RL38: Hosting The Military Veteran Startup Conference
RL38: Hosting The Military Veteran Startup Conference
Why you should care about conferences and what it's like to organize one
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Next week, my colleagues at Context Ventures and I will host The Military Veteran Startup Conference in San Francisco.
This unique event will bring together over 400 attendees for a two-day symposium featuring military veteran founders, VCs, and operators.
This week, I wanted to dive into why you should consider attending a business event in 2023, what it’s like to organize them, and what I’ve learned from organizing a few.
Why attend an in-person business conference?
The backbone of all business is trust.
Sales, investing, hiring, and partnerships - these basic business functions rely upon trust. At its core, business is about cultivating interpersonal relationships so that you can collaborate and create value.
Although building relationships virtually is possible, nothing beats an in-person meeting.
Conferences are simply a way to expand your network, meet like-minded folks, and deepen existing relationships.
Moreover, they’re fun.
I speak to hundreds of founders and VCs a year, but I rarely get a chance to see them in person. Having an excuse to see people I now consider friends is a privilege I do not take for granted.
Attending a conference is fun, but who in their right mind would organize one and why?
What it’s like to launch an in-person event
Frankly, it’s terrifying.
Last summer, when we hosted The Military Veteran Careers Conference, I had no idea what to expect. We marketed the event, sold sponsorships, and invited a world-class slew of speakers, but on game day, I had no idea what to expect.
The truth is - hosting events is terrifying on the first pass.
Events are terrifying because they are in-person, public attempts to create a multi-sided marketplace.
For The Military Veteran Startup Conference (MVS), we need venture capitalists to draw in entrepreneurs and startup founders to draw in VCs. This creates a chicken-and-the-egg problem - how do you land one side when you’re not sure the other will show?
At our career conferences, we needed employers to bring job seekers, and job seekers to bring employers.
For the first go-around of the career conference, I had yet to determine if anyone would show up.
The morning of the event, I remember standing in an empty room praying that folks would come.
Thankfully, they came!
So, who is coming to this one?
Here’s a rundown of the speakers and panels we will host in 8 days -
We’re fired up for this event, and I hope to see you there.
Still need a ticket?
Register here
Did you attend an in-person event last year?
What came of it?
If not, what’s holding you back from attending a business networking event in 2023?
Best,
Brendan