srvo · connection layer

Mycelium

A forest is not a collection of trees. It is the living network beneath — the substrate that moves nutrients, warnings, and trust between everything that grows in it. Mycelium is that layer, for the communities you care about.

Pitch me See sponsor tiers

First public bloom — hardware meetup, April 23, 2026

WHAT WE'RE BUILDING

A forest is not a collection of trees.

A forest is not a collection of trees. It's the mycelium underneath — the fungal network that connects roots, moves nutrients between them, warns them of threats, and helps the whole ecosystem grow together. Biologists call it the wood wide web. Paul Stamets spent a career mapping it. Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life made the science legible.

We're building the human analog. Not the content — that's the trees. Not the tools — those are the products. The substrate that lets communities engage deeply and carry that engagement into durable, trust-weighted relationships.

WHY THIS WORKS

A lamp, not a cigarette.

We're after increasing the relevance a sponsor holds in an audience that matters to them. That's a win-win, because it's an honest exchange. Share of mind has to be earned. It can't be bought. Mycelium merely provides the habitat — reduced friction, meritocratous opportunity, a community worth showing up for.

Traditional sponsorship sells attention-impressions that fade fast — a cigarette, burn and gone. Mycelium offers persistent salience anchored to a community graph that compounds — a lamp that keeps giving light. The mechanism is real, simple, and physical.

THE OPERATING LOOP

Three moments. One substrate.

Layers growing — the substrate being prepared
SEEDING
Before the bloom

The substrate takes shape.

Sponsor briefs, declared intent themes, the guest list takes shape. The substrate starts receiving spores before anyone walks into the room.

NFC tap at the bloom event
BLOOM
Live, at the event

The hidden network fruits visibly.

Tap-to-connect on the floor. Conversations land in the graph. Sponsor content meets declared intent. Engagement becomes data.

Vivid tree — the harvest growing
HARVEST
The 30 days after

Your presence keeps compounding.

Brokered warm intros, a Prism report, co-authored content. Your presence keeps compounding as the graph spreads through adjacent communities attendees already move through.

AN ECOSYSTEM, NOT AN APP

Three layers that feed each other.

Mycelium is an ecosystem. Three layers that compound into more than the sum of their parts. New apps in the roadmap will build on this foundation to create and capture even more value as the network grows.

KIT — the tap layer.

NFC cards attendees physically carry home. Tap a card against a phone and it opens their digital profile instantly. Frictionless contact exchange means more connections get logged. KIT (Keep In Touch) is our live product — 70+ active users, micro-piloted at 3 prior events. Mycelium rides on it.

Mycelium — the graph layer.

The persistent community substrate. Tell us the niches you want to reach and the graph surfaces matches from members who've declared intent there. It's the precision targeting that makes social-graph ad platforms work, without the impression treadmill. Need something custom? srvo has you covered.

Prism — the attention layer.

The bloom's shareable record: community announcements, talk recaps, topics that resonated, conversation keywords. Prism captures what's meant to be shared and compiles it into your post-event sponsor report. What analytics have you always wanted but couldn't reach before? Tell us — Prism can surface them.

WHY THIS ISN'T JUST ANOTHER MEETUP SPONSORSHIP

The spores spread beyond one event.

You've seen sponsor menus — an email blast, a monthly newsletter blurb, a product-launch evening. Those are moments of attention in one room. Mycelium operates on another level. Partner with the bloom, and your presence keeps moving.

Attendees are also in AI, higher education, startups, robotics, music, fine arts, fashion, and nightlife. Mycelium's graph follows them. Your sponsored content, brokered intros, and curated corpus cross-pollinate into the adjacent communities those members already move through.

Strategic positioning. Community alignment. Reach that compounds.

WHO'S IN THE ROOM

The connective tissue between communities.

Mycelium doesn't extend a single community — it links many. The network already spans Hardware Meetup, NY Robotics, South Park Commons, Fractal Tech, Newlab, Industry City, and adjacent technical circles.

The people in those rooms already cross into the arts, nightlife, music, fashion, and education scenes. Your sponsored presence follows them to new frontiers.

What communities are on your radar? We'll get you a seat at the table.

Sponsor tiers

Plant a spore. Share the harvest.

Mycelium sponsorship is a new category of value on top of whatever you’re already doing at the meetup — qualified introductions brokered through a trust graph, durable presence in a persistent community record, co-owned content, and branded physical cards that replace swag with utility. Sponsors don’t trade an existing line item for Mycelium; they add Mycelium as the depth tier underneath their existing presence.

Spore

$1,500
per bloom

The entry tier. Plant a spore in the substrate.

During the bloom
  • Brand listed in the event directory
  • Logo and description attached to the event corpus (durable record)
  • Inclusion in the post-event recap artifact
  • Mycelium-branded NFC cards distributed to attendees
During the harvest
  • Aggregate engagement report for the bloom
Cards included
  • Mycelium-branded cards (no sponsor branding at this tier)
Best for Smaller companies testing Mycelium. Early validation with minimal commitment. A presence commitment, not a marketing campaign.
Sponsor logos

Contributor

$3,000
per bloom

You’re part of the flush. You contribute something to the community.

