Conferences are Changing
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I snapped a random photo leaving the afterparty of the OOO Summit for entrepreneurs.
Only later did I realize I had captured co-organizer, Andrew Yeung, smack in the middle of the chaos. He was half turned in my direction, like the subject of a Vermeer painting caught mid thought.
It’s a good metaphor for the event, which emphasized a style of immersive networking that you don’t find at most conferences. That was one of several aspects I found innovative.
The event was billed as an opportunity for Owners, Operators and Outliers to learn about what it takes to build and scale a business. It was co-hosted by Ankur Nagpal, who founded Carry. The emphasis was on tech and media.
The conference was Andrew and Ankur’s first foray into paid events. Andrew’s interesting to follow because he pioneered a hugely popular series of tech meetups in New York City during Covid.
The lineup of speakers at OOO was heavy on people who have built personal brands online, including Sam Parr, founder of the Hustle, Alex Lieberman, co-founder of Morning Brew, and podcaster Steph Smith.
That makes sense because people who have large followings on X or LinkedIn are likely to post about speaking and help promote attendance. It’s something we’ll likely see other event organizers become more attuned to.
Michael Barnett, CEO of event analytics company InGo, cites data showing that when people write on social media it can boost attendance dramatically. A typical attendee can attract 10 more people; a VIP as many as 40 and a huge celebrity 100 times as much.
The OOO Summit broke conventions in several ways:
–THE MONTH: It was booked for mid-August, outside the traditional conference “seasons.”
–THE DAY: The main event took place on Saturday; typically, it would be during the work week.
–LOCATION: The venue was at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, miles from midtown.
–LOW COST: A fraction of a traditional conference. $149 for a regular ticket; $399 for VIPs.
–LOW FRILLS: The event didn’t provide lunch, instead arranging food trucks to park outside. More controversially, people had to bring their own coffee!
–EMPHASIS ON NETWORKING: The conference had a pre-game dinner party the night before and an after-party at Maxwell’s, the social club. A cold plunge at the sauna Othership was slated for Sunday.
–COMMUNICATION: Attendees were invited to WhatsApp chat groups before the event so they could know who else was coming and connect. This is one of the biggest unlocks I’ve seen.
I’ve been to scores of financial conferences in the U.S., Europe and Asia in my career, and they didn’t change much for decades. They would follow a script heavy on PowerPoint with long, dense presentations. For lunch, you would have the option of chicken or beef.
People expect more these days. They want to learn, and they want to connect.
One way for organizers to start to do that is to put themselves in the middle of the action.
BRIEF OBSERVATIONS
COFFEE: My parents would throw dinner parties when I was growing up. Every time they would pull out this epically large iconic coffee pot. I love the simplicity of the design and style and color. So basic, so uncomplicated and effective.
WORK FROM HOME: We are quietly seeing an epic collapse of commercial real estate reflected in sales of big buildings around the country, presumably the fallout from the Covid-inspired shift in working from home.
THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL: This one shouldn’t be too tough. Let’s see how many of you can name the book and author.,
GRAFETTI IN HARLEM: Powerful graffiti message in Harlem.
COFFEE CAKE: The recipe for my mother’s butter cheese coffee cake from her spiral notebook. You won’t be disappointed.
