Tech conferences and events have become almost vital platforms for startups and investors, providing opportunities to showcase products, acquire new knowledge, build valuable connections, secure partnerships, and raise funding. The number and variety of tech events in Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, are steadily increasing. But are these events truly worth the investment in both money and time for startups and investors?
AIN spoke to startup leaders and the region's top funds to determine whether tech conferences offer more advantages or drawbacks and to assess their overall effectiveness in driving business growth.
Our speakers included Kuba Dudek, Managing Partner at SpeedUp Group, Maria Tyka-Majewska, Acceleration Lead at Huge Thing, Magdalena Stelmach, CEO of Redigo Carbon, Marcin Dolata, CEO of EasySolar, Tichomir Jenkut, associate at Presto Tech Horizons, and Kamila Zahradnickova, Founder & CEO of Lakmoos.
What do tech conferences bring to the table?
Tech conferences have evolved into multi-faceted events that offer much more than a booth to showcase innovation. They often serve as hubs for knowledge sharing, networking, and strategic collaboration, making them valuable for startups, investors, and industry leaders alike. From connecting with potential partners to gaining insight into market trends, conferences provide a dynamic environment for fostering business growth. But what is it that makes these events so appealing? Let's explore the key opportunities they offer, starting with networking and business connections.
Networking and Business Opportunities
Apart from the obvious presentation of products, conferences are a great platform for making new contacts and networking. There are so many different people attending conferences that can be beneficial to a company. In addition, many conferences offer the opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings.
One of the main goals of conferences is to network and expand business contacts. At conferences you can meet customers, investors, partners, startups that you can invest in or that are interesting for users.
Conferences are a great opportunity to meet new people, but also to refresh your contacts list. From an investor's perspective, it is a good opportunity to look at startups that are participating in pitch competitions, which they can then add to their scouting databases and follow their development.
Panels and open discussions
While networking and building new connections are often the primary reasons people attend events, it’s important not to overlook the value of panels, workshops and open discussions offered at these tech events.
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Conferences typically offer a wide variety of panels on a variety of topics, so it's important to identify which panels match your interests and goals before attending.
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However, panels aren't always as powerful as expected. Some run too long, causing the discussion to lose focus, while others are too short, giving speakers insufficient time to fully articulate their insights. Even if the topic is intriguing and the panelists seem promising, there's a chance you won't get any fresh perspectives or thought-provoking takeaways.
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Another point to remember about panels is that they often provide very general information designed for a broad audience, which may not be particularly useful for those seeking more specific insights.
Therefore, it is recommended to focus on direct meetings rather than attending open discussions or panels.
Media attention
Not surprisingly, tech conferences are often seen as a relatively inexpensive way to get media coverage. These events often have a plethora of media partners and journalists on hand whose sole mission is to capture the most interesting parts of the event.
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One of the benefits of conferences is the opportunity to promote your company through such media coverage, increasing your visibility and reaching a wider audience, which can bring in potential customers.
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Participating at conferences as a speaker also helps to build brand awareness and attract audience attention as an industry expert.
The important thing to remember is that if your startup or fund has something interesting to contribute to the discourse, you will most likely be featured or recognized in some way. And in case you are ignored (or, knock on wood, avoided), such events can serve as a wake-up call to improve your product, presentation, business strategy, or communications department.
Read more examples of conferences-turned-articles:
Investing in Times of Uncertainty: VC leaders share insights on supporting startups in Ukraine
The future of investments. Insights for 2025 from Vasile Tofan, Senior Partner at Horizon Capital
What are the disadvantages of tech conferences
Many argue that conferences are unnecessary, calling them too expensive, ineffective, or too time-consuming to justify the investment. While there are undeniable benefits to conferences, there are also drawbacks, as our speakers pointed out. One recurring issue they noted was poor organization, which can significantly undermine the value of these events.
Poor organization
The organization of conferences is not always perfect. From logistical challenges to lackluster programming, a poorly organized conference can turn into a frustrating experience that leaves attendees wondering if their time and resources were well spent. Our speakers highlighted the following key organizational issues.
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Poorly organized and rigid schedules. Anyone who has attended a conference knows how difficult it is to be on time. There's always one panel that goes a little overtime, and the whole event can become a mess. And if the organizer can't keep up with the pace and isn't flexible enough, it's a dead end.
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Moreover, conferences without dedicated networking opportunities or after-parties often lack value, as these moments are crucial for building meaningful connections.
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Parking, inconvenient location, and open space are critical for conferences in large cities. Without them, an event can quickly become overcrowded with angry people with huge fines.
A sad example of poor conference organization is when a 'booth' turns out to be just a table in an inconvenient location, leading to wasted time and missed opportunities.
Information overload
Conferences are often large-scale events with packed schedules, featuring back-to-back panels, short breaks, and a steady stream of meetings. This intense pace can span several days, leaving little room for reflection.
Moreover, multiple panels and sessions frequently occur simultaneously, forcing attendees to make tough choices about what to prioritize. This overwhelming structure often leads to information overload, scattering attention and reducing the quality of interactions and takeaways.
