How 35 people paid 292 days early for an event that doesn't exist yet

Plus the exact strategy and psychology you can steal

I love hosting events.

But…

Getting people to commit to events right now feels impossible. Money's tight, everyone's overwhelmed, and most events end up half-empty despite months of promotion.

So, yesterday I decided to shift things up and try a completely different approach.

And in 12 hours, 35 (/50) people paid for an event that won't happen for another 292 days.

An event that barely exists beyond a placeholder name and a vision.

In this article, I’m going behind the scenes to share how I validated my event idea in 12 hours and eliminated all the financial risk in the process.

In a nutshell:

• 3 weeks ago, I had a random idea for a conference (Con Con).

• I asked people to sign up to a waitlist and asked them questions about what would make the experience worth it.

• I decided to cap the event at 50 people and run a 12-Hour experiment:

  • If 15 people booked in? Con Con was on.

  • If 14 or less? Con Con was canned.

• At 8am yesterday, tickets went on sale.

• At 8.21am, 15 tickets were sold (WOO HOO!)

• As of writing, only 15 tickets remain.

• Total marketing spend: $0.

Everything is here – the strategy, the psychology, the tools. Take it, adapt it, use it to launch your own events.

But first…

Why I resisted hosting another ticketed event

The traditional event model is brutal.

You pay a deposit for the venue, set the date, create beautiful marketing materials, then spend months desperately trying to fill seats.

You carry 100% of the financial risk, the emotional stress, and the crushing uncertainty of "Will anyone actually show up?"

I've watched brilliant people exhaust themselves chasing attendees.

That’s why I commend anyone with the courage to host live events.

So I resisted.

Until this happened…

The accidental beginning

In a moment of randomness while out walking (where many of these ideas just happen to land), I posted a fake image of the phrase "Con Con" on Instagram as a joke – a play on "Consulting Conference" (even though I don’t think I can use that name because Hamish and Andy beat me to it).

But my DMs lit up, "Wait, is this a thing?”

That's when I realised I might be onto something.

The next logical step?

Set up a waitlist to see if this thing actually had legs before I got too carried away (I have a tendency to jump in way too quickly!)

A few days later, I was reviewing responses. I asked this question, “What would make this event a no-brainer for you?”

One of the responses read: "Trust in Leanne and all that she does. Ask no further questions."

First of all, thank you! And I promise this won't be another Fyre Festival. I actually plan to (over)deliver what this event offers.

But it also made me realise this:

She was ready to jump in based on trust alone, not because she needed speakers confirmed or schedules detailed.

Suddenly, I realised I'd been approaching this completely backwards.

Wrong question: "How do I convince people to come to my event?"

Right (slightly obnoxious) question: "Do people trust me enough to commit to something that barely exists?"

That mindset shift led to the 12-hour validation experiment that changed everything.

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The Kickstarter-inspired method for events

• The traditional approach: Host takes 100% of the risk, attendees take none.

• The new approach: Share the love risk (both financial and emotional).

Think about it – if your event succeeds, everyone in that room gets value. So why should you carry all the financial risk and emotional burden alone?

Here’s what I mapped out:

The setup

• Minimum viable commitment: 15 people in 12 hours (or the event gets cancelled… Well it never really started I guess but…just try to not get too emotionally invested in your idea. That’s hard! I was so keen to start exploring venues and options)

• Maximum capacity: 50 people (hard cap, no exceptions)

• Timeline: One specific day, 8 AM to 8 PM

• Price structure: Lowest price for bold action-takers, increases after validation period.

What I had defined:

• Location: Gold Coast, Australia

• Dates: June 16-18, 2026

• Vision: Mastermind format, reveal-your-business-secrets, build our skills so we can offer clients more, practical focus, anti-conference approach, luxe tropical courage vibe

• Target: 50 consultants/ solopreneurs / founders of professional services businesses

What I deliberately left undefined:

• Specific venue

• Detailed agenda

• Confirmed speakers

• Exact format

I gave people just enough to understand the vision, but not enough to analysis-paralysis their way out of commitment.

Here’s the tech stack I used:

• Tally (not Google Forms) for waitlist: Feels fresh

• Luma for tickets: Clean, minimalist, built for events

• Loom for event detail videos: I find I communicate better through a walk-through video, than I do through text (so, thanks for being here, reading this!)

• Sora by Open AI to create fun badges (example below)

• Notion to host social media sample share text posts/the badges

These little badges are cute, right?

Of course, tech is great, but it’s all how you use it.

Here’s the psychology behind the Kickstarter approach

1. Create real scarcity (not fake scarcity)

I didn't want those fake countdown timers that reset when you refresh the page. I created genuine scarcity – once we hit 50 people, that's it.

Plus, the size of the group 50 people) means we can share secrets, and that’s the real value of getting together: Transparency, a willingness to learn from each other’s wins/mistakes.

The more people you have in a room, the less likely you’ll share those details.

The 12-hour window also had scarcity baked in, it was a do-or-die moment for Con Con. I was originally planning on a 24-hour window but I realised I wanted to have this decision done and dusted. And most of the tickets sold in a 3.5-hour window.

2. Attracting Bold Action-Takers

The ticket was literally called the “Bold Action-Taker" ticket.

