in 2023 I founded SIGNAL with my brother, Carter. SIGNAL is a grassroots house and techno event company in Ottawa, Toronto, and London, England. I've contributed to our 60+ events end-to-end, using my 9+ years of event coordination experience to plan SIGNAL's event schedule, source venues & vendors, and ensure the guests have a positive experience that will keep them coming back.
I worked as a content marketing manager at WebMarketers (Ottawa based) at the same time I started SIGNAL. this position taught me how to operate based on quantifiable metrics, the importance of quickly filtering what works and what doesn't, and ensuring that cost maps to value. WebMarketers also taught me the "many hats" approach characteristic of fast-moving start-ups.
TL;DR: most marketers can't autonomously facilitate events end-to-end. most event coordinators can't think like a marketer. I do both.
based in Ottawa. available to start following two weeks' notice. excited to be applying for the field growth marketer role.
see below for how I would approach building up the field growth marketer role and workflow at turbopuffer.
| when | what | call |
|---|---|---|
| sept, wk 1–2 | current event systems analyzed + vendor/venue database created + metrics & event goals determined | build |
| sept, wk 3–4 | relaxed mixer in SF, adjacent to the AI Conference. the ICP and current clients are attending; potential to co-host with clients | host |
| oct 12–14 | AI Engineer NYC: booth + after-party + pre-booked meetings | tentpole |
| oct 22–23 | MCPCon, San Jose: scout sponsorship; dinner only if 8+ target accounts confirm | probe |
| nov | second SF dinner, one deliberate variation so iteration is measurable + first customer co-hosted dinner | host |
| dec | customer-appreciation dinners (SF + NYC) + internal puffer event | host |
| dec | dinner-in-a-box playbook v1 + 2026 report + 2026 event history indexed | automate |
| jan | 2027 H1 calendar locked: tentpoles committed, deposits scheduled, no-list attached | plan |
| feb | six-month verdict: what works/doesn't + 2027 field calendar + budget proposal + team trained on the playbook | prove |
| criterion | the question | weight |
|---|---|---|
| icp density | what share of the room builds search, RAG, or agent memory in production? | 30 |
| list access | do we see attendees? | 20 |
| projected cpqc | expected all-in cost ÷ expected qualified conversations | 20 |
| customer overlap | are existing puffers in the room to help with the talking? | 15 |
| demo surface | can the product literally run in front of people? | 10 |
| timing | does the event land near a big update or market moment? | 5 |
kill rules
- projected cost per qualified conversation (CPQC) above 2× the portfolio median → kill.
- no attendee-list access and no owned side-event potential → kill.
- can't name ten target accounts attending → kill.
- any format that misses its goal card twice → killed until something material changes.
- any sponsorship whose primary deliverable is a logo → kill on sight.
defined before the first event and reviewed quarterly.
efficiency
- CPQC: the primary optimization target. all-in costs, including my own travel.
- cost per attributed signup.
- cost per attendee.
engagement
- qualified conversations, defined as: five-plus minutes, with an engineer or technical decision-maker at an ICP-fit company, about their actual workload (logged same day).
- pre-booked meetings held.
- dinner acceptance rate (invites → yes).
- demo interactions where someone else's hands touched the keyboard.
product-led
- event-attributed signups (UTM / promo / credit code).
- 30-day activation: attributed signups that run a real workload.
- self-serve conversion and expansion inside 90 days.
pipeline
- opportunities influenced, 90-day window, multi-touch.
- event-sourced pipeline reported at 180 days.
- closed-won reported at two quarters' lag, clearly flagged as a lagging read.
qualitative
- unprompted mentions: "people still talk about it," + inbound references to an event two-plus weeks later.
- engineer objections logged and routed to the team.
- customer quotes captured (with consent).
- follow-up asks ("can you intro me to…") as a proxy for room quality.
CRM. inherited from what's established, adapt if needed (Attio is my pick for its malleability and fit with my metrics).
event reg. Luma. ICP already has it, good data export, and handles everything cleanly.
event capture. Notion/Tally/Airtable conversation log (name, company, what they're building, next step) synced to CRM. QR codes with event UTMs. credit code cards. Ramp/Brex card for event budget to determine cost metrics.
target lists / intel. Clay/Vendelux. Clay is already used by tpuf. Vendelux provides event list access.
automate whatever can be automated
recap
you can reach me at: