INTRODUCTION
Web Summit 2021 was a big success. 42,000+ attendees from all around the world gathered in Lisbon to attend (physically!) a 4-day event that is among the most important in both technology and entrepreneurship. With up to 11 speeches concurrently, there is something for everyone, from crypto to climate change and everything in between.
MJ PARTICIPATION
This year I attended as Partner with eToro. Although I am not eToro employee, I am one of their most Popular Investors. As such, I not only attended the speeches, but in fact, spent a lot of time speaking with participants at eToro booth, as well as at networking events and even at the hotel I stayed at.
eToro
I arrived on the 1st of November before the actual conference started to see the eToro booth and get familiar with the surroundings. I must say that eToro marketing team put one of the best booths I have ever seen. A lot of people visited the booth, won some goodies, asked about eToro, Popular Investors Program and the plans for the future. I was also impressed by the presence of eToro at the entire conference with chair labelling, multiple stands etc.
All this helped to generate interesting discussions, gain new Copiers and forge some new strategic relationships / partnerships. Finally, we also had a chance to meet our CEO, Yoni Assia, and hear him delivering 2 speeches on the last day of the Conference.
LESSONS LEARNED
There was so much buzz that I put some notes every day to remember the most crucial points. Let’s take them one by one:
1. People crave to be back at a physical conference. With Covid-19 reaching 2-years, people really came in force and networked heavily with fellow participants. This is something that cannot be replicated via Zoom.
2. Mayor of Lisbon has a motto of “Dreams and Details”. Easy to remember and impactful. Lisbon and Portugal are quite progressive and attract a lot of talent.
3. VCs are looking for a convincing 1000-year vision. They call such founders “missionary” and look for the clarity of vision with straight face.
4. People overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a year.
5. Customers are similar across the globe.
6. Chocolate supply in under threat, third to meat and cheese. This may impact the price of Cocoa and I am considering going long on this commodity.
7. Crypto, climate change and AI were some of the most frequently discussed topics.
8. QR codes are huge. Web Summit provided an application that allowed to connect with fellow participants in an instant. One of my fellow Popular Investors also had a QR code linking to his profile and he got a lot of new Copiers. My LinkedIn QR code on the business card was also very useful.
9. Experience helps. Due to my experience in finance, marketing, investments as well as travel and networking, I felt it really all came together and allowed me to meet and connect with new people. Enjoying meeting new people, hearing their stories and seeking synergies, without big quota on your back, can be really powerful. I forged numerous new connections and even friendships. One of the PIs even joined me on a trip to Algarve where I am now.
10. I will be attending Web Summit in the following years, among other conferences. These 4 days were so busy that I forgot to eat multiple times and did not manage to attend even 5% of the speeches I wanted to attend. The conference could be spread over 10 days and perhaps then I would be able to do all the things I would love to. This brings a clear conclusion – I will be attending more of those, especially that I have also been invited as speaker to other conferences.
CONCLUSION
Web Summit 2021 was a great success, generated new business for me and eToro and allowed ample opportunity to network and forge new relationships. I look forward to attending next year and beyond and will definitely incorporate events as part of my marketing mix.
I would like to thank eToro for putting an amazing booth together and also every single person I had a chance to interact with in Lisbon this past week.
Obrigado!
MJ
PS. All my investments and portfolio are public. To join eToro please follow the link: https://bit.ly/3i7Yo3C
My Public Profile: https://www.etoro.com/people/mj_lux
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