High costs
The cost of attending conferences can vary widely. First, it depends on your reason for attending. If you are attending as a guest, your costs will include your ticket, lodging, transportation and meals. If you are invited as a speaker, the cost is limited to your travel and accommodation. But it is usually far more over budget.
Conference ticket prices vary widely and depend on many factors. The level of the conference, the type of ticket (e.g. standard, VIP, startup or investor) and the time of purchase. On average, the price for a standard ticket can range from €100 to €1500 in Europe. And if you want to attend a conference with your team or set up a booth, it’s easily tens of thousands of euros.
Interestingly, according to our speakers, larger international events often have a higher return on investment than small and local ones.
How to get the best results when attending tech conferences
Choose a right conference to visit
There are no bad conferences, only the wrong ones chosen.
“There are three key "S" factors to consider: size, specialization, and spot (location),” Kuba Dudek shared his strategy.
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At larger events, you may meet more investors, startups or other contacts. Smaller events, on the other hand, make it easier to network, navigate, and build stronger, more lasting relationships.
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If you work in a specific field, it will make more sense for you to attend conferences with a narrower focus rather than generalist conferences.
“As much as we support entrepreneurs from the CEE region, I prefer attending events in cities like London, Vienna, Paris, or Berlin. These locations often attract a significant number of CEE founders who are already positioning their companies as global or at least pan-European, acting as a natural first filter,” Kuba added.
Before deciding whether to attend a particular conference, you need to read the agenda and check out the speakers. Understand if the experience of investors and founders there will be valuable to you.
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It is useful and important to have a clear understanding of the list of people attending the conference, its theme and direction.
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Understand if this particular event will be relevant to you and whether it correlates with your product and goals. Try to anticipate if you will be able to make useful connections.
“The key is setting clear objectives. There are numerous conferences, but only a few are truly relevant to your business and current situation. Once your goals are established, it’s crucial to review the attendee list and understand the target audience of the event in advance. I like to know beforehand who I want to connect with to make the most of my time during the event,” explained Magdalena Stelmach, CEO of Redigo Carbon.
How to prepare for a tech conference?
Before you try to get the most out of the conference, you should prepare for it and have a plan for attending. Failure to do so can lead to numerous problems that can have a negative impact on your bank account.
Lack of preparations can lead to an unproductive waste of time and money. For example, Kamila Zahradnickova, a regular at many tech conferences, usually plans 1/3 of her agenda in advance with meetings with people she wants to meet.
Therefore, the general pieces of advice include:
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Make appointments in advance with the people you want to meet.
“Ideally, I’d send a quick heads-up via LinkedIn, email, or WhatsApp before the conference. That way, even if we don’t manage to meet in person during the event, it creates an opportunity to follow up afterward. We can set up a call or a virtual coffee post-conference. In fact, it’s always a good idea to schedule a follow-up call regardless,” adds Kuba Dudek, Managing Partner of SpeedUp Group.
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Fill out a participant profile to set up networking and ease your way into conversations.
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Plan which panels or side events you want to attend in advance.
If you are a startup, try to participate in a startup competition or have your own booth set up inside the venue beforehand.
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Try to interact with as many people as your mental capacity allows.
Be mindful that overexposure to different people can lead to mental exhaustion, which can minimize your results in the long run. Although many attendees can sound interesting, try to have meaningful conversations with people who might matter to your business growth.
Don't forget to have fun, have coffee breaks, and get fresh air regularly. If you’re having a good time, such events yield better results.
Are there any other places to meet investors and startups?
Conferences are not the primary way to connect startups with investors, or vice versa. There are many other activities in addition to conferences, including:
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1:1 meetings,
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online meet-ups,
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speaker roundtables,
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peer groups,
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side events,
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themed dinners,
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invitation-only events.
Investors tell us that only a small percentage of the startups they invest in come directly from conferences. Most portfolio companies come through referrals from other VCs and friends, or through our thesis-driven outbound search.
“I would highlight three main sources where we most often find investors. First, through referrals; second, during speed-dating sessions at events; and third, by presenting at startup competitions. Each of these approaches can generate several to even a dozen or more valuable contacts in a very short time,” said Marcin Dolata, CEO of EasySolar
Is it worth attending conferences or is it better to save your resources?
Conferences are useful and valuable, but only if you choose them carefully and prepare thoroughly to attend. At the same time, you should be clear about what you want to get out of a particular event and plan your activities accordingly.
Conferences are all about communication, making new connections, and networking. It is an opportunity to meet and communicate with new people. You can make useful connections with investors and founders, learn about new startups and solutions, and gain new insights. It's also an opportunity to talk about your product, find customers, raise funding, and get attention from the media.
On the other hand, the cost of attending conferences can be quite high, especially if you want to set up your own stand or booth. Unfortunately, they don't always pay off. In addition, lack of preparation can lead to a loss of time and resources.
“The true value lies in carefully choosing the right conference – one that aligns closely with your business's current goals and priorities,” stated Magdalena Stelmach, CEO of Redigo Carbon.
On November 12, 2024, AIN and KAMA held the START conference, where many startup founders from Ukraine participated in numerous panel discussions. From this conference, AIN shares insights from Ukrainian startup founders on how to launch a startup when everything is against you.