I’m a software house representative. That means I know very well how important networking events are: what you can achieve or how much time and money you can waste if you do it all wrong. Of course, there’s plenty of fun to be had – but eventually, you get down to business. I’d like to share my experience of the last Arctic15 event.
Let’s roll some numbers. Meetings! The most important part of the day. I used many different channels and types of communication to get through to the people I wanted to see. I set up around 20 meetings with brilliant and promising startups. Out of those 20, I remained in contact with more than 10. We later signed contracts and kicked off our cooperation with 2, and we’re still in touch with 10 startups waiting for the correct time to help them.
Sounds neat, huh?
Thanks to Arctic15, Espeo’s portfolio was enriched with projects for innovative and dynamic Finnish startups. We’re very proud of them, just as proud as we are of our continuous work for Sanoma or other large companies.
Though this was definitely my hard work, I think it wouldn’t have been possible without the organisation of Arctic15. It was definitely a positive experience. From a business person’s perspective, a few things stood out:
– the matchmaking system: ended up working very well!
– short distances: meeting people on time is pretty important in our world, so the short distances between different places at the event were a bonus
– size: big enough to make it worth everyone’s while, but also small enough to avoid queues and delays
Personally, I also thought the presentations were interesting – it was a good line-up, and this year is looking pretty good too! I think I’m going to enjoy Arctic15 this year, and I can’t wait to meet new people.
