Kicking Things Off at London’s Calling
My week with the Salesforce community in London began with the speaker drinks event for London’s Calling. Always a warm and welcoming start to one of the best community events of the year. It’s not just about the drinks, of course, but the chance to reconnect with familiar faces (some I hadn’t seen in years!) and feel the genuine appreciation from the organising team.
London’s Calling: From Registration Desk to the Main Stage
Friday came early, with me at the registration desk — one of my favourite places to volunteer. There’s something really special about greeting attendees as they arrive, especially those attending for the first time. I try to offer a reassuring smile that says, “You’re in the right place.”
Once everyone was checked in, it was time for my own session: “Leap of Faith: Building your Solo Career” with the wonderful Tracy Bingham. We had a full room and some great questions and feedback. Thank you to everyone who attended. We hope you left feeling inspired and a little more confident in your next step, if this is the route you choose to take your career in.
Later in the day, I supported longtime friend and trailblazer Mike Reynolds during his Slack Automation demo. I showcased how to build a workflow using clicks, not code — it was exciting to see Salesforce and Slack in action together seamlessly.
The rest of the day was filled with excellent sessions and great conversations. Highlights included:
- Claire Wingate’s “Upsert without Upset” — brilliant tips to avoid data disasters in flow.
- Lawrence Newcombe’s “Sharing & Visibility Hacks for Tricky Scenarios” — complete with a hilarious and clever Minions-themed case study.
The closing remarks brought many emotions, especially as Gillian Bruce and Alex Pisani awarded the London’s Calling Team with 10-Year Trophies. A decade of dedication — what a milestone!
The after-party was, as always, a lot of fun. Then, it was back to the hotel for some much-needed rest.
Saturday at Kew Gardens: Fresh Air and Fresh Perspectives
Saturday brought a lovely change of pace. A group of us from the Trailblazer Community met at Kew Gardens — the perfect spot to unwind and connect beyond conference rooms and keynotes. We kept the shop talk light (and mostly dodged the rain!).
Sunday Reset: Work and Walking
Sunday was a quieter day, spent catching up on a bit of work and heading out for a long walk to clear my head and reset ahead of a packed Monday.
Monday: Sprinting Toward Open Source Impact
The week opened with excitement and purpose. The Salesforce.org Open Source Commons Community Sprint rolled into town and brought a fantastic group together to tackle how open source solutions can better serve nonprofits. From app ideas to collaborative documentation, it was all on the table.
I led the “How-To Videos” team, using an AI-generated prompt to script tutorials for some unofficialSF flow components. While results varied, we walked away with valuable lessons and a few video drafts ready for recording.
The highlight? The long-anticipated reveal of Astro Sprinty — the community’s much-requested mascot costume finally made its debut. #AstroSprinty
This was my fourth in-person sprint, you can find out more about why I attend the sprints here.
Tuesday: From Day Job to Double Feature
Tuesday was my “day off” from community events — translation: I went to work! But the evening quickly made up for the break:
- First stop: The Nonprofit Reception, where I reconnected with many familiar faces from the Salesforce Nonprofit User Group, United Kingdom (Virtual) and Salesforce Ask Me Anything (EMEA) sessions.
- Next: The Salesforce Admin Group, London. Sponsored pizza (thank you, Titan!) and a series of rapid-fire 5-minute talks made for an engaging evening. If you’re a London-based admin, this group is a must.
Wednesday: World Tour London, TrailblazerDX and the Quest for Codey
Wednesday was Agentforce World Tour London and the kickoff of TrailblazerDX London. After a lovely Nonprofit breakfast, I skipped the keynote (thanks Salesforce+, I’ll catch the replay!) to tackle the Agentforce Quest. The mini hack’s auto-launched flow was especially tricky, but worth it. I completed everything and earned my t-shirt, with Agentforce Codey collected the next day.
I also visited our FinDock partners and prepped for the afternoon’s sessions. At 3pm, Rosi Callery and I hosted the Nonprofit Community Meetup. We tried something different with rotating groups to encourage new connections. The feedback was great, and we hope it helped attendees expand their networks.
To round out the day, I shared my journey in “Accidental Admin to MVP” with over 100 attendees. It was a joy to tell my story and (hopefully!) inspire others navigating unexpected paths into tech.
The evening kept the energy going with:
- A Slack Community rooftop event filled with games and conversations.
- The Salesforce Ben World Tour After Party — an awesome venue, dancing, pizza, and celebration.
Thursday: The Grand Finale
Thursday started with the main keynote, where Will Turner received the prestigious Golden Hoodie. The Agentforce use cases shown were exciting — though not immediately applicable for my clients, it was still great to see the innovation.
I ended my event week with some last-minute networking and sat in on “The Future of Setup”, which shared promising updates for Summer ‘25 and Winter ‘26. The big takeaway? Agentforce could be integrated into platform licenses with less concern about credit consumption — a potential game-changer for admins.
It was great to see TDX make it’s debut in London, however the two day event, mixed with World Tour, felt a little confused. Many attendees commented to me that they didn’t attend day two as they didn’t see it as worthwhile. I was surprised to see the welcoming of ‘Developers’, unlike TDX San Francisco, which welcomed ‘Agentblazers’. The content was mixed over the two days and I felt that Day 1 World Tour, Day 2 TrailblazerDX would have made much more sense, with clarity needed on what to expect from each day ahead of time.
Heading Home: Exhausted but Grateful
By Thursday evening, my body was physically, mentally, and emotionally done — but my heart was full. The conversations, connections, presentations, and celebrations made it all worthwhile.
A huge thank you to everyone who crossed my path this week. Whether we chatted, collaborated, or shared a laugh — I’m grateful for each moment. I’m already counting down the days to next year.
If you’ve never been to London’s Calling or a Salesforce community event… make it happen. You won’t regret it.
Thanks to ChatGPT for helping me turn my blog article notes into an article!
