The Startup Iceland conference is finally upon us! (Buy ticket)
Next Monday (May 30th) is the Startup Iceland conference so I thought I would share with you some of my tips and tricks on how you can get the most out of the conference, but if someone asks, you didn’t hear them from me 😉
1. Reach out to the international founders. (now)
We are getting a lot of very experienced international founders here to Iceland (most for the first time) and they all want to get to know the Icelandic startup scene so this is your chance to reach out to them through various ways such as searching through hashtags on Twitter and following the speakers on social media, then reaching out to the people you see are coming and inviting them out for drinks with you and your startup friends or putting together small meetups. Don’t always wait for someone else to put something fun together, do it yourself as a true entrepreneur would! And be careful not to spam people or be uncomfortable, instead try to be helpful.
2. TEDx event (friday)
On Friday the 28th of May there is a TEDx event taking place and many of the people that will be going to Startup Iceland will also be going to that event so it is a great chance to meet up with some cool people to hang out with over the weekend and start the momentum. Plus the fact that we have actually had some very cool talks at our previous TEDx events and I think this year might be even better.
3. Drinks over the weekend (fri + sat)
The weekend is your chance to invite all of your startup friends, new friends you’ve reached out to coming for SI and the people you meet at TEDx out for some drinks. Networking is about getting to know interesting new people and having a bit of fun.
4. Ultrahack 2016 kickoff (sun)
This is a kickoff event for the Ultrahack hackathon where Mikko Järvilehto and Mark Ryan from Ultrahack will present the pre-game, how the hackathon works, and the awards contestants are eligible to win. But more than that it is a great excuse to have some drinks and warm up for the Startup Iceland conference. Check out the Facebook event for more information.
5. Networking at the conference (mon)
At the Startup Iceland event you’ll get a chance to hear some great speakers but just remember that there will be coffee and lunch breaks which will be an excellent chance for you to meet some awesome people who are as interested in entrepreneurship and innovation as you are, so don’t be shy, start a conversation with someone new.
6. Mentorship from the speakers (tue)
One of the best things about the Startup Iceland conference and I haven’t seen this in any other conference I’ve been to, is the fact that you can actually get a chance to sit down with the mentors the day after to get advice and mentorship from them. This is of so much value if you know how to utilise it but keep in mind that they only have so much time so you must sign up for the mentoring sessions as soon as you can.
7. Nordic Startup Awards (tue)
On the day after the Startup Iceland conference there are the annual Nordic Startup Awards spanning some of the best founders and startups from all over the Nordic region so an awesome place to continue the networking/startup momentum you will have going at that point. It’s a free event and you can sign up on eventbrite.
So although all the lectures of Startup Iceland take place on the same day the truth is that if you are open to it the whole event and various events before and after it are close to a whole week of fun activity and networking. So don’t waste any more time and buy a ticket right now if you haven’t already and start preparing for one of the main events in the Icelandic Startup scene.
