olly wilson
@ollywilson
How to make crypto conferences useful There’s a joke that one of the main use cases of crypto is conferences - you could literally go to a different conference on a different continent every week if you wanted. Done right though, conferences can be a huge benefit. Here’s what to do:
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
1/ Be Super Selective It pays to be selective. To a first approximation, go to where there’s the highest developer density, within the context of what you’re building. For us at SimpleHash, that means 4-5 per year, namely EthDenver, EthCC, NFT NYC, Solana Breakpoint, and Token2049.
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
2/ Define Your Objectives. Maybe you’re looking to fundraise, or to time the conference with a major launch. For us, it’s all about meeting new and interesting builders in the space, and connecting with customers. Having a clear goal is critical to avoid wasting time.
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
3/ Plan Your Conference. Most of the time (with some exceptions like EthDenver and Token2049), the main conference events are not where you’ll find anything relevant. It’s all about the side events - which are usually more fun anyway.
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
Most conferences have formal or informal lists of side events ahead of time. Don’t just blindly sign up for everything, think about your objectives. Will each event actually be a chance for you to meet the right people? But be careful not to overplan either - leave some room for serendipity.
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
4/ Tag Team There’s usually too many events to hit up alone. So split the workload across a team. Conferences aren’t for everyone either - for us, it’s usually myself and @skittles dividing and conquering.
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
5/ Be A Normal Person People hate when an interaction feels transactional. Go into each event with the goal of providing more value that you receive. It’ll be a huge unlock. Surprisingly this is missed a lot at crypto conferences. (Hint: this is a good rule for life too).
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
6/ Follow Ups (this is what most miss) Don’t let all the contacts and conversations you’ve had go stale. People are busy, and get distracted. In the week after the conference, you should be spending almost as much time as you did at the conference following up, getting those calls booked, or agreeing on next steps
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olly wilson
@ollywilson
This is what I see missed most frequently, because it’s the least fun part (but also most important). Do these and you’ll be ahead of 99% of people. What did I miss?
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