Deep Dive: How I planned a sold-out event in 5 weeks (and what I’d do differently)

Everything I've learned from running an event in 5 weeks

Hey all, this is the first monthly deep dive in the new format. If you're short for time (or driving) check out the audio version of me reading it to you below. 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been deep in the planning and execution of our first in-person event with celebrity hair stylist, Kaye Dash. It’s been a full-circle moment, going from online community building to physical spaces that bring people together.

But what I’ve really been focussed on is this question:

How do we make an event more than just a moment?

How do we turn it into something lasting, for our audience, for our partners, and for ourselves?

This months deep-dive is a detailed look at how we approached this first event, what worked (and didn’t), and the intentional decisions behind every part of the process that led to almost every ticket selling.

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💫 A last-minute opportunity we couldn’t ignore

This event wasn’t part of our long-term strategy.

While I had decided that we needed to support the stylist community with in-person events, I hadn’t decided on a launch date.

This event actually started as a conversation about a podcast.

Earlier this year, Kaye and I had planned to record together, but our schedules clashed and we didn’t have an opportunity to book in a time. Fast forward to mid-April, and she messaged me out of the blue to say she would be in London for the first week of June.

I looked at the calendar, then looked at my to-do list.

No sponsor. No venue. No plan.

But I said: “Let’s do the podcast and go one better — let’s do an event.”

We had 5 weeks to pull it all together.

Kaye was only in London for one week. That meant every detail — venue, food, timing — had to revolve around that narrow window.

We chose a Sunday, aiming for a calm, brunch-style vibe. Sundays are also quieter in the event world, which meant less competition and more calm.

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💭 The real challenge

I’ve seen it happen a lot, especially in beauty, business, and community spaces.

An event launches. There’s buzz. People attend.

And then… nothing.

No follow-up. No real support. No next step.

We didn’t want that.

So, the challenge I set the team was to create a meaningful experience that could act as a launchpad for a deeper, longer-term partnership — and give our community something that felt worth their time and money.

In the short term, we plan to run these events quarterly (giving our team enough time to pull them off) but eventually, becoming a monthly event series that is a staple in the textured hair space.

Our goals were simple but layered:

• Host a powerful, in-person gathering with Kaye Dash that delivered real value

• Test elements we could turn into repeatable formats

• Lay the groundwork for a longer-term brand collaboration

• Learn what actually converts when it comes to filling a room

And to be honest… we did a lot of experimenting. Some of it paid off in big ways. Some didn’t.

Here’s what we learned.

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What actually made a difference

✅ We built an experience, not just an event

One thing I knew from the beginning was that I didn’t want people to come, take notes, and leave.

I wanted them to feel something.

In person events are a lot of effort on both sides. For an attendee to leave the comfort of their home and travel to an event that has yet to build a reputation, takes a lot of thought. For us as a team, events are all consuming, giving us little time for anything else in between.