§ Sessions

Every session, and what happened.

The photos, the questions that were on the Wharf that week, and who came. They used to live on three different pages.

12
Sessions
128
Member cards
103
Questions

How many actually turned up to a session is in the line under that session.

  1. Session 12

    Thu, 22 Oct

    About 29 came

    No photos from this morning; this one is from another (redrawn from a photo, faces replaced).
  2. Session 11

    Thu, 15 Oct

    About 40 came

    Someone on a stool with a microphone, their slides on the screen beside themA full room under the glass roof, everyone facing the frontThe whole room, seen from the back
    1 more photos from that morning
    People around several tables, listening to a talk
  3. Session 10

    Thu, 8 Oct

    About 46 came

    No photos from this morning; this one is from another (redrawn from a photo, faces replaced).
  4. Build Tuesday

    Tue, 6 Oct

    About 6 came

    No photos from this morning; this one is from another (redrawn from a photo, faces replaced).
  5. Session 9

    Thu, 1 Oct

    About 70 came

    No photos from this morning; this one is from another (redrawn from a photo, faces replaced).
  6. Session eight

    Thu, 24 Sept
    A hand-painted illustration of Session eight, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    About 28 came

    The theme was AI and getting customers. Two talks, a long Q&A, then a round of introductions. Someone who builds websites and workflows for business owners, on why a high-value service can only be won through long conversations, and why an ad platform's built-in AI is never quite on the advertiser's side; a student founder on how winning customers differs between individuals, government and companies, and on first finding the one person inside an organisation who will speak for you. The Q&A went from how much control to hand an AI that runs your ads, and how a small company starts on GEO from nothing, to the risks of mass-generating articles, why AI-written posts backfire in online communities, and why selling to government takes so long. The longest discussion began with whether cloning a two-sided marketplace still works, and ended up on Australian tradies: they are not short of customers, they are short of hands — their calendars are already full. One person in the introductions had asked ChatGPT that morning what AI events were on in Sydney, and been sent here.

    The whole glass room under the vines, people along both sides of the long table, a round wooden table in the foregroundA row of people on the bench along the glass wall, the street and agaves outside, a backpack on the table in frontA tall shot under the vines and string lights: one person standing in the middle of the room talking, everyone around seated and listening
    3 more photos from that morning
    Someone standing at the bar end talking, the table turned to listen, one of them with a laptop openDuring the Q&A, someone on their feet across the table, a table of people with cups turned towards them, greenery outsideThe room from another corner: someone on the bench at the left looking at a phone, stools and round tables in front
  7. Session seven

    Thu, 17 Sept
    A hand-painted illustration of Session seven, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    About 17 came

    First one since the move to Chatswood: a glass room, vines overhead, the street outside. 20 signed up and about 17 came. Three talks and then a Q&A. A team doing GEO on what changes when AI search leaves only three to five recommendation slots and the long tail disappears; an AI startup founder on FDE, and on earning a client's trust one small project at a time, a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each; a researcher on how a company is supposed to manage a few hundred agents, which nobody has an answer to yet. The Q&A's three questions: how someone without a technical background gets into AI; why a boss who already uses AI would pay someone else to build with it; and where a bricks-and-mortar business that has not even gone digital should start.

    The long table in the glass room, vines overhead, laptops, menus and coffee on the tableFrom the far end of the long table, a row of people along the wooden bench, the street outsideSomeone standing at the table talking, the rest seated and listening, the building across the road through the glass
    3 more photos from that morning
    A row of people on the bench against the glass wall, agaves outsideOne person on her feet talking, the whole table turned towards herA small table in the corner, four people around one laptop
  8. Session six

    Thu, 10 Sept
    A hand-painted illustration of Session six, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    19 signed up; counting from the photographs, a little over twenty came. The structure changed this time. Two demos to open — a map-based app for real-estate agents, and one person's experience of cutting social video with AI — then a Q&A the whole room answered together. That morning's question: in the AI era, should an ordinary person go deeper on one skill or broader across several? The last half hour was left for meeting people.

    The long table by the windows, every seat taken, Darling Harbour outsideFrom the far end of the long table, a whole row of people along the glassThe long table from close up, the bar's bottle shelves at the far end
    7 more photos from that morning
    Another angle on the long table, columns and floor-to-ceiling glass, someone talkingA few people standing at the bar, talkingA small table by the windows, a few people around it, water outsidePeople standing by the bar in conversation, the bottle shelves overheadAfter it ended, a group walking outside, a glass-fronted building behind themThe same group on the way to lunchThree people at a small table, one of them mid-gesture
    There that morning (of the people with a card)

    burtonCottoKevin CheungEltonRobLuna WenLouisKellyPerryMiyaLexi ChenMatthewMichael ZhuangEthanLincolnStephanie

    Only counts people who have claimed a card, so it is lower than the number in the room.

