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The 2013 Web Summit hosts somewhere in the region of 10,000 attendees, with over 950 start-ups exhibiting, along with 350 journalists and hundreds of investors. According to its founder, it's the largest business event in Ireland this year. There are representatives from the likes of Google, Hailo, Evernote, Wired, Kaspersky Labs and The Wall Street Journal. Lego’s Global Director of Social Media will be there, along with the co-founder of Siri.
Paddy Cosgrave is the founder of the Web Summit and according to his Twitter profile is based between Dublin, Paris and San Francisco. He’s also one of the men behind F.ounders - a prestigious, invite-only conference also based in Dublin that has managed to attract the creators of Twitter, Netflix, Skype and YouTube, among others. Techcrunch called that event “an overnight must-attend”.
Under Cosgrave’s guidance, the Web Summit itself has grown exponentially from a modest 500 person conference in 2010 to the huge international undertaking it is today. It has long since expanded beyond the handful of people involved in organising the first Web Summit, with Paddy telling me that “35 people work full time out of an office in Ranelagh on this conference and the other conferences we run”. They have also expanded their presence through the very popular ‘Pub Summits’: smaller networking events held in - you’ve guessed it - pubs and bars around the world.
Since its inaugural conference only three years ago, the core Dublin event has continued to evolve and adapt alongside its ever expanding attendance list. Paddy promises that they’ve implemented many changes this year on the back of feedback from the three previous summits. “For us, we’ve learnt that people want more workshops and we've given them that,” he explains. “We've also learnt that people really do enjoy coming to Ireland for the event and that's probably why we have over 5,000 people coming from outside of Ireland attending. And they want more opportunities to network so we have more structured and unstructured opportunities.”
“Networking is the first step to doing business"
That last point may fill some potential attendees with ‘the fear’: networking can be an extremely daunting prospect. Not every technical genius is a brilliant business manager, after all. Paddy is adamant that it’s absolutely necessary for any technology company, however, and believes the Web Summit is an excellent way of going about it.
“Networking is the first step to doing business and everybody has to network in some way,” he stresses. “You don't have to randomly approach people and tap them on the shoulder to network. Reach out by email, through our app or on Twitter. Get an intro from a friend or a supporter. Even for those people where networking isn't a priority, it can be nice to chat to people who are in a similar position within the industry.”
The annual summit has offered many moments of satisfaction for its founder: “I think the best things are watching start-ups get funded, but the best is probably yet to come. This year we're opening the NASDAQ market live on stage at the Summit which should be incredible. The pictures will go live across the world.”
It hasn’tall gone off without a hitch, of course. Paddy recalls, “The worst thing was how incredibly sick I became last year. I was nearly doubled over behind stage as I hobbled through some food poisoning, but I got through it.”
Advice for attendees
Does Paddy have any advice for those attending the 2013 Web Summit, especially those who haven’t done so before? “To get the most of the Web Summit you need to put the work in. It's about bringing as big a team as you can to get the most out of it. There are hundreds of potential connections that can be made, so identify the key people that you want to meet whether it's investors, or partners, developers or brands. In other words, be prepared.”
As for Paddy himself, he’s focused on taking the Web Summit to new heights. “I'm very lucky to meet fascinating and interesting people every day, to hear from the most amazing Irish start-ups and those coming into Ireland to set up shop,” he reflects. “I'm also really excited about building the Summit into something much bigger and broader over the coming years.”
With a conference that has more than doubled its attendance every year so far, it’s a safe bet the Web Summit will indeed continue its meteoric growth. And Paddy Cosgrave will undoubtedly remain a driving force in its ongoing evolution.
This article originally appeared in the September issue of Newstalk Magazine for iPad.
