I know that one of the tips from my previous post was to start preparing for the event a month before or so. And yet: there's no such thing as “too early” preps for the Web Summit 2018
The future belongs to those who plan ahead, especially if you're a startup founder!
Nevertheless, irrespective of a company's size or for how long it's been on the market there's plenty of networking potential to be seized and to be leveraged at the conference. For everyone.
So, why not start your pre-conference preparation by going through my handful of valuable advice and top tips based on my experience there representing OPTASY? Tips on how to create your own networking opportunities and how to fully “exploit” them.
Hence, today I'll be sharing with you some of my experience at the Web Summit from a company's perspective, along with insights and advice from the standpoint of OPTASY's assignee there (me).
1. Do Your Pre-Conference Homework Like a Pro'
Plenty of research here included!
My advice, from the previous post on this topic, to take your time to properly prepare for the event applies, all the more, if you're attending the Web Summit 20918 as a company.
With so many big names and start-ups striving to maximize their opportunities to build connections and meet potential partners — before and while at the conference— reaching out to people and scheduling meetings long time in advance becomes... common sense.
Read bios, make yourself a list of the people you'd love to “chat” with and... drop them a line. Make contact, schedule valuable meetings...
2. … and Do Show Up At Meetings With All Your Homework Properly Done
By “homework” I do mean 2 things:
improvisation is definitely overrated; instead of relying solely on your personal charm and persuasion skills to win them over, try to collect (and to memorize) as much key information about the people (and their companies) you'll meet as possible: projects, shared values, success story, objectives, approach to disruptive technologies etc.
don't deliver them just plain, rigid numbers and statistics, but tell a story, your company's unique story; in this respect, again, don't rely exclusively on your spontaneity, but craft and repeatedly polish your story long time in advance
3. Write Down Notes After Every Single Meeting: They Are True Lifesavers
“Specific” notes I should add. You can even write them down (the notes) right on the business cards that you'll receive.
OK, so you may not be interested, at first, in someone's plans to travel around the world or in his golden retriever's name, but, believe me:
These seemingly insignificant details will turn out to be powerful information once the summit ends and you go back to the office!
This is the kind of personal information that will “fuel” your follow-up emails to those people, helping you add that personal touch that's not to be underestimated.
Take these on-the-spot notes as the surest way to remember all those people that you'll chat with. To quickly put a face on each name written on a business card.
4. Follow Up on The Very Same Day
The best way to “carve” a meeting in your interlocutor's memory is to send him/her a follow-up email the very same day. One where you express, once again, your intention to help him/his company.
Patience might be a virtue, but when it comes to fully exploiting your networking opportunities at the Web Summit 2018, quick reactions, real-time follow-ups, are a must.
5. Be Alert, Meet and Mingle
Once at the web summit: sharpen all your senses!
Keep your eyes “wide shut”, ready to:
“detect” any “big” company/startup celebrity name on a badge
listen to people chatting around you
mingle with the crowd
Networking opportunities are “floating” there, everywhere, the cafeteria here included!
6. Set Up a Goal and Never Lose Sight of It
Why do you plan to/will be attending the Web Summit 2018? What are you hoping to get out of your attendance to this major tech conference?
Is it for getting your company's name out there? Is it it for promoting your brilliant, innovative business idea? Is it for meeting potential clients/finding investors?
Or are you looking for an inspiring mentor maybe?
Just don't show up there without a goal! With nothing but pure... enthusiasm.
Define your main objective long time in advance and build your powerful strategy around it!
7. Try Out Different Networking Methods While at the Web Summit 2018
Remember: your time in the spotlight, when you get the chance to exhibit, lasts for just one day.
Therefore, it's crucial that you plan out the other 2 days left in detail. A highly effective approach to planning is to try a mix of different networking strategies:
hand out fliers
take a tour of all the booths there
go to your scheduled meetings
attend conferences and try reaching out to speakers after
And, most of all, as you “juggle” with all these networking methods, stay creative and you'll stand you! You'll get noticed!
