What's said in the room stays in the room.
One day in Lisbon. Fifteen people who use their brain every day. No camera, no microphone, no recording. Just a closed room, real conversations about what's actually working, and the kind of progress that's hard to make alone.
I'm tired of events you could have watched on YouTube.
Most AI events follow the same shape. A stage, a deck, a few panels, a recording that gets sliced into clips a week later. The smart stuff happens in the corridor, or at the dinner you weren't invited to.
This day is the opposite of that. I've kept it small on purpose. Fifteen people, including me. No livestream, no microphone, no "we'll send you the slides." Nothing leaves the room. That's not branding, that's the deal. It's the only way to have the conversation that actually moves your business.
If you've ever sat in a webinar wishing you could just ask the question you actually wanted to ask, in front of the people you actually wanted to ask it in front of, that's this day.
Every seat is now spoken for. The room is closed. If you'd like to come and someone drops out between now and September, DM me on Circle and I'll add you to the waitlist.
One long, useful day. Then dinner.
I'm not going to give you a minute-by-minute timetable here, partly because it's still May and the day will breathe and change between now and September, and partly because the rhythm matters more than the boxes on a schedule.
Here's the shape.
Arrive, settle, share what's actually got you stuck
Coffee in your hand by half-eight. A round of the room, two or three minutes each, on what you're wrestling with right now and what you're hoping to walk out the door with. By the time you sit back down, you already know who in the room is fighting the same fight as you.
Something I haven't shared anywhere else
I'll teach a couple of things that aren't on YouTube, aren't in the course, and haven't shown up on a weekly call. Not a keynote. A demo, live in my brain, with the workings exposed. You'll see how I actually think about it, not the polished version.
Three problems on the table
Three people each put one real problem on the table. The room workshops each one for around fifteen minutes, with me adding what I can. Not a stage event, a conversation. The other twelve in the room aren't passive, they're listening hard, because they've got their own version of the same problem and they're hearing how the room solves it. Three people get hands-on help. Everyone else gets pattern recognition.
How to actually make your skills behave
After a quick break, the one teaching block I want everyone to leave with. The pattern I use to get a skill to follow instructions every single time, and the way I stop chores from quietly failing in the background. The block that lets you take whatever you build this afternoon and still trust it'll be working in six months. The closest thing I've got to one secret about making any of this stuff reliable.
Lunch, an hour, sitting down, no agenda
Food and the conversations that start because of who you happen to be sitting next to.
You actually build the thing
Three solid hours where you work on your own thing, with me floating between you and the rest of the room. You'll be paired with someone at a similar stage to you, so when you're stuck you've got someone next to you who gets it. You leave with something you've shipped, not something you've planned to ship.
Quick demos, then a 30-day handshake
Every pair takes two minutes to show the room what they shipped that day. This block isn't about polish, it's about inspiration. Hearing what fourteen other smart people pulled off in three hours, in the same room as you, with the same constraints. Then you pair up with someone from a different part of the room and tell each other what you're shipping in the next thirty days. They're the person who'll text you in October to ask if you actually did it.
Dinner, all of us, one room
A proper sit-down dinner in Lisbon. Included in the ticket. Probably a private room, probably a view, almost certainly the conversation you came here for.
People who already do the work.
This isn't a starter event. I'm not going to spend the day explaining what a skill is, or helping you install your brain. By September you'll have been using your brain for months, you'll have shipped your share of skills, and you'll have hit the wall every builder hits.
This day is for you if:
- You use your brain daily and you're tired of consuming alone.
- You've shipped some skills and chores, and you've felt the frustration of them not behaving the way you wanted.
- You want a day in a room with people who get it, not another evening on a Zoom call.
- You can keep what's said in the room in the room.
- You'd rather leave with one thing actually built than a notebook full of things to build later.
It's probably not for you if:
- You haven't installed your brain yet. Come to a later event.
- You want the slides and a recording to watch later. There aren't any.
- You're hoping for a stage event with a moderated panel. This is the opposite.
Not the deck. The day itself.
There's no slide pack to download. No recording to "review later." No follow-up sequence. Just what you carry out the door at the end of the day.
If I've done my job, that's:
- Something you actually built, running in your brain by the end of the day.
