When we decided to host The Anaheim Rooftop (Not-a-Party) Party 2025 (aka: TARP25) as part of Atlassian Team 25 Anaheim, it wasn’t just about throwing another “fun drinks and selfies” gathering. It was about solving a growing problem in the Atlassian ecosystem: events are getting painfully expensive, while the return on investment for both sponsors and attendees alike is often underwhelming at best.
We’ve all seen it: five competing happy hours in one night (some of them side by side on the same garden terrace 😱), partners spending thousands on expo booths that attract the wrong people, and sponsors walking away wondering if they just bought a lottery ticket instead of a business opportunity. Everything mentioned is some type of event strategy.
But is it successful beyond the fancy catering and craft beers?
And with Fun Man raging like a Boomer that Partners need to do more co-hosting collaboratively and less competing in the Happy Hour arena, we decided something had to change…
Moreover, throughout all of our work as Strategic Growth Coaches - especially in our long-term contract relationships - Events & Networking (in particular Partnerships) has to be frequently addressed within the weekly workshops because eventing happens so much throughout the year.
“Should we Sponsor a major event: yes/no? Whether or not we Sponsor it, we need more! Should we put on an extra Happy Hour or Partner Party: yes/no? But they’re so EXPENSIVE! With little to no ROI!”
And whilst our clients already have the answers, they still request our assistance and help… it’s these requests that triggered TARP25.
The Value Before the Rooftop
TARP25 wasn’t an event that started when the lights went on; it started months before; seven months to be precise. During sessions with our prospects and clients, we identified that they absolutely wanted to do something at Anaheim for Atlassian Team 25, but needed to be mindful of both investment and the ROI.
We worked closely with them over time to identify exactly who they needed to meet and built a delegate recruitment strategy around that.
Instead of relying on chance encounters, we actively targeted consultants, engineers, and decision-makers from the right companies and made sure they had a reason to attend.
Our pre-event Event Project Workshops provided collaborators with the opportunity to align on their goals, share market insights, and refine their talking points. This meant that by the time the rooftop opened, our partners weren’t figuring things out over their first drink: they were already in execution mode, with clarity on who they could talk to and what to offer.
Also, we allowed not only banners, but any swag or promotional materials collaborators wanted to give away. It felt like a non-formal mini-conference, and we loved every second of it (even with Andy and Teodora spending almost 2.5 hours checking in and greeting people downstairs: many lessons learned!).
This is expertly demonstrated in our collaboration with SoftComply over the years, and we were so happy we finally delivered on all those ideas and plans from our conversations:
“In today’s corporate climate, where event budgets are scrutinized and ROI is often questionable, the concept behind TARP25 was refreshing and necessary. Instead of competing for attention in a crowded expo hall or hosting yet another “fun drinks” gathering, Andy and his team created an environment that was truly about purposeful connections and meaningful conversations. For Compliance Alliance - an initiative of SoftComply, Izymes, Opus Guard, and Polymetis Apps, TARP25 was a natural fit. For several years, SoftComply has collaborated with Izymes to bring compliance-focused workshops to Team events, helping companies navigate the challenges of regulated industries on Atlassian Cloud. This year, TARP25 provided us with the perfect platform to expand that collaboration, increase visibility, and showcase how Compliance Alliance can support business users in regulated industries.
What we loved most was that it wasn’t just about visibility; it was about intentional networking. The curated introductions and structured follow-up meant that our conversations didn’t get lost in the noise, but instead turned into actionable opportunities. That kind of strategic event design is rare and it’s exactly what makes this concept so valuable to partners like us.”
Curated Networking, Not Just Mingling
Most networking events work on the “throw everyone in a room and hope magic happens” model. We don’t believe in hope as a strategy. At TARP25, introductions were curated and intentional. We connected the right sponsor with the right delegate at the right moment, cutting through the noise and awkward small talk. By the way, we also minimized the noise by turning the music volume down, which everyone appreciated.
Instead of spending half the evening searching for relevant people, our guests walked straight into conversations that mattered. More quality connections in less time = more actual business potential.
This is absolutely a success criteria we developed with our main clients the Autumn before during their Coaching Workshops.
Even the mighty Cookie the Collabsoftie was mightily impressed:
“I went into this sponsorship as a Collaborator just helping out a mate, but in the end was really happy with how I could just turn up to an event I was heavily involved in, with a good turn-out with the right audience, and not have to do any of the work. In particular, I don’t think I have been to an after-party in the past few years and met so many new faces. It was clear to see that Fun Inc really had that targeted audience goal in mind throughout”
The Follow-Through After the Rooftop
Our post-event workshops (some of which were recorded the morning after TARP25 as an immediate follow-up) were designed to ensure that those golden rooftop conversations didn’t fade into forgotten LinkedIn messages. We helped partners review the contacts they made, plan their follow-up actions, and turn new relationships into active opportunities.
This is where we closed the loop. For many, it’s the missing piece in event ROI - not just who you meet, but what you do next. The rooftop was the spark; the follow-up strategy was the fire.
