tom · looking for the next story
est. nyc & orange county · @realtomtalks

real stories.
small rooms.
no pitches.

tom talks is a live storytelling community for founders, builders, and creatives. every room has a theme. every speaker tells the truth about the journey: the mountain, and the story it took to get through it.

NYC chapter · active OC orange county · active next city · soon

not a what-do-you-do room.
a room for what you've had to overcome.

01 · what we are
01

every room has a theme.

each installation revolves around one honest idea: grit, failure, reinvention. speakers don't present. they tell the story of the thing that almost broke them, and who they became on the way.

02

curated, capped, close.

we keep the room small on purpose. every seat is intro'd or invited, so the person next to you is building something real and ready to actually connect, not collect contacts.

03

20% goal. 80% mountain.

talks are raw, not rehearsed. the magic is in the middle of the story: the doubt, the pivot, the part nobody posts. come ready to listen and share the kind of truth that keeps people going.

"a decade of small rooms. a community built on the stories we usually keep to ourselves."

shot inside the room · no filters
02 · the vibe check

it's a room for the dreamers.

this room is for
  • the dreamers. the ones still building the thing everyone doubted.
  • sharing your hustle stories out loud. the wins and the wreckage.
  • feeling safe, not sold to. nobody's running a funnel in here.
  • deep connection and authentic building stories.
this room is not for
  • the selfish and the takers.
  • the "so… what do you do?" person.
  • seeing the person next to you as a transaction.
  • collecting contacts instead of making friends.
not the vibe
that guy
sent 30 seconds after connecting
"Hey! Great connecting. Quick ask: know any founders or CEOs struggling to scale right now? Helping businesses unlock growth is literally my zone of genius, so any intros would be huge. Happy to hop on a quick 15-min call…"

you've gotten this message. we all have. tom talks is the opposite of this message.

the room is real. and it's already built.

03 · the neighborhood
005+
rooms hosted
02
cities · nyc + oc
100%
real stories, zero pitches
founders
creators
designers
engineers
marketers
agency owners
investors
dreamers

who's in the room · every seat intro'd or invited

the rooms, so far.

04 · past installations
✦ new york city
✦ orange county

one night. start to finish.

a typical agenda for our orange county meetups.

05 · orange county
6:00
the doors

arrive early, settle in, and meet the room before the talks begin. no wait, no lanyards. just a space to show up as you are.

7:30
the talks

the lights drop and the stories start. a few speakers, one theme, and 20% goal, 80% mountain. the truth about what it took, told to a room that gets it.

8:30
the after

after the talks, stay and connect with the people in the room. this is where one story about the work turns into a real friendship.

featured tom talks.

06 · from the stage

two coasts. one neighborhood.

07 · chapters
chapter · east
new york city

rooftops, lofts, and rooms that hum. the nyc chapter brings together builders who moved fast, hit walls, and lived to tell it.

sold out
every room
nyc
chapter · west
orange county

where it started. golden-hour patios and garage-startup energy. the oc chapter is home base.

home
base
oc
08 · join the room

want in the room?

seats are limited and invite-first. dm us on instagram and share why you'd like to be part of the community.

dm us on instagram →