Jeremiah Owyang saw a signal in April 2023 that most people missed: generative AI was about to explode, but there was no central gathering place for the people building it.
Eight months later, Llama Lounge was the room everyone wanted to be in.
He’s the General Partner at Blitzscaling Ventures and runs one of Silicon Valley’s largest AI gatherings solo, with AI agents handling logistics. His events pull hundreds of CEOs, VCs, and government officials into headquarters at Amazon, Zoom, and SAP.
At Please, we’re building the largest library that takes people from idea to reality. Jeremiah’s method for building community is the template: see the opening, move immediately, build in public, iterate based on what works.
Before this, he was early to every major tech wave for two decades: one of the first tech bloggers, senior analyst at Forrester Research, founding partner at Altimeter Group. He’s professionally trained to spot trends and move fast and he was not going to let the promise of AI pass him by.
Yes, he brings a conch shell to start every gathering. Yes, it’s memorable. It’s a way of standing out while creating value.
Most community builders optimize for themselves first. Jeremiah inverts it.
“You should not focus on you winning first. When everyone else wins, I get pulled into the good deals and relationships.”
He builds events where investors discover founders they’d never meet otherwise, founders connect with ideal investors and customers, and corporate leaders find technologies to acquire. Everyone leaves with tangible value.
He then becomes the critical connection point without ever selling himself. The opportunities flow to him automatically.
“Listen for signals, then act immediately.”
At his first events, Jeremiah didn’t guess what people wanted. He watched what they did:
People pulled out laptops to demo products → He added demo time to the agenda
Attendees kept requesting introductions → He restructured for better networking
Companies asked to sponsor → He created partnership tiers
Each cycle created more value, which attracted better attendees, which revealed new signals. This is how network effects compound in real-time.
First job: Selling flowers on the street corner
Still uses skills from: Being a jazz musician - practicing, call and response with crowds, knowing when to use theory vs. improvisation
“If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything else.”
Jeremiah’s at the gym at 5am, before the rest of the world wakes up. “I try to fail before dawn, so I know the rest of the day is going to be easy.”
That early workout floods his system with natural dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins: the chemical foundation that makes everything else possible.
Digital productivity tools or analog? Digital
Favorite underrated thing about Airstream life? It forces minimalism
“The headlines are designed to grab your attention. The data does show that 30-40% of jobs will be impacted by AI. However, new roles are going to be created, and AI will help you be more productive. You should lean in.”
His advice: Focus on honing skills AI can’t do effectively: leadership, community building, presenting on stage. Use AI to handle logistics and scale yourself.
Follow Jeremiah here. And Llama Lounge here.
Who’s next? Reply and tell us who you'd like to hear from.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.