During the bloom
  • Everything in Spore, plus:
  • 1 service offering listed in the engagement interface (workshop slot, tool access, consultation, early product access)
  • Your offering is discoverable by attendees searching for matching intents
  • Co-branded reference in the post-event recap
  • Co-branded printed labels on NFC cards — your logo on every card attendees take home
During the harvest
  • 1 brokered introduction from a Mycelium member whose declared intent matches your offering
  • Service offering remains in the continuing graph for the 30-day harvest window
Cards included
  • Up to 150 co-branded cards included
Best for Companies with a clear product or service to surface. Mid-level commitment, qualified connections coming out of the event.
Sponsor logos

Partner

$6,000
per bloom

You’re part of the substrate. Your cards are the attendee swag.

During the bloom
  • Everything in Contributor, plus:
  • Sponsored themed corpus at the bloom (co-curated with Mycelium)
  • Featured placement in the engagement surface — your content is found first
  • Trust-graph endorsement from Anthony, visible as a formal edge in the graph
  • Sponsor-branded premium black NFC cards — your logo, tagline, and colours on the front
During the harvest
  • 3 brokered introductions (instead of 1)
  • 30-day priority surfacing for new intents matching your offerings
  • Formal engagement data report with segmented metrics
Cards included
  • Up to 250 premium sponsor-branded black cards included
Best for Companies that want real community presence and want to replace traditional swag with functional branded hardware. Anchored to the $6,000 product-launch price point most sponsors already understand.
Sponsor logos

Deep Partner

$10,000–$12,000
per bloom

Woven into the substrate. Named chapter in the persistent tree. Premium branded hardware.

During the bloom
  • Everything in Partner, plus:
  • Co-authored content piece (blog, video, whitepaper) jointly produced with Mycelium
  • Named chapter in the persistent tree — your sponsorship becomes durable community record
  • Priority matching — relevant intents see your offerings first, bloom-wide and harvest-wide
  • Premium custom-designed cards with optional foil, emboss, or spot-UV
During the harvest
  • Unlimited brokered introductions within your targeting rules
  • Quarterly strategy call with the Mycelium team
  • Co-authored content artifact delivered as a finished, co-owned piece
Cards included
  • Up to 400 premium custom-finished cards included
Best for Companies serious about community presence and growth. Top-of-menu for a single-bloom commitment.
Sponsor logos

Substrate Partner

$120,000–$150,000
per year

You are part of the substrate itself. Your roots grow through the mycelium.

During the bloom
  • Deep Partner benefits across every bloom Mycelium covers in the year (target: 12+ blooms)
  • Branded sub-corpus you own, curate, and control
  • Event speaking slots at Mycelium-covered events (subject to curation)
  • Named long-term sponsor in the persistent tree, visible across years
  • Ongoing custom card supply usable outside Mycelium events as standing branded hardware
During the harvest
  • Roadmap input via quarterly strategy sessions
  • Early access to new Mycelium features and tools
  • Custom integration of your offering into Mycelium’s workflow
Cards included
  • Unlimited custom-branded cards across every covered bloom
Best for Companies with long-term commitment to the community. Paid quarterly. Annual term = ~15–20% discount vs. 12× Deep Partner. The Mycelium-native equivalent of the year-long sponsor slots.
Sponsor logos

Interested? Reach out to discuss sponsorship options tailored to your goals.

A NEW TYPE OF PRINTED MEDIA

The cyber-physical printing press.

Cards aren't just contact cards. They're pamphlets, flyers, lookbooks — artistic printing that doubles as a tap into the substrate. Brands have constant printing needs. Mycelium becomes the press: upload your artwork, or design with us, and we print, encode, and ship.

Cards land at every event your brand touches — not just the meetups Mycelium runs. Each card is a spore in the world, pulling new users into the graph and growing your footprint with every tap. The consumable scales the revenue model. The printing is the product.

Proof case: Viam. Viam runs on token-based pricing. A Viam-branded card doesn't just open a contact card — it provisions starter platform credit. The card is the coupon. Tap it, the user is onboarded, hooked, and now a node in both Viam's funnel and the Mycelium graph. Every Viam event in 2026 ships cards that carry real platform value. The cards are the cheapest customer-acquisition channel they have, and the printing-as-a-service model means Mycelium handles the whole pipeline.

Talk to us about your campaign printing.

NFC card held in hand — artistic printed media that taps into the substrate
THE PRIMITIVES

People · Places · Content · Conversations.

Every person you meet is a node. Every event you attend is a node. Every piece of content surfaced is a node. Every conversation that produced a recommendation is an edge.

The graph remembers context — not just "who knows whom" but "who met where, working on what, after a conversation about which idea." Trust isn't a follower count. It's a weighted edge anchored to a real moment. The substrate keeps the moment alive long after the room empties.

WHAT THIS BECOMES

Today's cards are tomorrow's apps.

Every card you put in the world is a launching point. As the footprint grows, new apps can be deferred until the audience tells you what to build. We're already building srvo apps — Carte Blanche, and others not yet named — that ride on top of any sponsor's footprint.

