An honest guide for the WebSummit 2018
(or the naked truth about conferences)
Have you ever searched for guides to attend tech conferences? If you did, you wouldn’t be surprised if we told you they are quite identical. In case you are joining the Web Summit in Lisbon this year and you want some un-sugar-coated facts about what is actually going on during this kind of events, please keep on reading. We are going to cut the cord few had the courage to cut.
We present you the “What we say and what we actually mean at a conference and all the well-practiced tricks everybody knows but nobody talks about it out loud.” Shhh!
Attendees:
Let’s start with the people who are attending the conference. Statistically speaking, it’s natural to have a vast range of attendee personas at such big events like the Web Summit. So, you might be familiar with some of them (or be one of them). Anyway, our favorite ones are:
- The Networking Dude
He is armed with business cards. He is ready to shake hands with everyone and send LinkedIn connection invites to you and your entire family. There’s a chance he has already prepared something similar to an FBI brief history of your company and your entire activity.
- The Seller
If you hear them saying, at the beginning of the conversation, something like “with the risk of sounding too salesy”, know exactly where this conversation is heading. These are the people who do the exact same thing as half of their competitors, but they do it “uniquely” and “better”. They have the “same, same, but different” attitude. Don’t try to convince them otherwise. Take the card, be polite and accept that they can help you build the next “1 million user business model”.
- The bloggers and media folks
Hats off to this extraterrestrial species of individuals who can type faster than the speed of sound. You may not believe it, but they already have written down an article or a tweet about what the speaker is yet going to say. You want to be friends with them, as their online word can be extremely helpful or slightly harmful. Also, there’s a myth saying the muscles on their fingers are so strong that they are banned from joining the arm-wrestling contests. They’ll put you down with a pinky. We promise you that!
- Investors
Call them however you want, but these folks are the people who can have the most impact on a startup. They can turn a pony into a unicorn and show you the starting point of a rainbow. That’s why there’s this jungle-like-hunt for their attention.
- Startups
Talking about unicorns… There are three divisions at the WebSummit: Growth, Beta and Alfa categories in which startups are divided.
ALPHA | The company is in the pre-investment stage or has under $1 million in funding.
BETA | The company has launched successfully and is often a Web Summit alumnus.
Growth | The company is experiencing considerable growth and expanding globally. Often it has raised over $3 million.
The list of criteria by which startups are given scores at the Web Summit includes: growth potential, impact, product and team, pitch quality and cool factor. The ones who land on the top of the rank are invited to exhibit at the summit.
The easiest ones to spot with a naked eye are the Alpha startups:
“-So, this is your presentation, right? -No. This is our product.” or “This is what it should have looked like, have had our demo work.”
Besides that, we love startups and every Web Summit edition surprises us with quite a big number of “why hasn’t anyone think of it before?” ideas.
- Speakers
There’s a theory which still has to be proved that the quality of a speech at a conference is directly proportional with the power of wi-fi connection and how tasteful your lunch was, and whether or not your shoes are killing your feet.
This year speakers lineup at Web Summit is well-packed with some notable names. That’s why we are pretty damn sure that at least one of them will mark your existence. And after decades will pass, you’ll find yourself looking back and repeating that one quote you wrote down. Catch that shooting star of inspiration.
- The Wolves (You can skip this advertisement)
This might be a premiere for you, but a conference with no wolves is no conference at all. Do you know why? Because they #byte and they do it good. Inside the Wolfpack Digital startup-studio a.k.a the #WolfDen, many startups have found their safe haven through strategies, product journeys, solutions and innovation, development both, with flawless code and eye-catching design.
Tricks and things to keep in mind
Working the Networking
There’re some unspoken tricks in the business in order to start a conversation with your favorite speaker, the “big fish” of the industry or someone you admire a lot but have few chances of actually getting a 1-to-1 meeting with.
Stalking them and accidentally waking up in the same room, or waiting in the same queue for the coffee is something that works for many. Not that we have ever done this or anything. So, next time when you are standing in line for a coffee, look into the eyes of the person right next to you. It might not be a coincidence that you both love dogs, read Yuval Noah Harari and you’re heading to the same workshop.
Another common trick used nowadays is to win your spot under the light with some very heavy terms and grab the attention of someone who is ‘hunted’ by other dozens of people. Sometimes your chance to exchange a few thoughts with the top speakers will feel like a rodeo ride. You have to hold on really tight or you get frown away in no less than a second. Our advice is — cut the bullshit! Be straightforward and honest about who you are and what you want, but use fancy words. The first filter of a great idea is the number of buzzwords the pitching contains. Again, not that we have ever done this.
“I’m going to build an AI Startup that does GDPR compliance in the cloud. That should get me at least 1 million funding for each buzzword.“ Anonymous 1
“It’s not enough to say innovative, let’s use disrupt. ” Anonymous 2
Another friendly advice is to use the Web Summit App accordingly. Put your creativity to use. Don’t be that “copy/paste” machine when messaging people. Avoid using the salesman attitude. You want to build more personal relations. By typing the same message to the entire nation of speakers and startup representatives, you almost invite them to shut the virtual door right in your pretty face.
The golden rule of follow-up
Imagine you have done the entire process of networking correctly - you’ve met like-minded people with whom you talked about turning this world upside down and you are ready to unite your forces in order to make this world a better place. This equals to zero and below if you don’t follow up on your prospects. You have 24 hours before they completely forget your face and who you are. Come up with a very short, but personal message, and remind them of what you’ve talked about.
Preparation:
Web Summit is an event like any other where you spend your entire time learning, meeting with international people, finding the last-minute news from the tech industry. Like any other events — only bigger and better. So, be prepared:
Things to do ahead of time:
- Download the App;
- Plan your schedule;
- Do your research on people and plan 1-to-1 meetings;
- Print those fancy business cards;
- Prepare your social media hashtags.
This guide has some satire here and there, so please don’t throw tomatoes in our direction. Better bring them with you in Lisbon and let’s have a Bloody Marry during the Night Summit, which we highly recommend to attend. Also, please keep being real and don’t repeat the same tricks everyone is using. How about some authenticity? Let’s have fun and make the most out of this Web Summit’s edition.
If you feel like boasting with your brand new idea in an authentic way, we believe you should meet Gina Lupu, the CEO and Adrian Florian, the CTO at Wolfpack Digital.
Walking the same path over and over again at conferences is bad for your boots and your performance.
Do you want to talk real business over a strong coffee during the summit?
Let us know and let's grab a coffee. Feel free to contact us anytime at contact@wolfpack-digtal.com.
Want to know what Wolves are up to? Check our blog posts with tech trends, how-to articles, and tips for entrepreneurs.
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