- A 30-day partner who's going to ask you, in October, whether you did the thing.
- A handful of patterns from my own work I haven't published anywhere else.
- A clearer picture of where your agent stack goes next, because you've spent a day with people who are one or two steps ahead, or right alongside you.
- A new set of conversations you can have for the next year, with people you can text without explaining what you mean.
Nothing leaves. That's the deal.
No video, no audio, no transcript, no screenshots, no "I made a quick clip for LinkedIn." This isn't a marketing posture, it's the reason the day works at all.
When the camera's off, people say what they actually think. About the thing that didn't work. About the client they wish they'd never taken. About the platform they paid for and quietly regretted. About the bet they're making that they haven't told anyone about yet. That's the conversation that's worth a flight to Lisbon. It's the one you can't have on a webinar.
If sitting in a room where that kind of honesty is normal sounds good to you, you're in the right place.
Hi, I'm Mike.
I built WebSavvy in Melbourne, ran it for 17 years, sold it. Built the original PMax script, the one that more than 15,000 advertisers ended up running every day. When GPT-3.5 dropped and the rest of the world finally started to realise what was happening, I integrated AI into the script and threw my working life at this space.
Today I run the Ads to AI community, the Own The Agent mastermind, and I'm building Team Brain. I publish more of how I actually work than almost anyone else in this space, on purpose. The writing, the videos, the demos, the experiments that didn't land. The more honest I am about what I'm building, the better the conversations I get to have.
But once a year, I want one of those conversations in person. In a room. No camera, no recording, no clips for LinkedIn. That room is this one.
Sold out. Waitlist open.
Every seat is taken. If someone drops out between now and September, I'll work down the waitlist in the order requests come in.
DM me on Circle and I'll add you to the list. If a seat opens up, you'll be the first to know. The member price (€499) holds if you make it in.
DM me on CircleNot a member yet?
Only Ads to AI members can join the Lisbon waitlist. Join the community first, then DM me on Circle and I'll add you.
Join Ads to AIAlready booked? Your seat is safe. Travel, accommodation and venue details will follow closer to September.
The honest answers.
Where exactly is it being held?
Central Lisbon, walking distance from Chiado and Príncipe Real. I'll confirm the specific venue closer to the day. Anyone booking now is booking on trust that I'll pick somewhere good. I will.
What's included in the ticket?
The full day from 8:30 to roughly 6pm, plus the group dinner that evening. Coffee, lunch, snacks, all included. Travel and accommodation are your job.
Is anything recorded?
No. Nothing. No video, no audio, no transcripts, no slide downloads. That's not a tagline, that's the contract that makes the day work.
What if I buy a ticket and can't make it?
Tell me as soon as you know. I don't do refunds as a rule, but I'll try to resell your seat for you. If I can resell it, I'll refund you minus a small admin fee. Tickets are also transferable, but only to someone I approve. Who's in the room matters.
What level do I need to be at?
If you've installed your brain, you're invoking skills daily, and you've shipped at least a few of your own, you're in the right place. Total beginners would feel a bit lost, but I'm not expecting senior engineers either. The room will have a healthy mix.
Will I have to present anything?
Twice, both very short. Two or three minutes in the morning on what you're stuck on and what you want to walk out with. About a minute in the afternoon showing what you built that day. Both are friendly, both are with people who've been in the room with you all day. No deck required.
How much time will I actually be on a laptop?
About three hours of focused building in the afternoon. The rest is people, conversation, and demonstration. It's a workshop, not a hackathon.
Can I bring a friend or partner?
Friends and partners are welcome in Lisbon, just not in the room. The seats are for Ads to AI members and approved guests. If you'd like to bring someone with you to the city, they're welcome at the group dinner if they're also an Ads to AI member, but the day itself is closed.
I'm coming over for PPC Hub anyway. Does this fit in?
Yes. PPC Hub Lisbon runs Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September. This day sits the day before, on Wednesday 23. I'm speaking at PPC Hub on both days, so plenty of us will roll straight from this room into that conference.
Anything else I should ask?
Email me directly at hello@mikerhodes.com.au and I'll answer it.
Wednesday 23 September 2026.
Every seat is taken. If someone can't make it, the next person up gets the call. DM me on Circle to put your name in.
DM me on Circle