My whole life changed in conference rooms.

The connections, the lessons, the doors that opened . . almost all of it started in a room full of people.

But here's the thing nobody admits about those rooms.

I was always all in . . And always missing something else.

I'd be locked into the talk I came for, trying to manually capture notes on everything being shared . . while the person I needed to meet was out in the hallway without me.

OR

I'd be in that hallway, fully in a conversation that could open a door . . while the interesting talk I came for slipped by down the hall.

Have you ever felt that?

In the room . . with one ear already down the hall . .

For years I thought that was just the price of showing up.

You can’t connect deeply AND capture everything.

So you pick one, and you lose the other.

But lately, a different question has been keeping me up . .

What would change if you knew every room remembered?

Picture it.

You walk in knowing nothing will be lost.

Every talk, every insight, every name said on stage . . held for you, waiting whenever you need it.

What would you do differently?

Here's what I would do.

I'd stop capturing.

My phone would stop being a notepad I'm chained to . . and become an extension of the room's memory I can glance at when I actually choose to.

A quick look to catch what I missed . .

. . Asking the room's memory whatever I want to know

Then back up, into the room . .

I'd give the person speaking in front of me my whole face, my whole attention . . because the room had memory.

And I get to be fully present with the people around me.

. . Walking out of each room ready to carry everything I learned straight into the next one, already a step ahead.

Here's what I actually believe.

The best thing that ever happened to me at a conference didn't happen on the stage.

It happened off to the side, in a conversation I almost walked right past.

Somebody remembered me. And later, in a room I wasn't even in, they vouched for me.

When I think back to that moment . . I still can't believe how much it changed my life.

. . but that’s a story for another day 👀

I’ve witnessed how notes keep the record, and people open the doors.

And for years, you had to choose which one to hold onto . . because to catch what's being said on stage, you look away . . and the person right there with you might already be gone.

I've written about it before:

You cannot amplify a signal that does not exist.

And at a conference, that signal is the impression you leave during an in-person interaction . .

The person who walks away thinking, “wow . . I need to connect you with someone!”

And when the room remembers for you, you get both . . the full context of every session, and the presence to be unforgettable in the moment.

That's how more people stay fully present with the ones who can change their lives.

Enabling conferences to remember, so you never have to choose between being present and keeping up.

You stay human with those in front of you . .

While the room levels you up in the background.

In a world racing to automate everything, I keep landing on the same truth.

The only moat left is human connection.

So I'm building something to keep it from slipping away.

A few months back, I asked you what's actually worth building:

For me, the answer was the thing that's bugged me at conferences for over a decade . . so I set out to build the fix . . on nights after my 9-5, on weekends, and on tray tables flying across the country between meetings.

DÍMELO is built for in-person events.

It listens to every session as it happens, lets you ask it what you missed, and keeps the whole room searchable long after you leave.

Missed the middle 10 minutes of a talk while you had to take a call?

Ask DÍMELO, and it'll tell you before you even sit back down.

Organizers bring it into the room.

Attendees scan a QR code and they're in, in English or Spanish.

My goal now is to partner with the organizers who run these rooms, and give them one that finally remembers.

And very soon, DÍMELO powers its first real room, full of real people.

I'm SO excited about this!

I'm going to keep documenting all of it . . the wins, the roadblocks, the honest grind of turning software I built myself into real revenue.

But the invitation I left you with still stands.

The barrier is gone for you too.

So . . what will you build? 🙏🏼

The best part of this story hasn't happened yet, don't miss it!

If it's your first time here, welcome to DÍMELO, the newsletter where I've been building all of this out loud.

Subscribe and you'll see what I'm building here first, before any of it hits social.

I'll keep showing up with the signals, stories, and lessons that matter . . . straight up!

I'm grateful we're on this journey together!

#InThisTogether

- John Canela

P.S. If you run events, or you know someone who does, hit reply. I'd love to show you what a room that remembers can do!