Name: GRWebDev presents Real World Elixir: A Practical Introduction
Start: 2026-02-23T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-23T20:00:00-05:00
Location: Start Garden

GRWebDev presents Real World Elixir: A Practical Introduction

Curious about Elixir? Join us this month to learn why Discord, Pinterest, and other large corporations love it. You will too.
About this Event

GRWebDev Powered by LaFleur presents

Real World Elixir: A Practical Introduction

Start Garden (2 Fulton St. W, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503)

Monday, February 23rd 2026, 6pm - 8pm

LOCATION

Start Garden is located in Bamboo Grand Rapids at 2 Fulton St. West. Enter the main Fulton Street entrance near the SW corner of Fulton and Division and follow the signs to the event space.

PARKING

Parking is available in the Gallery Ramp on Commerce just south of Fulton as well as on nearby streets. (Pro tip: Weston, Sheldon, and LaGrave just east of Division are often more easily accessible than busier streets such as Commerce and Division.) Street parking pricing and hours vary depending on location; details can be found on the City of Grand Rapids website.

DESCRIPTION

When building a new project, there’s probably a few technologies that come to mind. How often do you ponder using Elixir?

This month at GRWebDev, Vianet’s Torey Heinz will navigate us through the wonderful world of Elixir development. Starting off with the obvious question, “why Elixir?”, Torey will share a brief history of the language and discuss primary functions like concurrency and fault tolerance. We’ll then explore some real world code examples such as sending large scale personalized marketing emails, managing TCP connection pools, and building internal admin tools that span multiple sites.

OUR PRESENTER

is a full-stack developer at Vianet Management and founder of Shopflow, a software company serving small manufacturing businesses. Based in West Michigan, he brings over a decade of experience building web applications—primarily with Ruby on Rails and, more recently, Elixir and Phoenix. After 15+ years with Ruby on Rails, he caught the Elixir bug and hasn't looked back.

SPONSORS

This month’s meetup is sponsored by . West Michigan Tech Talent connects local employers, educators, community organizations and workforce experts who are invested in creating a strong tech workforce. By sharing best practices, leveraging resources and collaborating on innovative solutions, WMTT is actively addressing the tech talent gap and makes upskilling affordable and accessible. Learn more at westmichigantechtalent.com.

GRWebDev’s venue sponsor is . Empowering West Michigan's startup ecosystem through financial, intellectual & social capital, Start Garden provides a neighborhood for startups to grow. No matter where you are on your journey - whether you’re an entrepreneur, a startup or simply a dreamer with a great idea - the Start Garden ecosystem provides a strong community of support to help you get your idea off the ground or move your business to the next level. Learn more at startgarden.com.

GRWebDev's title sponsor is . LaFleur is your forward-thinking digital marketing partner, creating innovative, data-driven marketing strategies and assets for law firms, healthcare organizations, and growing businesses. Learn more about their services on the web at lafleur.marketing.

SCHEDULE