I enjoyed this writeup - it has relatable moments! I'm an organizer [0] for indie conferences (and more recently, local meetups.)
As we look to grow it'd be awesome to talk shop with you and receive advice on marketing if you're willing to mentor a bit: abner at handmadecities dot com
This reminds me of 'Code Retreats' [0], "A coderetreat is a day of deliberate practice, far away of the pressure of getting things done. A space for you to try out Test-Driven-Development and other practices."
As we look to grow it'd be awesome to talk shop with you and receive advice on marketing if you're willing to mentor a bit: abner at handmadecities dot com
[0] https://handmadecities.com