Went to a local dev meetup alone and stood near the snack table for twenty minutes before talking to anyone

Signed up weeks ago, almost didn't go, then almost left the second I walked in and didn't recognize anyone. Ended up talking to someone else who was also just standing there, and that one conversation turned into forty minutes and an actual coffee follow-up. Small sample size, but it made me think the awkward first ten minutes might just be the tax everyone pays to get to the useful part.