RTC #25: The ONE rule to master startup conferences

📢 Top 7 links of the week

• I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes (Link) - My favorite this week

• Mapped: The Number of AI Startups By Country (Link)

• How startup-friendly, or investor-friendly is the current capital raising environment? (Link)

• VCs are selling shares of hot companies to small investors in a wild SPV market (Link)

• The journey of personal wealth reflected in car choices (Link) 🚗

• How many VC meetings do startups need to raise their seed round? (Link)

• How to announce a fundraise to get new users and millions of impressions: Here comes best practice (Link)

📖 Report of the week

Measuring trends in AI: Look at China

“In 2022, China led global AI patent origins with 61.1%, significantly outpacing the United States, which accounted for 20.9% of AI patent origins (not talking about the EU).”

Get the full AI Index Report from Stanford University here 💡

🤿 The ONE rule to master startup conferences

The event season is in full swing.

Only look at this week…

There is ViennaUP, NOAH Conference, SaaStr Europe, SuperVenture, Money20/20, SuperReturn International, Bits & Pretzels HealthTech and South Summit 😮

I believe that is a good thing.

When starting and growing your startup, there is no way you can do this alone in your room - you need to be out there and talk about it.

But “just being out there and talking about it” sometimes sounds easier than it is.

If I remember my own “conference journey” going through different phases:

Phase 1: Going to the conference and hoping it was over soon 😨

In my early years, I went to conferences because I had to but I did not really know what to do there. In addition, I was rather an introvert which didn’t help with networking.

Phase 2: “Pitch & Party” 🥳

I learned to quit caring about what others think and started enjoying the conferences. Was there any other business outcome (except for having a great time)? Nope.

Today: The “Why-Where-Who” Rule 📜

I created a framework to help me maximize the outcome when attending conferences which I called the “Why-Where-Who Rule”.

No matter if I am attending as a founder or investor.

How does this rule work?

I am going today to the health.tech conference in Munich, let us use this as a little case study applying the rule.

If you are also in Munich - would love to meet in person for a coffee! ☕

The “Why” (go now)?

Before going to a conference, be clear about why you want to go to a conference.

Is this the right time to go or is it better to spend it on eg building the product? What does the business need most at the moment?

There can be many things that a startup needs most:

• Networking with peers and identifying potential partnerships

• (Planning) fundraising and building connections with potential investors

• Meeting potential/new clients

• Learning about new technologies

• Team-Building

The “Where” (to go)?

A conference is not a conference.

Be clear that you understand the target group who is attending and make sure that this matches the profile of people you are hoping to meet based on the “why”:

• Startups from your industry

• Early-stage or later-stage investors

• Corporates or other potential clients or business partners

• Public agencies for potential grants

• Focus more on regional or global attendees

The “Who” (to meet)?

Preparation is key but do not over-engineer.

Remember: you go to the conference to meet and speak to the people who are valuable to you and your business.

Your homework is to find out who they are and make sure you speak to them:

• Conference app: helpful to find out who is attending (not helpful for connecting as many don’t use it)

• Connect on LinkedIn and arrange a time to chat (15’ enough)

• Make sure you agree on a meeting point

• Have people introduce you if you have a common contact

• Check out the side events and make you register

Pro-Tipp: Do not schedule 100% of your time, be open to meeting people you do not expect or will be introduced to you. You should reserve time for them as well.

And now…no excuses! Get it on!

Explore today’s topic further with these useful reads

📅 Calendar of main VC events in the upcoming weeks

June
• NOAH Conference | London, UK | Jun 3-4
• SaaStr Europe | London, UK | Jun 4-5
• SuperVenture | Berlin, Germany | Jun 4-6
• Money20/20 Europe | Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Jun 4-6
• SuperReturn International | Berlin, Germany | Jun 4-7
• Bits & Pretzels HealthTech | Munich, Germany | Jun 5-6
• South Summit | Madrid, Spain | Jun 5-7
• London Tech Week | London, UK | Jun 10-14
• TNW Conference | Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Jun 20-21

👉 Get the full list of events in 2024 here

This was it for today!

If you share Road-To-Capital with one person who might also enjoy it - you would make my day!

Thank you so much.

Yours,
Stephan 👋

Issue #25 | 4 June 2024