Community

I started my career in experiential marketing—producing large-scale events for some of the world’s most iconic brands. But what sets me apart isn’t just that I can throw a great party. I build experiences the way I build products: with clear intent, end-to-end design, and an outcome that moves the needle.

I’ve used events to:

• Build engaged communities from scratch
• Unlock enterprise partnerships
• Test product-market fit
• Land strategic deals
• De-risk new verticals
• Unblock internal org debt
• Close the gap between brand and pipeline

Events are never an afterthought, they’re a strategic lever.

I Build Experiences That Move the Needle

Some of my favorite experiences I’ve produced and led:

• VR World — The largest immersive mixed-reality experience in North America (12,000+ sq ft)

• LINE App Concept Store — Times Square flagship pop-up, later turned into LINE’s North American HQ

• Hackathons — NASA, PANYNJ, Dwolla, Videri, and vertical-specific industry sprints

• Music Festival Activations — Gov Ball, Electric Zoo, and more

• SXSW Activations — Branded activations, guerilla campaigns, panels, and advisory board member

• Pop-ups and Installations — Intel, Samsung VIP Lounges, NFT NYC

• Founder-focused IRL — curated happy hours, talks, and curated salons that just hit

• Meticulously curated IRL magic — Barbie-themed dinner parties, Mac & Cheese bake-offs, ice cream salons, epic birthdays, and themed dinners that double as social experiments in connection, aesthetics, and storytelling.

Founder + Operators Series

• I host a monthly event series called Founder + Operators: a curated community of the people building behind the scenes. These aren’t just networking events. They’re frictionless collisions of talent, trust, and opportunity.

  I also host curated panels, parties, happy hours, and off-the-record dinners, designed to deepen relationships, not just trade LinkedIn DMs.

• Want in? Get on the list 

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I don’t treat community as fluff, it’s infrastructure. And when done right, events become growth engines.

If you're a brand/ company and want to explore how events can help you with your goals, let's chat: carleen@mile-26.com