If you run a technical event, DevRel programme, or recurring meetup, I want to hear what your CFP/review/speaker workflow looks like today. Especially the parts still living in spreadsheets and private memory. Podium is open source: github.com/sameersegal/Podiu…

Sponsor sessions are not CFP submissions. They are paid entitlements that still need content approval, speaker onboarding, and schedule placement. If that lives in email while the CFP lives in a tool, the programme is already split. podiumstack.com/features?utm…

The build-vs-buy question changes when the workflow is strategic. If your programme process is mostly private judgment, exceptions, sponsor promises, and institutional memory, a rigid SaaS tool can become the constraint. Podium is for teams that want to own that workflow. github.com/sameersegal/Podiu…

Recurring meetups should not rebuild their speaker workflow every month. Intake, review, confirmations, sponsor slots, agenda publishing: same pattern, again and again. That is where owned workflow software starts to make sense. podiumstack.com/demo?utm_sou…

Most CFP tools stop at collecting proposals. The real work starts after that: conflicts, blocked speaker tasks, sponsor promises, and a publish button that should refuse to lie. That is why Podium ships with a messy demo, not an empty sandbox. podiumstack.com/demo?utm_sou…

Before AI, the organizer was the integration layer. They stitched together forms, spreadsheets, emails, speaker reminders, sponsor promises, and schedule changes. With AI, the insight is different: Give agents skills over the real workflow, so they can stitch the experience together. podiumstack.com/guides/agent…

For CFP/program chairs: “Leaning accept” and “leaning reject” should be queues, not private notes. Provisional decisions are still decisions. Modeling them removes the mental load of rereading comments or spreadsheets to remember intent. What would make this useful?

In the age of AI, every software bill needs to earn its keep. Conference program tools are often expensive, not customized to the workflow, and still lock up the data. We are building Podium as an open-source alternative for teams that want to own the workflow.