ConHorde and the Future of Convention Staffing

At Gen Con 2025, I had the chance to sit down with Brandyn Osborne, founder and driving force behind ConHorde, a professional staffing and consulting agency redefining what it means to work in the tabletop convention space. What started as a Facebook group chat has grown into a movement that champions professionalism, community, and accountability.

From Group Chat to Game-Changer

ConHorde began informally as a digital gathering space among friends and convention workers. Over time, Brandyn and others began tracking which publishers paid fairly, treated staff well, and provided opportunities for growth. That database evolved into a more organized initiative.

After a tech startup job imploded, Brandyn decided to turn what was once a passion project into a full-time business. The goal was to raise the bar for demo staff and help publishers create better convention experiences. With years of convention experience and a growing web of industry connections, Brandyn saw the gap between expectation and execution and decided to fill it.

[caption id="attachment_322002" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] @larisaarensphoto[/caption]

"We had a spreadsheet of publishers, rates, perks, and even who took you out to dinner," Brandyn laughed. "It was scrappy, but it was honest. And people wanted that transparency."

The early group chat,…

The post ConHorde and the Future of Convention Staffing appeared first on Meeple Mountain.