8. Don't Formalize: Meet People Over a Drink
And speaking of “meeting and mingling”, don't hesitate to invite your interlocutors to chit-chat over a drink at one of those night events at the Web Summit 2018.
Turn the Pub Crawls, get togethers and, most of all, private dinner parties into some great (if not the very best) opportunities to make connections.
Mingle with the crowd, a glass in your hand, and interact while trying to have some fun, too. To enjoy your experience there, as a (startup) company attendee!
And this is it! OPTASY's 8-step guide on how to network like a champ', how to seize and value all the opportunities of making new, valuable connections, as a company, at the Web Summit 2018. Good luck with that!
Serge Karpyuk / Dec 08'2017
My first time at the Web Summit! And it's been almost... “surreal”, I'm still having trouble believing that I did, indeed, attend it (has it been a month already?).
You go over all the numbers (60000 names, 1200 speakers etc.), you scan through the overwhelmingly long list of participants (packed with awe-inspiring names) and you start to feel just like a... kid going to Disneyland for the first time:
Am I really going to attend these talks?
Be in the same room (even if in the very last row... these are just details) with all these... tech and business giants?
Get close to all these inspiring innovators (I know, I know: I start to sound like a fanatic)?
And last but definitely not least: get to immense myself in this astonishing city?
Of course, once you go through the list over and over again, you use the app day and night and you burst with over-excitement, you gradually... cool down and start doing your homework.
To properly prep for meeting all these influencers. For you do want to make the most of your staying there and not waste anyone's time.
But before I go on with my list of tips and advice on how to prepare for a Web Summit — whether you're a startup founder or a tech enthusiast — allow me to share with you some glimpses of my actual experience:
1. Got There Pumped Up for the Event and Left Head Over Heels in Love With... Lisbon!
For it's simply... breathtaking!
Lisbon lures you in to explore it, then it crawls into your heart and... gets stuck to it!
The cosmopolitan city basking in the sun has been the host of “the best technology conference on the planet” for the second year in a row. And this after the conference had spent its “childhood” in Dublin and... well... got a bit... too much for the Irish capital city.
And organizers couldn't have picked a better “host”:
the city of Lisbon had the capacity to easily accommodate the heavy influx of participants
it took me about 40 minutes to get from the venue to the city centre, by subway
I got (thank God!) stable internet connection throughout my staying there
there were no discouragingly large crowds gathered around the exhibit stands
2. Attended Talks and Conferences: My Top Favorites
For even though some more experienced Web Summit participants might advise you to watch the speeches on YouTube — and instead, while there, to network like there's no tomorrow (or a next web summit to attend) — I stuck to my own schedule.
It would have been inconceivable for me not to attend the conferences and talks that I was so looking forward to.
And here's a short list of the ones that I loved best:
Stephen's Hawking's Talk on Disruptive Technology, on how “Artificial intelligence comes, and this can become both a major success and the main failure of mankind “, that if it's not geared exclusively at SERVING humanity (and not the other way around)
Bryan Johnson's (the CEO of Kernel) Talk on Prioritizing Humanity, above all, and the stringent need for people to learn to adapt to the newly emerging tasks that disruptive technologies assign to them
Margrethe Vestager's, The European Union's Commissioner for Competition, Talk on Fair Play and Tech (filled with self-evident examples of invasive usages of technology and of tech giants engaging in tax invasion)
Dana Settle's (Greycroft) and Jim Breyer's (Breyer Capital) Speech answering the legitimate “Where to Invest in 2018?” question: in core technologies, practical and simple apps, (e.g. virtual, personal health assistants) in AI, machine learning; a talk with a focus on China as the world's second largest AI development center
3. And Now: My Top Pre-Event Preparation Tips and Tricks
Let me switch from what might look like me bragging about my experience at the Lisbon Web Summit 2017, to me sharing some practical tips with you.
