Planning a JavaScript conference in only 10 weeks — Part 2
Tags: conferences, planning, events, javascript
Published: 2019-03-18 22:42:41

---
title: Planning a JavaScript conference in only 10 weeks — Part 2
published: true
description: Week 2 of serious planning is down! Here's an update of everything I was able to accomplish, as well as what's next up!
tags: conferences, planning, events, javascript
---

Last week, I published the backstory of [MagnoliaJS](https://magnoliajs.com), as well as what I, along with a ton of support from the community, had been able to accomplish in my first week of serious planning.

Well, here's an update of how last week went!

First off, I was able to raise another ~$2,000. I still _must_ raise at least another $10,000 within the next couple of weeks — reach out if you'd like to [sponsor](https://magnoliajs.com/sponsor)!

Thanks so much to [Echobind](https://echobind.com/), [DevRelate](https://devrelate.io), and [Infinite Red](https://infinite.red) for sponsoring!

I finally got a bank account open, so we actually can accept money now.

I ran a giveaway (sponsored by [Infinite Red](https://infinite.red)) to [ChainReactConf](https://infinite.red/ChainReactConf). Congrats again to Dallas for winning! I have one more ticket to giveaway — keep an eye on [our Twitter](https://twitter.com/MagnoliaJSconf)!

Next, I confirmed all Main Stage speakers! We have a really amazing lineup. I'm blown away — if you would have asked me 3 weeks ago if our lineup would be _this_ good, I would have say definitely not.

* Laurie Voss ([@seldo](https://twitter.com/seldo))
* Ken Wheeler ([@ken_wheeler](https://twitter.com/ken_wheeler))
* Jay Phelps ([@_jayphelps](https://twitter.com/_jayphelps))
* Tae'lur Alexis ([@taeluralexis](https://twitter.com/TaelurAlexis))
* Nader Dabit ([@dabit3](https://twitter.com/dabit3))
* Joe Previte ([@jsjoeio](https://twitter.com/jsjoeio))
* Gant Laborde ([@gantlaborde](https://twitter.com/GantLaborde))
* Kurt Kemple ([@kurtiskemple](https://twitter.com/kurtiskemple))
* Sia Karamalegos ([@thegreengeek](https://twitter.com/thegreengreek))
* Blake Watson ([@blakewatson](https://twitter.com/blakewatson))


Lastly, I was able to launch [Early Bird ticket sales](https://ti.to/magnoliajs/magnoliajs-2019) using [Tito](https://ti.to)! The page is a bit incomplete (I have to make some customizations tonight), but it's functional and we've sold our first tickets! I highly recommend Tito — it took me ~20 minutes from start to finish to be ready to accept money and sale tickets!

## Up Next

### High Priority

* Get more sponsors
* Add speakers to website (probably missing ticket sales because of this right now)
* Close [CFP](https://magnoliajs.com/speak) on Friday and start selecting the rest of the speakers
* Customize event page on Tito
* Contact emcee who was recommended to me
* Finalize and publish all workshops

### Regular Priority
* Contact meetup organizers in surrounding states and offer coupons, specifically:
 * Atlanta
 * Birmingham
 * Little Rock
 * Memphis
 * Nashville
 * New Orleans
* Finalize contract with photographer
* Generate speaker cards for Twitter using [React-Sketchapp](https://github.com/airbnb/react-sketchapp/blob/master/examples/profile-cards/src/main.js) (thanks a ton to [Peter Piekarczyk](https://twitter.com/peterpme) for showing me how I could use this to easily generate speaker card PNGs for Twitter!)
* Conduct another giveaway for ChainReact Conf

If you have any tips at all or would like to help out, please reach out!

And if you haven't already, go [purchase an Early Bird ticket](https://ti.to/magnoliajs/magnoliajs-2019) and come hang with us on April 18!