Dublin Web Summit 2012 Report

Welcome dear Habra community! Two weeks ago we visited the Dublin Web Summit 2012, and below is our small report about it. We hope it will be useful to you.
About a year ago, we already talked about our Excursiopedia project ( here ). And with him, on the days of RIW-2012 in Moscow, we went to conquer Ireland.

What is Web Summit

Web Summit - the largest event for startups in Europe from all over the world, this time took place on October 17-18, 2012 in Dublin, Ireland. The official website of the event .
The total number of DWS participants was about 3,000. In total, the summit was attended by three large categories of participants:

• Startups are really a large number of startups in different stages of development from different countries. More than 100 companies participated in the startup competition alone, and many simply came to see and show themselves on their own booth. Moreover, the level of projects was very different - from the state of the idea and the prototype to companies with a multi-million user base. Everyone was looking for something different ...
• Investors - there were almost as many investors as start-ups themselves and also very diverse - from business angels and seed investors to major funds such as Sequoia, Index, Accel, Piton, etc.
• The press - a large number of journalists, bloggers, representatives of thematic Internet resources in search of news and materials for their publications.

At the very summit, many interesting people spoke, a full list of speakers can be found here .

Participation

The cost of participation is quite high - for the stand and the two participants had to pay about 4,500 euros. We submitted an application for the start-up competition and were selected by the jury as finalists of the competition . We were offered a special package: stand + participation in the competition + hotel accommodation. And all this - for 1,450 euros for two people.
We immediately say that if you want to get all 100% of the exhibition, then you need to go at least four. But two people is a reasonable minimum.
Separately, we note the quality of the organization, and this despite the fairly numerous and international audience. So, immediately upon arrival, at the Dublin airport, the participants were met by a representative of DWS, who answered all organizational questions, gave out tickets to the bus, told how to get to the hotel.
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We are met by a representative of Dublin Web Summit right at the airport.


The view from the hotel window - rain in Dublin - the usual weather in winter and summer.

The hotel, by the way, was located right across the street from the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) exhibition complex, where the summit took place.


The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) building is the venue for the DWS.

Right at the entrance to the exhibition complex, there was a reception desk, where, on the morning of the first day of DWS, we checked in, received our bracelets for the participants of the summit and the start-up competition, and then went to our stand.


Near the checkout everyone was entertained by Titan.


And so were the stands.

The organizers immediately indicated that it was not necessary to take anything extra, the maximum could be placed on the stand a bit of printed and souvenir products and a laptop. On the stands themselves were immediately printed logos of projects of participants. As a result, all the stands were the same, and everything looked very neat.
It turned out very successful that we have a slogan in the logo - so that from afar it was clear that we are engaged in tourism. It should be noted that many startups did not have inscriptions on the logo and immediately understood what the project was doing, sometimes it was quite difficult.


Our booth at the Dublin Web Summit.

The program of the event was very rich. It seems that for complete immersion a person needs 4 from the project: one meets those interested at the stand, the second conducts networking with investors and partners, the third and fourth are in two halls with performances and absorb the best Internet industry experience. And so all two days!
As participants of the START start-up competition, we were invited to perform on stage (pitch on stage) before the press and investors. The speeches were held in four sections, each session was given 4 minutes. We presented the project in the Social section. And here I want to draw special attention to what. The fact is that the Social section was not exactly about us. We, of course, say that Excursiopedia is a social marketplace for tours & activities, but still we are not building a social network. We also had to go to the Customer Market section. Next time, of course, we will be more attentive. And we advise the rest: always check when you participate in contests, in which section you are recorded - misunderstandings are possible.
All results of the competition can be viewed here . By the way, the SmartThings project won - a project that tries to make simple things “smart”.
Communication of startups with investors took place in the form of networking - three times a day, for about half an hour, investors gathered, each time being different. Each investor was assigned a small stand and a queue of projects lined up for him. The essence of networking is to tell the investor about the project in 2 minutes. The most convenient thing is to have a presentation on the iPad with you, in which to display the essence of the project, achievements, business model and why it is necessary to invest in it (the most common elevator pitch).


Networking with investors - in the right corner of the frame you can see the stand of Sequoia Capital and Michel Abramson listening to startups.

Two minutes later, the investor asks a series of questions and either gives you a business card to send you more detailed information, or says “very interesting, thank you very much, let's be in touch”. The task of the project is to tell about yourself to as many investors as possible, the task of the investor is to listen to as many projects as possible and not to go crazy with the riot of imagination of startups.
Of all the investors, virtually everyone who, in one way or another, belongs to the Internet and startups - Sequoia, Accel, Index, Willington, Earlybird, Delta Partners, Mangrove Capital, Atomico, Silicon Valey Bank, etc. etc. A list (albeit incomplete) can be found here .
There was also a lot of press at the summit, although communication with journalists was not so structured. They themselves went to the stands and watched who offers what and what is interesting.
DWS organizers have tried to make all two days as useful as possible. For startups, several dinners were organized, and as START participants we were invited to a dinner organized by Atomico. The benefits of such dinners are not so much in delicious dishes as in useful acquaintances and informal communication.


Dinner Atomico.

Both days, after dinner, everyone moved to Irish pubs on Dame Lane to complete their work day in an informal setting, making new acquaintances with shop colleagues from around the world. A couple of pints of the famous Guinness only contributed to this. By the way, each participant as a gift relied on a voucher for 30 euros for drinks in the pub.


Evening.

Results

The first thing I want to say in conclusion: we will definitely go next time.
The advantages of DWS that we have carried out:

• Getting new contacts of possible partners.
• Meet potential investors (even if you are too small for an investor, it’s better to start communicating with them as soon as possible).
• Updating information about your project from those investors who were already familiar with your project earlier.
• The opportunity to tell about yourself to an international audience.
• The unique experience of successful projects from around the world, which they shared in their public speeches at the summit and in personal communication.

The cost of participation, yes, varies from 1,500 to 4,500 euros + transportation ... Of course, it is not at all cheap, but, in our opinion, it is worth it.
To whom we recommend:

• Projects that are going to develop their project not only in Russia or are still thinking about it and would like to get acquainted with foreign experience.
• Investors. Here you can see in one place the most high-quality and interesting projects from around the world.

For ourselves, we got the following:

• About 50 new contacts with potential partners - leaders of their markets.
• About 20 new contacts with investors of different stages.
• And also found a lot of new ideas for the further development of the project.

Spring will be the London Web Summit, we will be happy to meet there!