DCMEX 2023 - Highlights, Recap, and Photos

This post was originally posted in our members-only forum. Some information and names and have been changed to protect the privacy of our community.

Forum posts that reflect and recap major events were fun pre-covid traditions. It’s time to bring them back! I’m hoping this Post shares the fun we had with DCers who couldn’t make it and relives some memories.

This was our second DCMEX and the first one in April. The event’s not perfect yet, but it’s on its way to becoming another established main DC event.

A Little DCMEX History:

DCAustin used to be our annual April event, which ran from 2016 to 2019. Covid shut down the 2020 event. Rising costs and travel restrictions led our team to explore places for an alternative, major DC event. In 2019, there was a successful DCx Mexico City that put the city on the radar.

Our first DCMEX was in October 2021 at the Intercontinental Presidente in Mexico City. The event was such a success that 6 months later we had DC Playa Del Carmen in April 2022. CDMX and PDC have great communities of members that helped hype the events and connect us with venues.

Our second DCMEX was the first one in April and the second time at the Intercontinental. Whether or not we found a long-term home at the Intercon is yet to be determined. However, CDMX is a great city for hosting major events due to its easy international access, scale of activities, restaurants, safety, and weather.

We plan on being back in Mexico City next April for DCMEX 2024!

(See our full historic event timeline)

Here are some highlights from DCMEX 2023:

60 Meet-Ups

TMBA Live Recording

Almost 200 Attendees

DC Trivia

DCMEX and TMBA Snapback Hats

Golden Ticket Raffle

Taco and Empanada Carts at Opening Party

Mariachis (maybe?)

Professional Headshots

Jake Matthews, our event photographer, took headshots of the attendees. What a nice guy!

The TMBA and DCMEX swag hats were hot items that went pretty quickly. Shoutout to the Leather Patch Company for the DCMEX hats. It was fun looking out at the audience in the Castillo ballroom and seeing a sea of hats. We heard that we need more swag at the next event - don’t worry, we’re working on it.

This year’s DCMEX23 shirt design by Adam Palmeter:

This was the first year of the Golden Ticket raffle! The Golden Ticket gives its wielder a DCBKK experience, which includes a DCBKK ticket, steak dinner, and a spa treatment at the Conrad. Here’s our winner:

Let’s recap the event…

April 7-20, Pre-Event Meet-Ups

We had 60 meet-ups! They started two weeks before the event on April 7.

Members frequently ask, “When should I arrive before the event?” It’s safe to say you can arrive two weeks before and there’ll be plenty of things going on. The week leading up to the event had most of the activities happening. In one day, you could go from a morning yoga session to a city tour, dinner, then a party, all thanks to Meet Ups in Whova. Whova is the app event we use to manage meet-ups and communication. It has its faults, but it definitely helped create lots of connections between members.

Here are some of the meet-ups that happened before the event and are broken down by category:

Restaurants and Food

Balkan Restaurant

Easter Brunch

Bourdain Street Food Experience

Kolobok Restaurant

Vegan Dinner and Somatic Healing

Polish Dinner

Coffee Tour

Tours and Experience

Museum Visits

Hot Air Balloon Ride

Teotihuacan Pyramids

Walking Tours

Xochimilco Boat Day

Lucha Libre

Psychedelic Renaissance

Activities

Breathwork and Ice Bath

Indoor Bouldering

Morning Yoga

North American GoKart Championship

Salsa Night

Morning Meditation

Power Vinyasa Yoga

Friday Morning Workout

Industry Chats

SEO Meet-Up

The Two-Hour Cocktail Party

Coaches and Consultant Lunch

Content Creators and YouTubers Meetup

Building a Personal Brand on TikTok

Sovereign Freedom

Crypto Meetup

Climate Enthusiasts

DC Flail

AI & ChatGPT

Agency and Services Meet Up

Ops and Integrators Meet Up

Product Led SaaS Mastermind Dinner

Authors and Publishers

All In Podcast

Peak Performance and Quieting the Monkey Mind

DC Scale Meet Up

Real Estate Meet-Up

Growthmentors

There was something for everyone here. It’s amazing to see members maximizing their time together, getting to know each other, and getting the most out of the city.

Thank you to our amazing Meet Up hosts who made all this possible!

