AI Conference Prep: I Built It, Then Gave It Away

The Missing Manual Show · Oct 29, 2026 · 16m

The fastest way to get more out of a conference is to build an AI game plan before you go. Julia Levy, co-host of The Missing Manual, built an app for the HR Technology Conference. It researched every exhibitor, matched vendors to her LinkedIn connections, and scheduled her days around meetings, booth locations, and breaks. Two to three weeks of outreach and follow-up lived in one place, and she walked in with meetings already booked.

Then Julia shared the app with John Zila, who consults on sales and rev ops for many of the same tech companies. He added his own context and rebuilt it to show…