The cards are the spores. The apps are the bloom that follows. You're not paying for one event's marketing. You're claiming real estate in a substrate that compounds into product surface area.

Layers growing — cards as substrate for future apps
INTRODUCTORY RATE · APRIL 23 ONLY

The full bundle — and the first association.

Sponsor the April 23 bloom as a Partner and your renewal rate holds through the first year. Founding Partners also get bonuses that become paid add-ons afterward:

  • 10 harvest intros post-bloom (standard Partner tier is limited to 3).
  • Co-authored piece with srvo — later a +$2,500 add-on.

Partner tier ($6,000) only. April 23 bloom exclusive.

Claim founding rate Review the tiers
All eyes on you — aligned attention
FAQ

Answering the obvious questions first.

How do I know what the harvest is actually worth?
After the bloom you receive a formal harvest report with measurable engagement data: how many attendees engaged with your content, what they asked, which intents matched your offerings, which introductions were brokered, which offerings were saved to personal corpora. You audit the value directly. Unlike banner impressions, the value is specific and measurable.
Why NFC cards instead of QR codes?
NFC is a 2-second tap. QR is a 15-second scan-then-type. At a live event with 100+ attendees, that delta is the difference between 80% engagement and 20%. More practically: NFC cards are a hardware product, and at a hardware meetup hardware matters. The cards are the physical anchor that makes Mycelium a cyber-physical system rather than another SaaS product.
What happens to the NFC cards after the event?
Attendees keep them. Unlike branded merch that gets thrown away, NFC cards are useful: a gesture-shortcut to your Mycelium presence, a business-card equivalent, small enough to slip into a wallet or stick to a laptop. Your brand rides along. Every future tap refreshes your visibility.
What if an attendee doesn't have NFC enabled on their phone?
Every card also carries a printed URL and shortcode so non-NFC users can join manually. Mycelium sends a pre-event announcement explaining how to enable NFC on major phone models (most phones have it on by default). The Kit NFC stack has been running at 26 events with 70+ active users — the friction has been manageable in practice.
What if the bloom under-performs?
Mycelium is early. Engagement at the first few blooms will be exploratory by definition. Flat-rate pricing means you are not paying based on engagement volume — you are paying for a position in a substrate that is compounding. If a specific bloom genuinely disappoints, Mycelium will work with you to adjust or credit the commitment. We want you to come back for the second flush.
Can I target specific kinds of attendees?
Yes. At Partner tier and above, you define targeting rules for brokered introductions (role, company size, location, declared intent categories). Matches are filtered through your rules before delivery.
What happens to my presence after the 30-day harvest window?
At all tiers, your bloom presence and engagement data persist in the event corpus forever. At Contributor and above, your service offerings remain in the continuing graph. At Partner and above, your corpus chapter becomes durable community record. At Deep Partner and above, your co-authored content lives permanently. At Substrate Partner, your branded sub-corpus is yours as long as the partnership continues.
Is my engagement data private?
Aggregate engagement data is shared with you. Individual attendees’ names and contact information are not shared unless they explicitly opt in through the Mycelium introduction flow. Brokered introductions always require explicit consent from both parties.
What counts as a "brokered introduction"?
An introduction is brokered when Mycelium matches a declared intent from a community member against your offering, proposes the match to both parties, and both parties agree to proceed. The introduction is delivered with context (what the member declared, why Mycelium matched). Not a cold email dropped in an inbox — a warm, contextualised, consented connection.
Can I bring my own content into the bloom?
Partner and above: yes, subject to Mycelium curation. Sponsored corpora can include content you provide or reference. Co-authored content at Deep Partner is jointly produced with your input. Substrate Partners can own branded sub-corpora that they curate directly.
What's the commitment timeline?
Per-bloom pricing is per-bloom — no ongoing commitment. Annual Substrate Partner is a full 12-month commitment, paid quarterly.
Can I upgrade tiers mid-year?
Yes, at any time, by paying the delta. A Contributor who wants Partner access for a specific bloom pays ($6,000 − $3,000) = $3,000 to upgrade for that bloom.
How does Mycelium prevent spam or low-quality sponsors?
All sponsors are vetted by the Mycelium team before onboarding. We are selective about who joins the substrate because the quality of the substrate depends on the trustworthiness of its members. Mycelium reserves the right to decline sponsorships that do not fit the community’s interests.
How does Mycelium relate to the hardware meetup's existing sponsorship menu?
Mycelium is a new category on top of the meetup’s existing menu. Sponsoring Mycelium does not replace any existing meetup sponsor slot; it is complementary. Existing sponsors can add Mycelium as a depth-tier investment or treat it as a pilot for a new category of community engagement.
THE INVITATION

Plant a spore. Share in the harvest.

Mycelium is an early, opinionated, vision-driven bet on a specific idea — that the connection layer underneath communities is where the most durable value lives. Founding Partners are coming in early, holding fair pilot rates, and helping shape how the substrate grows.

If you're the kind of company that wants to be part of the thing from the beginning, not the kind that waits for everything to be proven — this is the moment.

Let's chat
Anthony Dzaba
Founder · srvo
anthony@srvo.io Book a 30-min call → mycelium.srvo.io