Some advice on how to properly plan out your attendance and prepare like a pro' for the event:
First of all: start your pre-conference preparations long time in advance (a month before or so)
Next, download the Web Summit app; and this is a true power placed in your hands if you know just to harness its full potential
Then, it's time you do your homework: delve deep into the wide list of participants (luckily you'll find them all right there, listed in the app), scan them through, read bios, do your research work and reach out to them (be perseverant), make connections, schedule meetings
The event's app will be your most reliable ally thanks to its conveniently easy-to-use and time-saving filters: don't be afraid to use them
Rely on keyword search, as well, and put together a list including ONLY those people whom you'd just die to meet and chat with, who inspire you, whose story you're fascinated with, who are most likely to provide you with information that's 100% relevant for your industry
Put together a schedule of meetings, for once you get there... you risk to be swept by the “whirlpool”. It will help you stay focused, stay organized and maximize all your networking opportunities once you're at the summit
In short: there's no easy way to properly prep for the Web Summit 2018; no quick trick or secret recipe to making connections and scheduling meetings so that you land in Lisbon with a solid strategy at hand, that you'll just need to... execute to perfection.
It's all about kneeing deep in the discouragingly rich database of participants, running a rigorous selection and reaching out to people.
4. Web Summit 2018: My Advice on How to Make the Most of It
So, with your list of contacts plus your schedule of meetings in one pocket and your Web Summit app in the other one you... arrive in Lisbon.
Now what?
Here are a few tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your next/first web summit attendance:
Schedule all the talks and conferences that you want to attend; in this respect, the recommendation feature and the event calendar — 2 of the app's key features — make some really powerful tools
Next, remember that people connect more easily outside conference halls and that networking at Web Summit doesn't end at sunset; be ready to attend some of the night events (parties here included!) scheduled for the Night Summit; pub-crawl, interact, make connections while you're having some well-deserved fun, as well, after a full, hectic day
But probably the only really “strict” advice to follow while at the Web Summit is: Be creative! Don't be shy to reach out to people, you'll be surprised to discover that some of them are really willing to share their experiences/expertise (for that's why they go there after all, to network with people passionate about innovation, with disruptive technologies enthusiasts, like you, after all), to create your own networking opportunities
And this is my (first) Web Summit experience in a few words and my tips for you if you're planning to hit the 2018's tech conference!
Stay tuned! In our next post we'll be sharing with you a tried-and-tested step-by-step guide on how to network like rockstar — as a startup company — at Web Summit 2018!
Serge Karpyuk / Dec 06'2017
Choosing a company that provides web development services is not as simple as shopping for other services. If it’s your business you’re getting the website for, its success and reputation inevitably hinge on how good the website looks and functions.
Professional web development services are too often offered by people who are not necessarily a good choice to work with. It is, therefore, a critical hire. Here are a few things to keep in mind in order to make sure you make the right decision.
Take time to notice personal qualities. Professional competence is important, but if the person is reliable, they will be truthful about their abilities as well. They will also stick to your spec, and deliver quality results on time. Look for drive, determination, and passion in the people you’re hiring. If all those qualities are there, you are on the right track.
Try them out on a mini project. Before you up and spend your entire web development budget on what may turn out to be a bad choice, try them out. Website designers for small business are usually understanding and will take on a smaller job first. This will allow you to gauge the quality of their work and general performance before making a big commitment.
Focus on the essentials. Experience and knowledge are not the same thing. Whether the Canadian web design company you’re interviewing can answer particular questions about JavaScript’s history or when PHP was created. What is important are things like:
How many developers do you have working on each project? How do they communicate, especially when editing the same website?
Do you have a designated web designer or is the development team responsible for web design as well?
What are the current design trends for businesses in our industry?
What are the steps you would suggest to take in our particular situation?
Take the time in hiring, but once you did, keep an eye out on things. Even when you’re sure you made the correct choice, don’t be in a hurry to leave it all to the company. Web development services demand constant communication. Stay on top of things, make sure you get frequent updates and be ready to make a hard choice if things go off the rocker.
Keep those 4 things in mind when hiring a company for web development services, and you should be perfectly fine. Good luck!
Serge Karpyuk / Mar 10'2017