting, host NDAs/recording policies, liability insurance and capped group sizes to protect IP and ensure intimate access.
Key metrics to track: ticket conversion, repeat-attendee rate, sponsor ROI (leads/hands-on demos), hire conversions from trips and NPS from both hosts and attendees.
Your Roadmap:
Pilot one themed half-day trip (pick theme: e.g., 'AI support automation') with 2 local hosts — target 8–12 paying attendees.
Reach out to host companies with a short outreach template offering promo, recruiting hookups, and photos; secure 1 host with a waived fee or swag.
Create a simple event page (Gumroad/Luma/Shopify Lite or Carrd + Stripe) and sell tickets; use MeetUp/Eventbrite for reach.
Run the trip, record 10–15 min clips, gather notes, and package a shared 'notes pack' PDF to include with ticket or sell separately.
Follow up with hosts and attendees for testimonials and iterate — convert 30% of attendees to waitlist for next trip.