We all know 2020 has been a bit of a rollercoaster, so we’re going to run you through some of the positive things we’ve been up to wrap up the year!Leeds Digital Drinks has been connecting the tech, creative and startup community in Leeds for the past four years, and this year, somewhat ironically, we have had to go fully digital. But these circumstances didn’t stop us from bringing Leeds together through events and initiatives, so let’s look back at some of our highlights...February - Learning event with Hey!Before the lockdown we mingled with the Hey! crowd at Belgrave, at an event called 'Why Learning Doesn’t stop when you graduate’. We heard from the founders of Eat Fish Design, Row & Nook about their productivity habits. Scott Perry taught us about the clever use of magic in real world advertising, Ellie MacDonald (MacComms) spoke about the hurdles she needed to jump whilst starting her business. To wrap up the event, Amul Batra from Northcoders explained how they are supporting people changing career paths and transitioning into the world of code.March - Launched supportyourlocalleeds.comSupport Your Local Leeds is an initiative aimed to help the local independents in Leeds. Shops and small businesses were among the worst hit during the first national lockdown in March. But traders are nothing but resilient. Some have pivoted their business models and others have innovated and adapted. If you’d like to check out the directory or submit your favourite independent, you may visit the site here.

March - First Makers sessionDuring lockdown our world shifted online and the types of events we usually run had to change too. We started Leeds Digital Makers as a way to stay connected as a community and empower people to make change by taking action. We want to help curious and innovative makers bring their ideas to life in the shortest time possible. Want in? Sign up here: leedsdigitalmakers.clubMay - Launched freelancersofleeds.comFreelancers of Leeds is a showcase of self-employed creatives and techies in Leeds. The aim of the site is to shine a light on unique stories from freelancers across the city. We’ve even had people scouted for work from the site, so it’s definitely worth 5 minutes to get yourself listed!

June - New stickers!This summer we decided to design a brand new sticker that symbolises our Founders community. Keep your eyes peeled, you’ll be able to get your hands on one of these at our events when we return.August - Founders livestream with ConsumeThe livestream was titled 'Purpose over Profit' and focussed on companies that add a layer of purpose or social impact to their work. We heard from founders in the creative industry, such as Will Saunders (Good Will Studios) and Rich Sutcliffe (Agency For Good) who run agencies aimed at helping purpose-over-profit companies with strategy, creative consultation, and design services. We also had Bethan Vincent (Netsells) and Lucile Allen-Paisant (Mind It) talk about their startup journeys and unique approaches to wellbeing, marketing and training.October - Launched leedsmeetups.comWe decided to launch an online directory to help you network with meetups and meet like-minded people online. Whether you want to find new communities or learn a new skill, this website allows you to easily browse through meetups happening in Leeds.

November - Our new website! leedsdigitaldrinks.comWe’ve finally launched our brand new website! Our previous site was event-focussed, and given the circumstances this year, we decided to pivot and launch a range of community initiatives for you to enjoy. The new site allows us to signpost you to all our new content, and there’s plenty of new features planned for 2021. Check it out here: leedsdigitaldrinks.comBuy us a coffee ❤️Leeds Digital Drinks is run by a team of volunteers, so your support helps us keep our events free and allows us to grow and improve our products and initiatives. If you’d like support us, please buy us a (virtual) coffee with this link.

We hope you all have a lovely festive break and we’ll see you in 2021! If you'd like to catch up with us, we’re always up for a chat on

so feel free to drop us a message (Christmas GIFs welcome!)

Merry Christmas! 🎄

from Owen, Ash, Sonia, Rich & Gary