The SendPulse Take on Web Summit 2022: Our Insights and Tips

For the first time, Web Summit 2022 became an offline touchpoint of the SendPulse international team. This was a paramount page of the SendPulse history, as this year, our team hit the road during one of the hardest times in Ukraine’s history — the ongoing war.

Representing Ukraine at Web Summit and promoting our new products was our mission this year. We wanted to tell the world that Ukrainian business is still standing strong and nothing will oppress its unity.

For the rest, our tasks were to:

• present our new products: an online course creator and an updated version of the landing page builder;
• remind about the SendPulse marketing ecosystem that allows to implement any advertising strategy using only one user-friendly platform;
• build partnerships for further collaborations and system integrations;
• create video content for the SendPulse YouTube channels.

If you own a start-up, making it to Web Summit is crucial for your further development, as 1081 investors attended the summit this year. If you’re a woman in tech, then Web Summit welcomes you with open arms, as this year, 42% of attendees were women. Make sure you visit the Women in Tech booth next year!

Apart from that, it’s a unique opportunity to hear about the latest tech news from niche leaders — anyone can find something to their taste. Much to our regret, our team didn’t actually use this opportunity, as we were snowed under with work at the booth. ?

Olha Kukharuk,
SendPulse Partnership Coordinator

I heard only 2 or 3 speeches, but that wasn’t my primary goal. After all, you can always watch a recording. People rule Web Summit. Bring communication and networking to the fore.

During this tiring year, the SendPulse team never stopped developing its products. Now it was time for marketing and spreading the word about the company’s updates.

This year, we were especially proud to present our online course builder — a product the SendPulse team managed to create despite the constant shellings of their city.

Now you can use SendPulse’s tools to create any course and monetize your skills. Also, our functionality empowers you to organize multiple marketing activities to promote your course and build and grow a client base using our CRM.

The second product we came up with was the landing pages builder. It’s just like our old builder, but better. Now you can build multi-page websites, implement the full-page format, and access our upgraded design kit and caboodle.

SendPulse always focuses on no-code products so that anyone with marketing needs and creative ideas can build a digital marketing strategy without hiring a developer.

Our team

One of the perks of working in tech is that you can have amazing colleagues without ever meeting them in real life! ? This Web Summit (finally!) changed everything, and we could all collaborate offline.

Before the summit, the SendPulse marketing team from Ukraine, Mexico, and Brazil had at least three internal meetings where we planned our activities and personal KPIs.

We decided who would be interviewing our guests, networking, collecting contacts, setting up marketing collaborations, building offline links, making video content, and all that jazz.

In fact, networking begins a few days before the Summit kick-off. Download the official app and arrange meetings with clients and other connections you are interested in. Save all contacts to your phone to access them offline and not lose them when the event is over.

Remember: once you are there, you won’t have time for planning. Every team member has to do what you’ve planned beforehand. After the event, we discussed the summit with our team, and we all agreed that this is no place for laid-back networking.

Once you enter the pavilion, you become a part of a huge ant nest. Web Summit is anything but relaxation!

You have only three days to promote your business, so expose your extraverted self. After all our intense work, we were able to fish some nice deals and acquisitions:

• prospective collaborations with niche giants of Mexico and Brazil. Some collaborations are already running;
• video content in English, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and Spanish;
• offline meetings with partners and colleagues dear to our hearts;
• a speech from Alina Dukyha for the Ukrainian community;
• tons of insights on business and marketing trends.

This is what our team thinks of Web Summit 2022:

Alina Dykuha,
Head of Digital Marketing at SendPulse

Web Summit is a buffet where you can find a prospect, business partner, or investor, shoot content for several months ahead, or just hang out. But if you ask me, defining a goal and primary KPIs for yourself and your team is the best way to stay productive.

Bianca Coscia,
Marketing Manager at SendPulse Brazil

Web Summit turned out to be a thrilling experience. Can’t even imagine how much effort it takes Lisbon to make this event happen! I was excited to meet and collaborate with the team — we were all on the same page, which made the workflow faster. I can say this event isn’t for you if you don’t want to get out of your comfort zone and talk to people.

Ilse Frutos,
SendPulse Latam Manager

This was my first time in Lisbon, but I wasn’t able to look around much. Only a glimpse of the downtown and a sip of Porto wine. ? But if you’re visiting WebSummit to chill, well, good luck with that. It’s both an exhausting and exciting experience! We had no chance to sit down and stood for days on end. But I managed to bring some valuable connections to the Latam office. We’ve already started building our future partnerships.

Valeriia Simonovska,
Outreach Manager at SendPulse

I was lucky to win a ticket to Web Summit, and I could come just to sit around and watch, but my team found tasks for me anyway. ? I managed to see a bit of Lisbon — a lovely city swarming with yellow trams. At the summit itself, you just can’t resist the crazy energy of the event, the vibe its participants kept radiating, and their urge to share and improve the world. For some, the summit can be draining and too eventful (which it is), so block your shy side, set your business priorities straight, and network, network, network.

Diego Silva,
CEO at SendPulse Brazil

This wasn’t my first time in Lisbon, but the first time with all of our offices together. We showed great teamwork! Time on Web Summit just rushes by. I was promoting our latest releases 3 days in a row and even lost my voice! By the end of the event, you feel driven to create and work — that’s what I’m doing now. I feel like Web Summit never finished, as now I’m catching up with the leads we generated in Lisbon.

Olich Klymanska,
SendPulse HRD

Web Summit is an active and motivating gig for anyone who comes there. Don’t even think of participating if you’re not keen on opening up to new stuff and having a few sleepless nights. As an HRD, I was networking not only to find someone who would buy or enter a partnership. Getting a tip or a helpful contact can go a long way.

I’m proud of our team — we were especially result-driven this year. We all did our best at our booth and during other summit events. We managed to see Porto and Nazaré afterward, and I highly recommend the post-summit travel as a chill pill.

Endnotes

When climbing a mountain, getting to the top isn’t the end. Try getting down safely! And just like that, Web Summit is all about catching up with the valuable contacts you’ve acquired. A truly in-depth discussion starts after the event. Don’t wait up — the summit vibe will evaporate in two weeks, and you will need to make your partnerships happen.

Apart from that, here are a few of our tips on how to make the most of Web Summit 2023:

1. Screenshot, note, or record a voice message about what you’ve agreed on. Even if you are the ultimate introvert, you will have at least 50 new contacts after the event, and remembering what you talked about afterward can be challenging. ?
2. Take pictures near your booth and add them to your follow-up emails to jog in people’s memory.
3. Post about Web Summit on social media. Add the hashtag and tag Web Summit. This way, you can find interesting prospects.
4. Did you send an email, but no one replied? Make another two and send them gradually. Don’t rush to give up on your lead, as they’re probably just surfing somewhere in Portugal until the end of the week, and then they will get in touch.
5. Put some thought into your merch. Eco-conscious merch is always appreciated and attracts attention. There’s not much SendPulse didn’t already have in the past years — from handmade eco soap to pencils that grow into flowers if you plant them in a pot. ? You can’t go wrong with something that’s both creative and practical.
6. Focus on your new products when going to Web Summit.
7. Don’t sit around in your hotel room if you have energy. Attend themed parties or events. You can find valuable contacts and prospects this way.

The Web Summit team is about to start sending the early bird ticket for the 2023 event! If you’ve gotten this far in the article, you’re obviously interested in taking part. Our advice: do it! Participation takes time and preparation, but it’s worth the outcome for your business and experience.