What THOTCON does

THOTCON is an annual information security conference operated by THOTCON Infinity NFP, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Illinois. Founded in 2009 and first held in April 2010 with approximately 125 attendees, the conference has grown to 1,800+ attendees across 13 editions, with 75% drawn from the Chicago metropolitan area. THOTCON 0xD, the thirteenth incarnation, is scheduled for May 30-31, 2025, featuring three tracks over two days, hacker villages, contests, and after-party social events. The event is positioned as the only hacking conference in Chicago, combining world-class security talks with a casual, community-driven atmosphere. A signature tradition is the secret venue location ("TOP_SECRET") disclosed only to ticket holders the week before, alongside an annual collectible Hacker Badge.

THOTCON does not develop proprietary technology products, software platforms, or APIs. Its core "product" is the annual two-day event itself, augmented by speaker-driven content, hands-on villages, and competitions. The organization does not employ AI/ML as part of its technology stack or content delivery. Operational tooling is limited to standard conference infrastructure: a website (thotcon.org), ticketing through the Showclix platform, donation processing via GiveLively, and community channels on X/Twitter and Discord. The annual Hacker Badge is a notable physical artifact tradition, with custom hardware badges featuring hacker themes and easter eggs across editions.

The business model is entirely event-driven and non-commercial. Revenue is generated through three streams: tiered ticket sales (Student GA sold below cost, General Admittance, and tax-deductible VIP/Donor tickets), corporate sponsorships (Party Sponsors at $5,000, Education Sponsors, Prize Sponsors with a $2,000 minimum prize value, and technology sponsors), and tax-deductible donations. Sponsorships fund the after-party and subsidize Student GA tickets. The conference offers (ISC)2 CPE credits for CAP, SSCP, or CISSP. Customer segments span security professionals (CISO/CIO/CTO, Security Engineers, Application Developers, Security Consultants) across financial services, technology, manufacturing, hospitality, and energy industries, plus a secondary student segment supported by education sponsorships.

Name

THOTCON

Legal name

THOTCON Infinity NFP

Website

https://thotcon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

THOTCON is an annual nonprofit hacking conference in Chicago, organized by THOTCON Infinity NFP (501(c)(3)), serving 1,800+ information security professionals with talks, villages, and contests across three tracks over two days.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Information Security Conferences

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Government, Defense & Public Safety Shows Organizers (THAHABAO)

Keywords

• Information security conferences
• Hacking conferences
• Cybersecurity community events
• Nonprofit tech education
• Security training events

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from selling tickets to the annual hacking conference. Tickets are sold in advance through Showclix. Ticket tiers include Student GA, General Admittance, and VIP/Donor tickets.
2. Sponsorships: Sponsorships fund the after-party and student tickets. Sponsorship tiers include Party Sponsors ($5,000), Education Sponsors, and Prize Sponsors (minimum $2,000 prize value). Sponsors receive verbal mentions, logo placement, website links, VIP/GA tickets, and reserved tables.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations are accepted through GiveLively platform for THOTCON Infinity NFP, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

THOTCON is an annual nonprofit hacking conference held in Chicago, IL, featuring multiple tracks of information security talks, hacker villages, security contests, and social events over two days. The conference sells tiered tickets (Student GA, GA, VIP/Donor) directly through its website and the Showclix ticketing platform, and is supported by corporate sponsorships and tax-deductible donations to the THOTCON Infinity NFP 501(c)(3) organization.

Product overview

THOTCON is a non-profit hacking conference organized by THOTCON Infinity NFP, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. It is not a product company; it is an annual information security conference held in Chicago, IL, USA. The event features multiple tracks of talks, hacker villages, contests, and social activities across two days. The conference has grown from a 125-person event to over 1,800 attendees over 14 years. No standalone software products, SaaS platforms, or commercial product lines are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• THOTCON Annual Hacking Conference
• Conference Sponsorship Packages

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• ShowClix: ShowClix is the ticketing platform that THOTCON uses to sell conference tickets. It is an infrastructure/enabling partner rather than a competitor, but relevant as the operational backbone of THOTCON's distribution channel.

Direct peers

• DerbyCon: DerbyCon was a community-driven security conference in Louisville, KY that was a close peer to THOTCON in scale and ethos before going on hiatus. It demonstrates both the model THOTCON follows and the operational risk that community-run conferences can hit.
• ShmooCon: ShmooCon is an annual hacker conference held in Washington, DC. Comparable to THOTCON in audience, single-track style, and community-driven, non-commercial feel, targeting security professionals and researchers.
• CypherCon: CypherCon is a Midwest-based hacker/security conference held in Milwaukee. As a fellow Midwestern regional security conference, it is highly comparable to THOTCON in scale, audience, and community-driven format. Notably, CypherCon is listed as an Education Sponsor for THOTCON 0xD.
• Wild West Hackin' Fest: Wild West Hackin' Fest is a community-organized security conference in the western US. It shares THOTCON's emphasis on practitioner-focused talks, hands-on villages, and approachable community culture rather than vendor-heavy formats.
• Security BSides: Security BSides is a global network of small, community-driven security conferences organized by local chapters. THOTCON shares the BSides ethos of grassroots, low-cost, community-focused security events and is most directly comparable as a similarly-scoped local conference.
• HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth): HOPE is a longstanding hacker conference held in New York City, organized by 2600 Magazine. It shares THOTCON's grassroots, community-driven, non-commercial ethos and similar audience of hackers, security researchers, and tech enthusiasts.
• ToorCon: ToorCon is a long-running community-focused hacker conference based in San Diego. Like THOTCON, it emphasizes a casual, social, and technically deep hacker culture with multiple tracks and an indie feel.

Broad incumbents

• DEF CON: DEF CON is the world's largest and most established hacking conference, held annually in Las Vegas. It is the gold-standard benchmark in the hacker conference category that THOTCON operates in, sharing themes of information security talks, villages, contests, and community-driven culture.
• Black Hat: Black Hat is a major global information security conference series with both US and international events. While more corporate and commercial than THOTCON, it serves the same security professional audience (CISO, security engineers, researchers) and competes for sponsorship dollars in the same ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/THOTCON

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THOTCON