April 20, Thursday - Junto

The CDMX Junto turned into our first major party of the event. It also was our biggest Junto so far this year with over 100 members there. We went to Pacifica in Polanco and took up the entire restaurant. The restaurant had multiple rooms and an upstairs. Walking around and going from room to room felt like being at a massive house party for DCers.

April 21, Friday - Day 1 of DCMEX

Mastermind Day

Around 75% of members participated in our Masterminds! Members meet with a curated group of similar DCers from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM to discuss business solutions and opportunities. For most of us, this is one of the few chances we have throughout the year to sit down with other entrepreneurs and discuss business at a high-level, uninterrupted, for a full day.

Opening Party

Our opening party was in the courtyard of the Intercontinental. Can it really be a fiesta without a mariachi band and taco carts? The party had plenty of food with empanadas, more tacos than you can imagine, and elote (street corn). Mexico City’s weather was perfect for our outdoor parties.

April 22 , Saturday - Day 2 of DCMEX

TMBA Live, DC Trivia, Mainstage Talks, and Breakout Sessions

The event kicked off with a live recording of the TMBA pod. Dan and Ian took the audience through some of the latest census stats on the community and held ‘DC Trivia’, giving away the coveted TMBA hats from the stage.

The rest of the morning was mainstage talks and in the afternoon were ‘breakout sessions’, which DCers had their choice to choose from.

The Speaker Lineup for Saturday:

Scaling Up Your Remote Team Without Losing Company Culture by Alex Pantich

Building a Brand that Some Will Hate but Some Will Love by Sharif El Komi

How an Obsession with Growth Can Destroy a Business by Alexander Jimenez

How to Build a Competitive Ecommerce Business Post Tracking Pixel Apocalypse by Demien Forsythe

Building and Coaching a ‘Non-Salesy’ Sales Team by Stephen Steers

Stepping Back from CEO: Going Back to ‘Just’ Owning a Business by Karla Singson

How to Build Systems in Your Business When You ARE the Business by John Strohmeyer

Saturday Party

We met up at La Cerveceria for some brews and more conversations. The Polanco neighborhood where the event was held was perfect for bouncing between bars. There was no shortage of restaurants, all within walking distance of the hotel. In such a beautiful and safe neighborhood, members were commonly bumping into each while checking out the area each night.

April 23, Sunday - Day 3 of DCMEX

Breakout Sessions, Mainstage Talks, and Raffle

The day began with the breakout sessions and ended with mainstage talks. At the end of the event, we had our Golden Ticket raffle. We gave away a DCBKK experience, which includes, DCBKK ticket, steak dinner, and a spa treatment at the Conrad.

The Speaker Lineup for Sunday:

The DIY 6-Figure Lead Pipeline with Cold Email by Sam Hill

How to Get Links in 2023 by Aaron Anderson

Change Management: Getting Your Team on Board When You’re Making Big Changes by Clare Jacky

Selling an Agency: 8 Years to an 8-Figure Exit by Jeff Sauer

How to Stay Massively Productive without Burning Out by Casey von Neumann

The Life Chaning Magic of a (Real) Executive Assistant by Amar Ghose

How to Hire A-Players: A Five-Step Process by Davis Nguyen

Closing Party

The closing party was at Saks, another outdoor venue a short walk from the hotel. Saks is a spacious outdoor area that is perfect for socializing. They also have a ‘tequila room’ with walls lined with bottles.

Post-DCMEX Migration to PDC

Where did everyone go Monday morning? Hanging out in the Intercon lobby, you would’ve seen attendees heading home, traveling to the next destination, as well as staying in the city for a few more days.

The top destination post DCMEX was Playa Del Carmen. There’s a great community of members in PDC who helped promote their city and encouraged us to spend time with them post-DCMEX.

Thank you to the PDC Crew for organizing meet-ups after the event and keeping the party going.

Here are some of the activities they planned for the week after the event:

Ice Bath on the Beach

Free Spanish Lessons and Jokes

Pool Party at Aloft

Brunch and Accelerator

Rooftop Party

Golf Day at Hard Rock

Hang Out by the Longest Pool in Riviera Maya

Thank you to everyone who was a DCMEXer! Each event is unique and you helped make this one to remember. I believe we’re starting a nice tradition of DCMEX in April, and we couldn’t have done it without you there.

For those of you who couldn’t make it, we hope to see you next year!

Thank you,

Alex and the DC Team