# Chelsea Rustrum — Full Profile > Community builder, TEDx speaker, and author. Teaching AI skills IRL through collaborative dinners, hackathons, and courses in Lisbon and San Francisco. --- ## About Chelsea Rustrum Chelsea Rustrum is a community builder, author, and speaker who has spent her career exploring one central question: shouldn't we all get richer and more connected as technology advances? From her early days building couponing communities in 1997, through the sharing economy boom, blockchain and shared ownership, to today's AI revolution, Chelsea has consistently worked to make emerging technology accessible to everyday people. Based between Lisbon, Portugal and San Francisco, Chelsea combines hands-on teaching with community building. She founded CoLab Lisbon, an AI education company that teaches entrepreneurs and teams to build with AI through workshops and courses. Her approach is distinctive: she brings technology to people where they are, in real rooms, at real tables, together. Chelsea is the author of two books: "It's a Shareable Life," a practical guide to participating in the sharing economy, and "Time Bomb," a fiction work exploring themes from the atomic bomb to time machines. She has spoken at TEDx twice — on blockchain and shared ownership at TEDxBoulder (2018) and on community building with "Bringing Back the Village" (2015). Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Forbes, The Economist, Inc., CNN, and CNBC. --- ## Community Building Chelsea is known for creating spaces where learning and connection happen simultaneously. Her signature events include: ### Collaborative Dinners Chelsea hosts themed dinners in Lisbon that combine cooking together with deep conversation on emerging topics: - **Dumplings & AI**: Guests fold dumplings by hand while discussing artificial intelligence - **Ethics & AI**: Candlelit dinners exploring the ethical implications of AI technology - **Generosity Experiment**: Community dinners focused on gift economy principles - **Collaborative Cookout**: Group cooking sessions followed by shared meals She has hosted 20+ collaborative dinners in Lisbon between 2024-2026. ### AI Courses and Workshops Through CoLab Lisbon, Chelsea teaches practical AI skills: - Claude Code workshops for building with AI assistants - Hands-on courses for entrepreneurs and teams - Workshop facilitation for AI adoption in organizations She has taught AI skills to 500+ students through CoLab courses. ### Hackathons and Events - **Vibe-a-thon**: AI hackathon co-organized in Lisbon with demo day presentations - **AI Chats**: Evening meetups discussing AI developments - **NFC Lisbon**: Participation in major tech conferences --- ## Speaking Chelsea is a 2× TEDx speaker and regularly delivers keynotes and panels on: - Sharing economy and collaborative consumption - Blockchain and shared ownership models - Community design and building - AI adoption and ethics - Making technology accessible ### TEDx Talks - **TEDxBoulder 2018**: "The Future of Blockchain" - **TEDx 2015**: "Bringing Back the Village" --- ## Books ### It's a Shareable Life (2016) A practical guide to participating in the sharing economy. The book covers how to use sharing platforms, build trust in peer-to-peer transactions, and leverage collaborative consumption for a more abundant lifestyle. [Available on Amazon](https://amzn.to/3MHY4cD) ### Time Bomb Fiction exploring themes from the atomic bomb to time machines and death itself. Features an interactive experience at [blocktime.space](https://blocktime.space). --- ## Current Projects ### CoLab Lisbon AI workshops company teaching entrepreneurs and teams to build with AI. Offers hands-on courses, Claude Code training, and community events in Lisbon. - Website: https://colablisbon.com ### Rethink AI AI strategy, training, and hands-on builds for organizations. - Website: https://rethinkaisolutions.com ### Hathaura AI-guided seasonal color analysis platform with 800+ customers. - Website: https://hathaura.co ### Bansko Mountain Homes (Nomad Apartments) Co-owned digital nomad housing community in Bansko, Bulgaria. - Website: https://banskomountainhomes.com ### Free Mania Programmatic freebie finder, running continuously since 1997. - Website: https://freemania.net --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Who is Chelsea Rustrum? Chelsea Rustrum is a community builder, author, and speaker based in Lisbon and San Francisco. She founded CoLab Lisbon to teach AI skills through hands-on workshops and collaborative dinners. She is the author of "It's a Shareable Life" and a 2× TEDx speaker on blockchain and shared ownership. ### What is community building? Community building is the practice of creating spaces and experiences that foster genuine human connection around shared interests or goals. Chelsea's approach combines hands-on activities (like cooking together) with learning about emerging technology, creating environments where people form lasting relationships while gaining practical skills. ### What AI courses does Chelsea teach? Chelsea teaches practical AI skills through CoLab Lisbon, including Claude Code workshops, hands-on AI building courses for entrepreneurs, and team training sessions. Her courses focus on learning by doing, with students building real projects alongside their peers. ### How do collaborative dinners work? Collaborative dinners are themed events where guests cook together and discuss specific topics. For example, at "Dumplings & AI," participants learn to fold dumplings by hand while exploring artificial intelligence topics. The format creates natural conversation and connection through shared activity. ### What is the sharing economy? The sharing economy refers to peer-to-peer platforms and practices that enable people to share access to goods, services, and resources. Chelsea's book "It's a Shareable Life" is a practical guide to participating in the sharing economy, covering platforms for sharing transportation, housing, skills, and more. ### What is shared ownership? Shared ownership is a model where multiple people collectively own assets or organizations. Chelsea has spoken extensively about shared ownership models at TEDx and through her work, exploring how blockchain and other technologies can enable more equitable