  9. Session five

    Thu, 3 Sept
    A hand-painted illustration of Session five, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    22 signed up. The opening talk was on building an audience — how to make content that keeps bringing people in. After that each table carried on by itself until noon.

    Quarter past ten, the early arrivals already seated at the small tables by the windows, Darling Harbour outsidePast the curtain, two tables with a few people at each, water through the glassAround half past ten, the tables by the windows full, someone standing at the glass talking
    5 more photos from that morning
    Another angle on the same room, tables running the length of the windowsLooking past the column, every small table takenThe row of small tables by the windows, coffee cups and glasses on themSomeone standing at a table talking, the rest sitting around listeningEleven o'clock, each table deep in its own conversation, Darling Harbour outside
    There that morning (of the people with a card)

    burtonDavid HEltonRobLuna WenMiRickLincolnStephanieLindaACGraham江江EvaJackieRoc

    Only counts people who have claimed a card, so it is lower than the number in the room.

  10. Session four

    Thu, 27 Aug
    A hand-painted illustration of Session four, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    20 signed up, 18 turned up. Three people opened by showing what they are building — one with a few shipped apps and a growth problem, one who has replaced most of his agency with agents. Four tables after that, and fifteen of us went to lunch together.

    Around half past ten, people arriving, tables not yet full behind themThe long table along the windows over Darling Harbour, a conversation already going in the cornerAnother angle on the same room, the row by the windows filling up
    2 more photos from that morning
    The corner booth, a few people gathered around one laptopA group standing and talking before the start, two laptops open on the table beside them
    There that morning (of the people with a card)

    Chris XuburtonDavid HRobfredMiRickLexi ChenZiyeEkinAndyCarinaJamesShawn

    Only counts people who have claimed a card, so it is lower than the number in the room.

  11. Session three

    Thu, 20 Aug
    A hand-painted illustration of Session three, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    21 signed up, a little over 20 turned up. Four tables this time — growth and business, B2B, B2C, and hands-on AI. You picked one on the way in, and took another if the one you wanted was full.

    A fruit platter, bread and a white rose on the table, people talking behind itSession three, the long table full on both sides, someone standing at the far endAnother angle on the table, Darling Harbour through the windows
    3 more photos from that morning
    Looking down the table from the other end, a row of people along the windowsThe far end of the table, two people talking by the barAround the end of the session, some still seated, some standing by the bar
    There that morning (of the people with a card)

    MomoburtonDavid HEltonMiKellyBillShawngareth wangJustinKimmyJason TJoannajasonJack XKevin ZhouTraceyAva

    Only counts people who have claimed a card, so it is lower than the number in the room.

  12. Session two

    Thu, 13 Aug
    A hand-painted illustration of Session two, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    35 signed up, around 30 turned up. People carried on downstairs for another hour after we wrapped, and the ones who stayed for lunch kept going into the afternoon.

    The venue before anyone arrived, a long table along the windows over Darling HarbourSession two, around thirty people along the table by the windowsA fruit platter on the table, a row of people down the length of it
    1 more photos from that morning
    Coffee, a croissant and a single white rose on the table
    There that morning (of the people with a card)

    MomoChris XuKevin CheungDavid HRobJamesMiRickRocEkinJamesShawnJack XKevin ZhouTraceyChrisBowenJack Liu

    Only counts people who have claimed a card, so it is lower than the number in the room.

  13. Session one

    Thu, 6 Aug
    A hand-painted illustration of Session one, drawn from that morning’s own photographs: the café, the long tables and the people around them, every person redrawn as a painted character.

    26 signed up, 18 to 20 turned up, from indie developers to lawyers, accountants and business owners.

    The first session, a long table full of peopleThe Darling Harbour side, someone talking about what they are buildingAnother angle on the room
    1 more photos from that morning
    The venue before anyone arrived
    There that morning (of the people with a card)

    Chris侃侃Kevin CheungRobKellyRick\(VoV)/ 小蒙卿Rui GengShawnJack XRocNathan Jin

    Only counts people who have claimed a card, so it is lower than the number in the room.

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