Networking with a global mindset
Vienna has Pioneers, Cologne has the Pirate Summit, Dublin had the WebSummit and Amsterdam has The Next Web Conference. Having grown into Europe’s leading tech conference, TNW Conference feels even more like a festival. 10.000 Visitors, food-truck plaza’s for lunch & dinner, and about as many after-parties as talks to attend during the day. Yet, what is the value, for founders and startups, of attending such an event?
More than showcasing
Every tech conference has its own approach to startups. Ranging from hosting tens of startups to into the thousands, and charging them nothing to the equivalent of what an accelerator typically might invest. But does that all matter, or is it about taking part? Matias Rodsevich from Impraise, a service that makes “360 degree feedback and peer coaching real-time and meaningful at work” and Y-Combinator 2014 alumni, explains that they did not opt to get a booth at TNW this year. “It’s not our target audience”, he says, but nevertheless, the team is around. Rodsevich does see the benefits of attending the conference, with or without a booth: “It is valuable to founders. Not just to showcase what you do, but also to find new talent, and to network”. It is specifically that network Impraise is interested in. “For the team it is also a way to learn a lot from the leaders and talks”, according to Rodsevich, who also attended a workshop.
Fixing the braindrain
Staying on top of the latest developments is a major plus for founders to attend a conference. At Y-Combinator, Impraise was able to attend regular meetings with influencers. “You could be talking to Ashton Kutcher”, recalls Rodsevich enthusiastically, but “in Amsterdam this is still developing”. For Impraise that was a reason to participate in Y-Combinator, the startup now has offices in New York and Amsterdam. However, that - a move to the States due to having better opportunities - is exactly what Kees Koolen (ex CEO of Booking.com and former COO of Uber) wants to prevent with a 566 million euro fund he launched at The Next Web. That fund is part of EQT Ventures, an investment fund aimed at educating (creating more expertise) and providing capital. If you want to keep talented people within Europe, those two things are what Europe needs to invest in most, argues Koolen. “Otherwise they’ll go to the Valley, build a life there, family and friends, and then they will never come back”, says Koolen.
Global mindset
Yet, the biggest challenge when expanding your startup across Europe is legislation. “Language or cultures aren’t that big of an issue, at the top they’ll all speak English, and we have experts who can work in different cultures. The difficulty lies in the differences in European countries’ laws and legislation”, explains Koolen. He finds that the different European countries do not fight hard enough to keep talent in Europe. He pleas for international teams and networks, so not just act international at a conference, but also in the hiring process of a startup, “All those different kinds of expertise, you do not find them in one country. You want the best talent, and they do not all live in the same country”. His biggest advice for the young talents at the conference is to “Think global. But, where you are from does not determine success, that depends on your execution”. For the best execution of your plans, you need to gather the most talented, preferably international team, recommends Koolen.
Networking on a global level
Still, the struggle Koolen describes is not only European. Piquant from Korea -an Internet-of-Things solution to detect harmful chemicals in food-, is one of the Asian startups present at The Next Web. Doyoung Kwak, from startup Piquant, explains how in Korea investors also prefer to invest in American or European startups, or the Asian startups that have been in the Valley. The ecosystem in Korea is not huge, but has a strong network and there are tight bonds with Europe and the United States. For Kwak the biggest challenge for their ecosystem is to find investments, “But we came here for networking”, she says.
Sally Kuok, founder of StartGround -a platform that connects non-Chinese startups with Chinese investors-, also values TNW for the network it brings together. As a first-time visitor of the conference she appreciates the eagerness of the European startups present at the event. Due to the nature of her own startup, she did not opt for a booth at the event. “My target audience is already exhibiting, so that gives me the freedom to scout for potential startups to match with Chinese investors”, she says. She found a startup trying to better connect doctors and patients on the Chinese market. Kuok knows about its potential for the Chinese market, and the huge issue this relationship is in China, due to her background and network. Although at the after-events her scouting activities are at a low level, she does consider these moments to be “the best moments to network, and also show that you are a trustworthy party”.
Paying it forward
For Frank Heijdenrijk, currently a freelancer, but aspiring founder, networking went a little differently. He came well prepared to the conference. “I emailed some of the speakers I wanted to talk to before coming to the conference”. He emailed the founders of Takeaway.com, Booking.com and Buffer, and was able to get a few minutes with most of them. By doing this, Heijdenrijk discovered that most founders are “very eager to help you”.
Inspiration
Most founders and startups attend the event for networking, finding investment(s) or new team members at the conference. It is Gary Vaynerchuck who gives a heartfelt and inspiring piece of advice to the entrepreneurs. He felt a lot of gratitude for his parents, who immigrated to the United States from Belarus and started a wine company. He felt like he needed to give back to them, which inspired him to work hard, but -most of all- to become self-aware. He recommends that everybody should discover what they are actually good at, and what value and role they should contribute to a company. Being self-aware is a key asset in being valuable, according to Vaynerchuck. That self-awareness is also what a founder needs, and what might help in making the most out of networking, educating yourself by means of conference talks, or finding potential talent to add to the team. He also addressed that in line with this self-awareness, we should find out if we actually can and want to build billion dollar businesses for ourselves, instead of having the media and culture decide what our ambitions should be. He made sure that his message landed by stating he built a 100 million dollar business, “in revenue, not valuation”. We could clearly see this started to make the audience re-think what matters.
TL; DR: This article gives an insight in what The Next Web had to offer for startups and its founders. What we learned from talking to founders and speakers? A conference is about networking, inspiration, education, and finding new talent or investment. Moreover, we learned how valuable a global mindset and network are for the startup ecosystem.
Did you attend #TNW2016? Feel free to share your take-aways with us!
