---
headline: Turning my rejection into something positive
title: Alt Tech Talks
date: 2026-04-03
---



In 2013, I got rejected for Apple's "Tech Talks". At the time, with objc.io doing well, I assumed I would have been accepted.

I jumped on my bike, cycled to the nearest cinema, and walked in asking what it would cost to rent the place for a day.

They said €3,000.

I realised I could probably get sponsors, and even if not, I could afford to lose it. So I said yes.

I called Microsoft and asked them to sponsor my alternative conference. I started asking friends to speak. I couldn’t pay them, but tickets would be free. The line-up filled up quickly.

On the day itself, I got out of the subway. It was still dark, and I saw "Alt Tech Talks" on the cinema lightbox. That was the first moment it felt real—and slightly terrifying. People were flying in from all over Europe.

![Alt Tech Talks on the light box](/images/alt-tech-talks.jpg)

The room filled up. The talks were great, but more importantly, the atmosphere was different. People meeting, talking, forming connections and making friends. It felt like a real coming together of the community.

Looking back, I didn’t actually need a ticket for Apple’s event. I needed a way to meet the community.
And it turns out you can just build one.

What I didn’t expect was that others would pick it up. People started organizing their own versions of Alt Tech Talks. [Daniel](https://github.com/Daniel1of1) ran one in London. At that point, it stopped being about my rejection and became something bigger than that.