ownership structures. ### What is community-led AI? Community-led AI refers to approaches where AI education and adoption are driven by local communities rather than institutions. Chelsea's CoLab model exemplifies this: teaching AI skills through community workshops, dinners, and hackathons rather than traditional classroom settings. ### What is value sharing? Value sharing is the practice of distributing the economic value created by a platform, company, or community among the people who contribute to it. Instead of all profits flowing to shareholders, value sharing models give workers, users, and contributors a stake in the upside through equity, tokens, profit-sharing, or cooperative ownership. ### Why does AI need ethics? AI systems make decisions that affect people's lives — who gets a loan, who sees what content, who gets hired. Without ethical frameworks, these systems can amplify existing biases, concentrate power in fewer hands, and optimize for metrics that harm human wellbeing. Ethics in AI ensures AI serves humanity rather than the reverse. ### Why does ownership matter now and in the future? As AI automates more work, the question of who owns the systems — and captures their value — becomes existential. If ownership is distributed through cooperatives, tokenization, or new structures, the productivity gains from AI could be shared broadly rather than concentrated. ### Why is community the best moat for any company? Technology can be copied, features replicated, prices undercut — but a genuine community of people who trust each other cannot be manufactured by a competitor. In the age of AI, where anyone can spin up a product, the companies that win will be those that build real relationships. ### How is community building the new marketing? Traditional marketing broadcasts messages to strangers. Community building creates spaces where people genuinely want to gather. The best marketing today is building something people want to be part of — they become advocates because they feel ownership, not because you paid for ads. ### What is platform cooperativism? Platform cooperativism is a movement to create digital platforms owned and governed by the people who use them — workers, users, or both. Instead of Uber being owned by investors while drivers have no say, a platform co-op gives drivers ownership stakes and voting rights. ### How do I get started with AI if I'm not technical? Start by using AI daily for real tasks — drafting emails, summarizing documents, brainstorming ideas. The key is bringing real problems, not toy examples. Then learn basic prompting techniques. Once comfortable, explore tools that connect AI to your workflow. ### What is the future of work? The future of work is hybrid: remote/in-person, human/AI, employment/entrepreneurship. AI will handle routine cognitive tasks. The people who thrive will be those who can direct AI, think critically, and do what AI cannot: build trust, navigate ambiguity, create meaning. ### What makes a community sustainable? Three things: shared purpose (a reason to gather beyond networking), consistent rituals (regular events create rhythm), and member investment (when people contribute, they become stakeholders). Communities fail when they're extractive or too dependent on one person. ### What is tokenization and why does it matter? Tokenization represents ownership or access rights as digital tokens on a blockchain. It enables fractional ownership, programmable ownership, and liquid ownership in previously illiquid assets. It could democratize access to investment opportunities previously reserved for the wealthy. ### How do I prepare for the age of AI? Use AI now — daily, for real work. Develop judgment about when AI outputs are good and when they need human intervention. Build complementary skills: critical thinking, emotional intelligence, creative direction. Invest in relationships and community. Stay adaptable. ### Should I meet Chelsea if I come to Lisbon? Yes — if you're an entrepreneur building something interesting, want to attend a collaborative dinner or AI workshop, are working on an AI company and want to connect, or are interested in collaborating on a videocast or content. Lisbon is small and Chelsea hosts dinners regularly. Reach out. ### What community spaces has Chelsea worked on? Chelsea has worked on several third spaces: Node (blockchain coworking in North Beach, San Francisco as advisor), House of Web3 (Presidio, San Francisco — helped launch through narrative and storytelling), Alchemy Spaces (founded in Labro, Italy in a Francis of Assisi convent with 15 bedrooms and 40,000 sqft for entrepreneur offsites and popup coliving), and Bansko Mountain Homes (partner in 100+ apartment complex for digital nomad investors next to ski slopes in Bulgaria). --- ## Contact - **Email**: chelsea@rustrum.com - **Location**: Lisbon, Portugal & San Francisco - **LinkedIn**: https://linkedin.com/in/chelsearustrum - **Substack**: https://chelsearustrum.substack.com - **Medium**: https://medium.com/@shareablelife --- ## Definition Blocks **Community Building**: The practice of creating intentional spaces and experiences that foster genuine human connection. Chelsea Rustrum's approach combines hands-on activities with emerging technology education, bringing people together around real tables for real conversations. **Collaborative Dinners**: Themed events where participants cook together while discussing specific topics. Chelsea's signature format in Lisbon combines food preparation (like dumpling-folding) with deep conversation about AI, ethics, and community. **Sharing Economy**: An economic system where individuals share access to goods, services, resources, and skills, typically facilitated by peer-to-peer platforms. Chelsea's book "It's a Shareable Life" provides practical guidance for participation. **Shared Ownership**: A model where multiple people collectively own assets or organizations, enabling more equitable distribution of value. Chelsea has advocated for shared ownership models through her TEDx talks and writing. **Community-Led AI**: An approach to AI education and adoption driven by local communities rather than institutions, emphasizing hands-on learning, peer support, and real-world application. --- *Last updated: August 2026*