Events Playbook

This playbook is the operational guide for the Ecosystem & Events role at HTW. If you're new to this role, start here. It covers the three types of events HTW manages, the tools and resources you'll need, and where to go for everything.

Overview

Events during HTW fall into three categories, each with a distinct relationship and level of HTW involvement:

Ecosystem Events are hosted independently by members of Hawaii's tech community — founders, companies, nonprofits, universities, and other ecosystem players. HTW drives visibility to their events, supports them with guides and resources, and reviews submissions. We are a platform for them, not a co-producer.

Sponsor / Feature Events are hosted by HTW's official sponsors and partners. These are also independently planned and executed by the sponsor, but HTW plays a more active support role — helping with planning, introductions, ideation, and ensuring their event is set up for success. Higher-tier sponsors receive more hands-on involvement.

HTW Anchor Events are the events HTW itself produces — the Executive Summit (with Opening Ceremony), the Official Mixer, and any keynotes or talks. These are the events that anchor the week for the full ecosystem and require direct ownership from the HTW team.

All events, including HTW's own, go through the same submission process and tools. We dogfood our own product.

Key Principles

We dogfood our process. HTW uses the same Event Host FAQ & Guide, Event Planning Template, and Event Marketing Template that we provide to all event hosts. When planning any event — ecosystem, sponsor, or HTW — these guides are the starting point.

Ecosystem event hosts are independent. They own their planning, costs, venue, and execution. Our job is to make it easy for them to succeed — not to run their events for them.

Sponsors get white-glove support. Sponsors have a closer relationship with HTW. We proactively check in, offer help, and make introductions. The level of involvement scales with sponsorship tier.

HTW anchor events set the tone for the week. The Executive Summit, Mixer, and any keynote or talk we produce must be excellent. They are the most visible things we do.

Your Key Tools

You will need access to all of the following. If you don't have access, contact Michael.

• Submissions Dashboard — (requires admin login) — where you review, approve, and reject event submissions
• HTW Email — aloha@hawaiitechweek.com via Gmail — for all host communications
• HTW CRMish (internal Google Sheet) — for tracking event hosts, sponsors, and outreach pipeline
• HTW Content Calendar (internal Google Sheet) — for coordinating marketing and content around events
• Luma — luma.com/hitechweek — the events calendar platform; events are added here once approved
• Google Drive — internal planning docs, event templates, and historical records
• HTW Website — event submission form at hawaiitechweek.com/host-event

Key Documents

Read these before doing anything else in the role:

• Event Host FAQ & Guide — the primary guide for all event hosts, including HTW
• Event Submission & Calendar — submission process and Luma calendar setup
• Event Planning Template — fill-in-the-blank planning template
• Event Marketing Template — marketing checklists and copy templates
• Ecosystem Events Playbook — how to recruit, review, and support ecosystem event hosts
• Sponsor Events Playbook — how to support sponsor events
• Anchor Events Playbook — how we plan and run HTW anchor events

Getting Help From Michael

Michael is the GM and founder of HTW. He is available for questions, escalations, and decisions that fall outside your lane. The best way to reach him is via the team chat. For anything time-sensitive — sponsor escalations, event approval edge cases, venue or vendor decisions for HTW events — flag it immediately. Don't sit on open questions.

For routine decisions (approving a standard event submission, sending a follow-up email to a host, updating content in the guides), use your judgment and act. You don't need approval for the day-to-day.

Event Submission Flow

Understanding the end-to-end flow helps you work the system correctly:

1. Host submits via hawaiitechweek.com/host-event.
2. Submission saved to the database with status submitted. A confirmation email is automatically sent to the host (and any co-hosts), with aloha@ CC'd — creating a shared email thread for follow-up.
3. You review the submission in the Admin Submissions Dashboard. You can see all form details, filter by status, and search by host/title.
4. You approve or reject. The host automatically receives an email notification with next steps (if approved) or feedback (if rejected). Both emails CC aloha@.
5. If approved, the host creates a Luma event and adds Hawaii Tech Week as a Host with Manager status. They can provide the Luma URL via the email thread.
6. Calendar placement — once HTW has Manager access on the Luma event, it appears on both the HTW website calendar and the Luma calendar.

Event changes after submission: Hosts email aloha@ with any changes to event details. There is no self-service edit portal yet — changes are handled via email.

For the full event host guide, see Event Host FAQ & Guide. For submission details and calendar setup, see Event Submission & Calendar.