I personally love (and admire) hanging out with people who don't need every detail spelled out, who can work with ambiguity, who are okay with some risk, and who trust the vision over the logistics.

I priced it to reward people who leap in without knowing all the details (basically, the more information you need, the money $$ you will pay).

Controversial?

Perhaps.

But also: I believe if consultants are to remain relevant, attract amazing opportunities, you need to jump in, even when you don’t have the complete picture.

I avoided using the word ‘early-bird’. Even though you save money, it’s still not a compelling reason to sign up immediately. I know this from my own experience and my lack of commitment to purchasing during early-bird offers.

You need to offer your guests more compelling reasons to Buy Now.

3. The only way to validate an idea is to ask for a credit card

Everyone says they love your event idea when it costs them nothing but attention.

The only true validation is when someone opens their wallet. Cat Matson, fellow Con-Conner shared this lovely post on LinkedIn about idea validation. We both love Rob Fitzpatrick’s book, The Mom Test.

Okay, so that’s the tech, the idea, the framework.

Here’s what happened yesterday:

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Leanne’s launch day strategy

You don’t need big numbers

You might be surprised to read that I only had 78 people on my event waitlist.

I didn't blast my main email list of thousands of people because I wanted to reward those who'd already shown interest already, not chase people who hadn't engaged with the concept.

The communication strategy

• No public event links posted anywhere

• I sent one email to the waitlist with a link at 8am. I made a decision NOT to follow-up with a “Oh hi, there’s one hour to go” check-in message because for this specific event, I don’t want to attract people who need reminders. Again, controversial?

• "Message me for the secret link" approach

• Screenshots and real-time updates on Instagram Stories

• Social proof through attendee excitement and posting (that was organic and unexpected but so lovely, thank you!). It also connected guests early, and brought them on the emotional rollercoaster.

• The Loom video touch: A 7-minute personal video for early supporters explaining the vision conversationally

• At 8pm, commit to showing up on LinkedIn live to share the results of the day, almost like an election night report. Watch the replay.

My phone battery died with all the hype around Con Con yesterday. Thanks for sharing the journey, Sarah!

Setting the event vision (when you don’t have the details)

In my Loom video to early supporters, I talked up the Con Con vision, sharing elements like:

• Deep dive workshops where you work ON your business, not just listen about it

• Small group masterminds with radical transparency ("What are people actually doing out there?")

• Sessions exposing real pricing and proposals

• A curated mix: experienced consultants mentoring newer ones, creating that valuable bell curve of expertise

• This is also about creating actual partnerships and offers together.

Other random things I learnt while crafting this:

• Monday/Tuesday are unpopular event days; Thursday/Friday preferred

• Speakers matter less than format and connections (are you surprised by that, too?)

• Definitely ask: "What would make this event a no-brainer for you?" and incorporate those responses into your communications and event planning (and obviously, I will deliver on that).

• Actually block out a whole day to respond to questions and social media hype!! (I had a few client meetings on, a vet visit, and also had to get through my 2 x daily workouts)

• Mystery creates buzz (I hid attendee numbers on the event page during the 12-hour window)

• People buy from people they trust, even with minimal details

• Bold action-takers attract more bold action-takers

• It helps to have friendtors/expert advisors via Whatsapp voice note, text, calls, IG DMs (you know who you are!) as you work through ideas. Also; shout-out to Sally Porteous for her perspective as I was working through how to make this concept land.

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Why this approach works (and when it doesn’t)

I won’t use this approach every time. I think it’s a card you can play every now and then.

But I do think this approach works well when:

• You have an existing community that trusts you

• You're offering genuine value, not just networking

• You can create real scarcity (limited by venue, your capacity, or format)

• You're willing to actually cancel if validation fails

This doesn't work when:

• You're unknown in your market

• Your event is easily replaceable

• You can't deliver on the trust people place in you/ make too big of a promise.

…and of course:

NONE OF THIS would happen if it wasn’t for the brilliant connitted committed Con Conners who are locked in for this amazing time in 292 days!

What made this possible wasn't the clever tactics – it was the community I've been building for years of interesting, generous, intelligent, talented, dynamic people, who are up for fun + valuable adventures.

My Red Carpet Campers (we’ve become great friends, and we usually send 50+ messages on Whatsapp daily!) were incredible. Many booked in the first half hour, creating immediate momentum that carried the entire day.

I don’t take your trust lightly and the brain is whirring with the possibilities of what we can co-create together.

Final thought

Most people planning events are asking the wrong question. They ask "How do I get people to come?" when they should ask, "Do people actually want this enough to commit?"

The 12-hour validation model answers that question definitively.

Just get used to the nerves on launch day (my Oura ring tells me I’ve experienced more stress today).

I hope this article helps you as you go about creating more great human connections, friendships, ideas and impact through your events.

If you know someone who's been struggling to fill events or validate business ideas, please share this with them.

Hit the heart 💙 if you found this article helpful / something resonated for you, and let me know in the comments.

🌴

Signing off,

Leanne “What a day!” Hughes

p.s. On that note: It’s official! Con Con is happening June 16-18, 2026, on the Gold Coast. 15 seats remain.