Why In-Person Events Are Still a Business Superpower

There’s something quietly radical about showing up.

That’s the point Santa Cruz-based Force4 makes in its recent essay, Why In-Person Events Are Still a Business Superpower in 2025. It argues that while the world has become fluent in virtual communication, something vital has gone missing — the nuance, the serendipity, the subtle energy of being in the same room. We can simulate connection online, but we can’t reproduce it.

That insight feels especially timely as we prepare for the Santa Cruz Works Genomics Rooftop Mixer on Tuesday, October 28 — an evening designed around precisely that missing human element.

In genomics, where data and algorithms dominate, there’s an irony: progress still depends on people. It’s forged in hallway conversations, unexpected introductions, the shared spark that comes from seeing someone’s eyes light up when you ask the right question. That’s the kind of alchemy no Slack thread or Zoom meeting can deliver.

Force4’s argument is that live gatherings aren’t nostalgic throwbacks — they’re an evolved response to a digital world that has overcorrected. We’ve optimized for efficiency, but at the cost of trust. And trust, as any scientist or entrepreneur knows, is the foundation of collaboration. When you meet someone face-to-face, you learn not just what they know, but how they think. That texture matters.

The Genomics Rooftop Mixer isn’t a conference or a panel marathon. It’s an intentional pause — a place where researchers, founders, and curious minds across Santa Cruz can exhale, talk science, share drinks, and rediscover the social fabric that innovation depends on. These events remind us that ideas don’t spread through Wi-Fi; they spread through people.

So yes, read the Force4 article. But better yet, live it.

Mark your calendar for October 28. Come to the rooftop. Meet the scientists building the future of human health, the startups turning breakthroughs into companies, the students who might one day lead both.

Because if Force4 is right — and it is — then presence itself is a form of power. And the simple act of being there may be the most overlooked innovation tool we have left.

See photos from our June rooftop mixer event HERE.

BIG thanks to our event host Anton Pacific