We arrived early at La Palapa to meet with the Meetup host, Derm. With only his profile picture to work from, we quietly questioned each other about every person who entered the restaurant, until finally the unmistakable real Derm walked in.
With a big smile, Derm welcomed us to his Taco Tuesday Night Meetup. As the Meetup host, we knew his attention was going to get pulled in all directions once other guests showed up, so we quickly dug into our interview questions to learn more about him and the Meetup.
Derm didn’t start the Meetup group, but took over some of the leadership from the founder, Mike. Derm has a passion for good food, specifically Mexican. He, and others, see the group as a post-work escape to have fun and explore the many amazing Mexican restaurants in NYC.
In the group, there are a lot of repeat members, which creates two interesting characteristics of the group:
1) Inside Jokes – Throughout the Meetup, there were several topics brought up that everyone would laugh at. To us, these jokes meant nothing, though they seemed a bit odd. But to the group, the inside jokes were a recurring source of shared laugher.
2) Characters – Derm pointed out a member named John and shared with me that John always gets desserts. Lots of desserts. In fact, he’s known as Dessert Guy. I sat next to John at dinner and sure enough, he only ate dessert. Within the group, regular members take on different roles and characters that become known to everyone else.
Throughout the night, we watched as Derm bounced from each section of the table to mingle with the members. He made it a point to know everyone’s name, including new people. It was clear that, as a leader, Derm was passionate about the Meetup. If fact, in talking with other members, Derm’s name came up several times as a key factor for the Meetup’s huge success. Passionate leadership makes a successful Meetup.
One member, Nicky, was eager to share with us why Derm was so important in the success of the Meetup. In her words…
“Derm is a great leader because he’s a mix of both stern and cool. He sends out multiple messages prior to the Meetup to make sure everyone who said they were coming comes. And then at the Meetup, he’s as friendly as can be. He knows everyone and everyone knows him.”
Taco Tuesday is a success because of a combination of passionate leadership and passionate members who all share a love for the same thing…Mexican food.
