Startup events and conferences, whether online, in person, or a hybrid of the two, provide excellent opportunities for networking and staying current on emerging trends. Such events provide exceptional opportunities for investors and startups to meet the most innovative thinkers, experienced pundits, and worthy competitors who want to stay on top of their game. Despite their significance, many investors and entrepreneurs fail to actively take part or outright ignore them. The unmistakable omission can cost the business, though the consequences are not necessarily immediately obvious.
Gia Janashvili, a well-known entrepreneur and B2B2C consultant, believes that investors and entrepreneurs should do the opposite. Prioritizing business events and conferences, in his opinion, should go beyond simply putting them at the top of the to-do list and include ranking the events themselves. The optimistic entrepreneur recommends that investors and startups prioritize events and conferences.
Startups Gain Face Time with Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors
Some conferences and events are designed specifically to connect startups with angel investors and venture capitalists. It is critical that all of the intended parties attend the event; failure to do so is a disservice to one’s business.
Such events provide excellent opportunities for startups to meet with potential investors. The events narrow the list of venture capitalists to those who are specifically interested in a specific industry, shortening the process of finding one. For instance, tech startups can easily pitch and receive investments from entrepreneurs who are interested in tech B2B2C partnerships. Obtaining such venture capitalists is advantageous because they are familiar with the industry’s specifics, including market potential and challenges.
Such events should also be prioritized by venture capitalists and angel investors in order to maximize their chances of selecting potential market leaders in which to invest and to learn some tricks about the industry’s practices.
Building Brand Equity
Economic and social benefits can be obtained from conferences, summits, trade shows, and other business events. Most people overlook the social aspect because they are preoccupied with meeting potential investors and locating outstanding investment opportunities.
However, investors and startups should keep in mind that the events provide attendees with the content from a variety of brands. During such events, startups and venture capitalists can take advantage of this feature by presenting compelling content to market their brands to valuable industry players.
Failure to prioritize business events results in intentional losses that affect absentees, despite the fact that they are not measurable in monetary terms. Janashvili encourages startups and investors to prioritize the events in order to avoid having to make connections through private audiences.
Forging Meaningful Connections and Collaboration
Business events provide a better platform for connecting with other industry players. Due to the face-to-face experience, Gia believes they are the best opportunities for startups and investors alike to deepen understanding and cooperation. Such personal interactions are critical in establishing collaborative networks on which individuals, businesses, and industries rely.
The peak period of COVID-19 highlighted the importance of personal interactions in fostering collaboration and connection. Many businesses experienced a slowdown in growth as a result of fewer networking opportunities. The period also had a negative impact on training opportunities, teamwork, and communication, all of which are critical components of the business cogwheel.
Janashvili advises startups and investors to capitalize on the rebirth of events because they now have the opportunity to forge creative connections and collaborations with their peers. Events catalyze the innovation process by providing forums for open dialogue.
Obtaining Industry Knowledge
The internet provides access to a vast repository of knowledge. Entrepreneurs can use cyberspace to conduct research and learn valuable information. However, regardless of the time and resources spent online, there is a much larger amount of information that they cannot learn from the same space.
Business events that are well-planned provide easy access to the information needed to improve businesses. Entrepreneurs gain new insights from them that can help them improve their profits and productivity. Investors, for example, learn about the best performing and potentially impactful ideas, which informs their investment decisions.
Recap
Gia Janashvili strongly believes in attending beneficial business events. Utilizing them is critical to reaching new heights in business excellence. Gia also explains that some events may provide more of these and other benefits than others. He suggests prioritizing some events over others because attending all of them is nearly impossible. To that end, he suggests attending the following events:
- Critical: Entrepreneurs should seek out events that require immediate attention.
- Warning: These events necessitate attention but do not pose an immediate concern.
- Informative: These events provide useful information for the future.
