In this episode of the Post Status Happiness Hour, host Michelle Frechette interviews Raquel Manriquez and Carol Stambaugh. They discuss their new venture, Press Conf, a conference focused on the business side of WordPress. Raquel, a former community manager for Elegant Themes, and Carol, co-owner of RadiateU, share their motivations for creating this event. They emphasize the need for a business-centric conference within the WordPress community, contrasting it with the user-focused WordCamps. Press Conf aims to foster deep connections among attendees through a single track of sessions and an intimate setting. The episode highlights their commitment to inclusivity, meaningful networking, and authentic conversations.

Top Takeaways

Press Conf addresses a significant market gap by being the first WordPress conference specifically focused on business aspects, filling an unmet need in the community for business-oriented professional development.
The conference prioritizes meaningful engagement through intentional design choices like single-track sessions, no recordings, and an intimate setting - all aimed at fostering authentic discussions and deeper connections among attendees.
Careful curation is central to the event's strategy, from thoughtfully selected speakers to a sustainable pricing model, ensuring high-quality content and long-term viability while delivering value to participants.
The conference emphasizes building an inclusive community that welcomes both industry veterans and newcomers, focusing on fostering constructive dialogue and relationships within the WordPress business ecosystem.

Mentioned In The Show:

🙏 Sponsor: WordPress.com

Build and manage professional sites with secure managed hosting on WordPress.com. Beautiful themes, built-in SEO, and payment tools, and access to over 50,000 plugins. Everything you need for your business, plus 24/7 support from WordPress experts.

🐦 You can follow Post Status and our guests on Twitter:

Raquel Manriquez (Community, ElegantThemes)
Carol Stambaugh (Co-Founder, RadiateWP)
Michelle Frechette (Director of Community Relations, Post Status)
Olivia Bisset (Intern, Post Status)

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Post Status Happiness Hour | Session Sixteen