Why It Mattered
For collaborators, TARP25 meant shared visibility, pooled resources, and a stronger impact than going solo. It was a platform to showcase their solutions in front of exactly the right people without paying for overpriced booths or wasting budget on low-value leads.
For customers, it meant efficiency: meeting multiple relevant vendors in one spot, learning about solutions that actually fit their needs, and doing it in a setting designed for genuine conversation instead of sales pitches over blaring music.
The core purpose? To prove that events can still deliver high return on investment if you strip away the fluff, focus on quality over quantity, and design the experience from first invite to final follow-up around measurable results.
And judging by the feedback (and the fact that we actually hit our core KPIs), TARP25 wasn’t just another rooftop party. It was a smarter and efficient way forward.
Our Tier 1 sponsor, eazyBI, was most impressed by “how hands-off and easy the event organization was for us - venue, timing, and high-value visitors were all taken care of.”
They also “loved the concept of sharing time, attention, space, and the bill instead of competing for them (and paying four times more for four times less).
It was the same price or less than the Team Sponsor AMOs (Additional Marketing Opportunities) but far more worthwhile (and fun).”
These sentiments concerning the main event opportunities were also shared by one of our Tier 3 Sponsors, Heather of Work Wranglers:
“As a Sponsor of the Kiosk Package on Thursday at Team 25 (a shorter day for the conference), and our primary business being PMO Consulting, and Technical Consulting, an offering within that, it was really important to take full advantage of any additional ancillary events. When we received the offer to join 15 other Partners - including Atlassian Community - to be part of a luxury rooftop party, we knew it was a golden opportunity we couldn’t miss.
Not only is Fun Inc extremely well-known in the ecosystem, and thus we had every confidence in them drawing a big crowd, but we also recognized the value. Ancillary events in these locations are extremely expensive when hosting them solo, and by having to only invest in a fraction of the regular sticker price, whilst still having all the benefits, was highly attractive for us.”
What Went Wrong and What We’ve Learned
250 t-shirts? Yeah, sure!
We always knew that ordering swag in massive quantities is a struggle, and that’s why our deadlines for order and production are as early as 2 months in advance. Well, even with the early preparation, we faced a disaster of rejected images (which email notifications got buried under other pressing matters) and insufficient quantities of the desired models. Two months in advance turned into hoping the packages would arrive on time.
We should’ve thought simpler
Our Eventbrite ticketing plan looked great on paper. Our LinkedIn event plan looked even better! But the reality was - we overcomplicated the way people register. With limited capacity, we had a ticket tiering system to help us stay organized with our ratio of collaborators, their guests, and our target audience. The end result - we confused a lot of people and ended up with quite a difficult sign-in and venue check-in process.
Missing that one crucial KPI
The one KPI that will forever haunt the Fun Man is making sure that meetings in the VIP area for our Tier 1 and Tier 2, really did happen:
”We dropped the ball on that which is such a great shame, because we had all the plans, done all the right communication between our Sponsors and the people they needed to meet and then… the unexpected check-in disaster caused two key team members to be downstairs for hours, instead of making sure those meet-ups really did happen.
Our retrospective with eazyBI, our Tier 1 sponsor, was a painful experience, as we caused disappointment, but it was ultimately really valuable.
They came into this project as a first-time client of Fun Inc, wanting to learn how to do Events differently, and they definitely got that from us, but in reality, I believe we learned more, thanks to their openness!”
As Jānus - our contact at eazyBI put it during the Retrospective:
“Meetings didn’t really take place (except for one). We would have appreciated an additional workshop on how to prepare for and run meetings, particularly because at eazyBI we don’t have sales reps.”
And we had a first when it came to Tier 1 Sponsorship:
“As a tier-1 sponsor, we felt we didn’t achieve the brand awareness we expected - many people we spoke to weren’t aware that eazyBI was the lead sponsor for the event.”
Collaboration is a two-way street, but sometimes you hit a dead end
We believe that all of you have experienced the delay in communication, contract signing, and invoicing - all crucial elements for the successful production of swag and marketing materials. As we reflected on some prolonged communications, we learned that the next big event should have a strict timetable and requirements, so we have all of our collaborators formally engaged and their logos ready to be printed.
At Fun Inc, having a 4L retrospective after every activity is a strict requirement. We started our Great Big Retrospective Confluence page the moment we hit the first Loved, Loathed, Learned, or Longed For item. By the time TARP25 was over, we already had a lot to be happy about, a lot to learn, and hell of a lot to fix.
You think you can improve your events, but don’t know where to start? Then this article finds you right on time! Book one of the few limited 15-minute slots with Fun Man Andy and make the first step toward turning your ideas into action and results.
Affordable. Scalable.
Fun Inc repeatedly shows the world how to do business different, doing it better. And yet over 95% just ignore.
There will be people in Anaheim (Atlassian) and Vegas (Re:Invent) making the same old BS mistakes.
I feel sorry for them. 😭 🫂