KEYNOTE: Community Doesn't Start With a Conference | Heidi Potter | BSides312 2026

The infosec world is known for technical brilliance, clever hacks, and creative problem solving. But the real strength of the community lies somewhere else: the people who show up, share what they know, and help each other grow. In this talk, Heidi reflects on years spent organizing ShmooCon and working alongside the hacker community, sharing stories and lessons about how real communities form. From hallway track moments to quiet acts of mentorship, this talk explores what it takes to build a community - and why it's worth the effort. --- About Heidi Potter: COO, Turngate Heidi keeps the wheels turning at Turngate.io as COO, making sure the team has what they need and the chaos stays mostly contained. She spent many years organizing ShmooCon and still looks for ways to support the communities and causes she cares about. Off the clock, she can usually be found walking or biking toward the horizon, in search of fresh air and the next snack. Recorded live at BSides312 2026. --- Chapters: 0:00 A Primer on How to Primer 0:50 Almost 20 Years Ago: The Cooler Bag 1:15 Year Three, and the Year One Badge 2:20 "If You Build It They Will Come" - No 3:35 The Community Already Exists 4:00 You're Building a Container, Not a Community 5:00 The Importance of Being in Third Place 5:30 Ray Oldenberg's Third Places 8:00 Conferences Don't Create Communities, They Reveal Them 8:40 It Took Me Years to Find My Voice 9:50 When Bruce Made Me Do Opening 11:30 When You Belong: Three Stories 13:20 First-Timers in the Room 14:15 We Showed Up, Then Got Out of the Way 15:45 What Makes a Good Container 16:15 People: Everyone on the Edges Too 17:00 The West Point Cadets Who Stayed the Same Age 17:30 Volunteers Are Your First Responsibility 19:00 Space Is Never Neutral 20:20 Culture Is What You Model Repeatedly 21:00 Code Names and Monikers as a Way In 23:15 Intention: Doing Things With Measured Reason 23:55 The Badge That Was Literally a Knife 25:15 The Badges With the Wrong Year 27:00 The Mistakes That Weren't Funny 28:40 "You Built Something That Left With Every Person" 29:20 Lead With Kindness 31:40 The Year After Lockdown 33:00 "You're Doing Great" on the Lectern 34:40 Knowing How to End Something Well 36:20 The Stargate 37:40 Cut Up and Cast in Resin 38:20 You Can't Manufacture These Moments 39:00 LobbyCon and the Neutral Zone 39:40 Deviant and the Young Hackers 41:30 Cypriana Thought ShmooCon Was a Moose Event 43:20 Pete Felt Like an Outsider 44:40 Community Doesn't Start With a Conference 45:00 Eight Words About Tying Shoes 46:00 You Don't Have to Prove You Belong --- Mentioned in this talk: - ShmooCon - Ray Oldenburg's "third places" - Code Names - Monikers Full BSides312 2026 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZnyzZE8j8jw