/event-signals

name: event-signals
description: Extract leads from conferences, meetups, hackathons, and podcasts by analyzing speaker lists, sponsor lists, hackathon entries, and podcast guests. Discovers events via Sessionize, Confs.tech, Meetup, Luma, ListenNotes, and Devpost. Looks back 90 days and forward 180 days.
user-invocable: true
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, WebFetch, WebSearch
argument-hint: [config-json-path]

Event Signals

Extract leads from the conference and events ecosystem. Events represent public declarations of priorities — a VP speaking about "scaling our infrastructure" is a stronger signal than a Reddit comment, and a company sponsoring a conference category has committed real budget.

When to Use

• User wants to find leads from conferences, meetups, or developer events
• User wants speaker lists, sponsor lists, or attendee data from events
• User mentions KubeCon, AWS re:Invent, DevOpsDays, or any industry conference
• User wants to find people who spoke or presented about relevant topics
• User asks about hackathon participants using relevant technologies
• User wants podcast guests who discussed relevant challenges
• User describes prospects who attend industry events or speak at conferences

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+ with `requests` and optionally `python-dotenv`
• Apify API token in `.env` (for Meetup and Luma — optional)
• ListenNotes API key in `.env` as `LISTENNOTES_API_KEY` (for podcast search — optional, free tier gives 300 req/mo)
• Working directory: the project root containing this skill

Phase 1: Collect Context

Step 1: Gather Product & ICP Information

If not already available from prior skills:

> "To find the right event-based leads, I need: > 1. **What does your product do?** (one-liner) > 2. **What industry/vertical are you in?** (this determines which conferences matter) > 3. **What technologies or keywords are in your space?** > 4. **Who is your ideal buyer?** (their role, what conferences they'd attend) > 5. **Any specific conferences or events you know about?** (names, URLs) > 6. **Are you registered on Luma or Meetup for any events?** (if yes, we may be able to access attendee lists)"

Phase 2: Discover Relevant Events

This is the most agent-driven phase. The agent must actively research to find the right events.

Step 2: Discover Conferences

Use multiple approaches in parallel:

**2a. Confs.tech (automated):** The tool can query confs.tech for conferences by topic. Common topics available: `devops`, `javascript`, `ruby`, `python`, `golang`, `rust`, `java`, `php`, `css`, `data`, `security`, `ux`, `android`, `ios`, `general`, `dotnet`, `elixir`, `networking`, `cloud`, `ai`.

**2b. Web search (agent-driven):** Search for conferences in the user's space. Queries to try:

• "[industry/technology] conferences 2026"
• "[technology] developer conference"
• "[vertical] summit 2026"
• "best [topic] conferences for engineers"
• "[competitor name] conference" (competitors often host their own events)

**2c. Check for Sessionize events:** Many tech conferences use Sessionize for their schedule. When you find a conference: 1. Check if their schedule page links to Sessionize 2. Look for URLs like `sessionize.com/api/v2/EVENTID` in the page source 3. If Sessionize is used, note the event ID — we can extract all speakers programmatically

**2d. Check for upcoming events (forward-looking 180 days):** Search for events happening in the next 6 months. The user wants to reach prospects BEFORE the event.

• Search: "[conference name] 2026 dates"
• Check conference websites for published schedules and speaker announcements
• CFP (Call for Papers) deadlines indicate upcoming conferences

**2e. Check for recent events (backward-looking 90 days):** Recent event speakers/sponsors still have the same priorities. Search for:

• "[conference name] 2025 2026 speakers"
• "[conference name] recap" or "what I learned at [conference]"

Step 3: Discover Meetups and Local Events

**3a. Meetup.com (automated):** Generate search queries based on the user's space:

• Technology-specific: "Kubernetes meetup", "WebRTC meetup"
• Industry-specific: "DevOps meetup", "cloud native meetup"
• Location-specific (if user has a target geography)

**3b. Luma (automated via `matyascimbulka/luma-event-scraper`):** Search Luma for events by category and city. The Luma actor accepts `slugs` (categories) and `cities` instead of free-text search.

• Available categories: `tech`, `food`, `ai`, `arts`, `climate`, `fitness`, `wellness`, `crypto`
• City slugs: `san-francisco`, `new-york`, `london`, etc.
• Luma is popular for: AI/ML community events, startup demo days, developer community gatherings, tech talks and fireside chats

**3c. Ask the user about their registrations:** > "Are you registered for any events on Luma or Meetup? If you're registered for a Luma event, the attendee list is often publicly visible — I can extract it. For some Meetup events, RSVP lists are public too."

Step 4: Discover Podcasts

**4a. Identify relevant podcasts:** Do a web search to find podcasts in the user's space:

• "[technology/industry] podcast"
• "best podcasts for [role/topic]"
• "[competitor name] podcast" (competitors often appear as guests)

**4b. Search for specific episodes:** Use ListenNotes to search for episodes by keyword:

• "[competitor] review" or "[competitor] experience"
• "[problem space] challenges"
• "[technology] at scale"
• "building [thing the product does]"

Step 5: Discover Hackathons

**5a. Devpost:** Search Devpost for hackathons with projects using relevant technologies:

• Go to devpost.com and search for hackathon names in the user's space
• Note the hackathon slug (URL path) for the tool to scrape

**5b. Other hackathon platforms:**

• MLH season events (mlh.io/seasons)
• Company-hosted hackathons (many companies run their own)
• University hackathons (if targeting younger engineers)

Step 6: Present Discovery Results

Present all