If you’ve been to a PORCH event, you already know: we don’t do panels. We don’t do pitches. We don’t do two-hour talks with cold coffee and colder conversations.
But let me tell you a quick story that reminded me why we do things differently.
At the end of a recent event, we were wrapping up with some casual feedback – asking folks what they liked, what they’d change, and what they’d want more of.
One gentleman raised his hand and said something that honestly stopped me in my tracks:
“I didn’t expect the event to be like this.”
Naturally, we asked, “What do you mean?”
He told us that he’s so used to events where you just sit and listen to a panel or a parade of speakers. He said, sure, sometimes the content is good... but it’s passive. You leave with a few notes, maybe one new connection, and that’s it.
He had never experienced an event like the one he was standing in. One where the room is buzzing with real conversations. Where people are actually meeting each other and not just exchanging business cards. Where no one is selling to you. And where the whole thing is designed to make you feel seen, included, and welcomed.
That moment? It was everything I needed to hear.
Because from day one, we made a promise:
❌ We will never sell your time through sponsor presentations.
❌ We will never pitch you.
❌ We will never put you in front of a panel just to check a box.
❌ We will never waste your night with something you could’ve watched on YouTube.
And we do this with intention, especially because our audience is full of immigrant entrepreneurs who’ve spent their whole journey being pitched to, talked at, or ignored completely.
Too many events in the ecosystem are failing entrepreneurs. The worst part? Most people don’t even realize it because they’ve never seen anything else. Just like that gentleman said: he didn’t expect anything different, because no one had shown him there could be something different.
Let’s do better.
It’s not hard.
You just have to care.
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