The founder of Dublin's newest startup conference says events need to get more personal
The Start Summit is the newest hopeful to join the crowded business event space.
THERE’S STILL A “wide open gap” in the startup conference space for personality-driven events for entrepreneurs in Ireland, according to the latest player to throw his hat in the ring.
Despite the abundance of startup and events for entrepreneurs around the country, Jamie White, the organiser of Start Summit, told Fora that events are missing a trick by focusing too much on business talk.
“I think a lot of startup events get tied up in the business side of things and don’t necessarily directly link in with the individual behind the business,” he said.
Start Summit aims to connect attendees directly with entrepreneurs that have built successful companies for more-personal talks.
It has lined up talks and workshops with seasoned entrepreneurs like Trustev founder Pat Phelan and Hostelworld founder Ray Nolan.
White said that he based the event, which takes place later this month, on what he would have benefited from when he first ventured into business.
The organiser was previously the founder of the company behind CollegeTimes.com and now heads up social media marketing startup Leading Social.
Jamie White
“I think there are a lot of events in this space because there’s a very strong need and I think there’s still a wide open gap and I don’t think that need is being filled,” he added.
“Entrepreneurs behind the business still feel that bit lonely, they’re not supported, a bit lost.”
Future events
The organiser expects 500 attendees at the event in Dublin Castle, which takes place on Saturday, 15 September. General admission tickets cost €99 apiece.
Holding the event on the weekend was a key move in attempting to get more people to sign up, White said, adding that more than 400 tickets had been sold as of Monday.
“Most of these events are weekdays and I can’t afford to take a day off midweek so this event is on a Saturday for that very purpose,” he said. “A lot of events are two or three days. We’ve condensed it into one day.”
White is launching a series of small entrepreneur events that subscribe to this ethos. The first event, last January, took place in the RDS looking at personal development for founders in the year ahead.
He has pencilled in the next event for September 2019 that will be centred around entrepreneurs and personal finance.
