PowerPoint to Build Community? Yes, Says North Loop Resident
A communications tool most commonly associated with sucking the life out of meetings is being used by one North Loop resident as a way to bring joy, create social connections and make new friends. Michael Whitley’s “PowerPoint Night” gatherings have been so successful that he just quit his tech sales job to launch Side Quest Social MN and focus on producing community-building events full time. “A side quest is like, you’re going through life in one direction, but then there’s something shiny off to the side. You’re like, let me go explore that really quick and come back.”
SideQuest Social founder Michael Whatley welcomes attendees to September’s PowerPoint Night at the Itasca Event Gallery.
Why PowerPoint? “There’s this visual element to it, which is really conducive for events in 2026,” explained Whitley. “Whereas an open mic or trivia may not be quite as engaging.”
About 40 people attended the first PowerPoint Night back in May, and a September event at Itasca Wine & Spirits packed 150 people into the event space there. Whitley has created a giant living room for his next event, which takes place at Fowling Warehouse on October 14.
Michael Whatley has transformed Fowling Warehouse’s event space into a giant living room for his next event.
“It’s just a way for people to get out and be in this kind of unusual setting and get to know one another. We started this in a living room, and I was like, how do make this bigger? What if we just 10x’d it?” wondered Whitley. “So my buddies and I rented a truck and just got a bunch of rental couches, coffee tables and lamps and made the biggest living room we could possibly make.”
Speakers choose their topics and Whitley, 26, curates the line-up. So far, presenters have spoken about travel adventures, poked fun at conspiracy theories, shared deeply personal topics and more. Connections are made because “it’s much more focused on like, conversation and there’s not super loud music or a lot of distractions or anything like that.”
Whitley moved to Minnesota over a year ago and has lived in North Loop for six months. “I was kind of like this awkward engineer just trying to make my way. I went to a bunch of networking events, run clubs, singles mixers, the climbing gym, you name it,” recalled Whitley. “It was hard because I was trying to do it the old-fashioned way. But now, with social media, I think it isn’t necessarily harder. It’s just different. And I don’t know if society has caught up to those differences. So what Side Quest Social is trying to do is link that gap between social media to real-life interactions. I want other people to experience this, this feeling of belonging and sort of sense of purpose as well. It’s kind of magical.”
Details for the next PowerPoint Night
- Wednesday, October 14
- Fowling Warehouse, 401 Royalston Ave.
- 6:30pm
- VIP seating $32 (in the “living room” )
- General Admission $16
- Follow Side Quest Social on Instagram and TikTok for ticket info
— By Mary Binkley, NLNA President