Accelerate Pre-conference Checklist

Accelerate 2010This is another Accelerate 2010 related post. If you’re coming, you better read this.

Part 1: 5 points for All Audience

Of course you should firstly read everything that’s already on the conference website. But I want to supplement that with some personal comments (thus penning them down here instead). Some of them applies to i.Luminate as well.

1. Come Early For Breakfast

It might not be stated clearly, but breakfast is served at 7:30am, and it’s pretty good. I don’t even wake up so early myself, but I’m certainly coming early to take a bite. Lunch is served in a buffet style, so you can have your dinner as well. For those attending iJAM from 6pm to 9pm, there’s also dinner, but there won’t be a lot – I suggest you stuff yourself over lunch and plan to have a good supper after 9pm.

2. Forget trying to connect to the Internet with your iPhone (or any smart phone) during the conference

It’s estimated that no less than 3000 people will throng i.Luminate, and no less than 1000 people will attend Accelerate, making it a total of no less than 4000 people in Suntec (not counting the regular crowd downstairs), most with smart phones. If you have any information you need during the conference I suggest you download them into your phone. For phone with no such concept as download, well, you might have to walk further to find connectivity.

For foreigners, if you need me to help you buy a prepaid $18, 3 day Internet connectivity (mobile data sim card), just drop me a message somewhere on my blog. This is because you can’t buy it without a local NRIC (but then I can only buy up to 10 myself). For locals, try Wireless@SG too.

That said, I know some of your local geeks has the propensity to live blog / tweet etc. during the conference (I do so too myself often over barcamps etc.) If you are blogging, let me suggest that you compose your post in a local editor, lest your online WSYIWYG editor vanish on the click of your submit button. Windows live writer served me well in such situations, but I’m sure there are other equivalent tools out there. If the mobile data connectivity gets really bad such that even tweeter clients doesn’t respond properly, try GladlyCast to SMS your tweets instead.

3. Attend all networking sessions

After all, conferences is about people coming together to meet each other. This is a very unique situation, where we have 2 back-to-back conference, one focuses on ICT and Telco customers, one focuses on the ICT and Media industry. But it is these two groups that has to come together more often to share ideas, without being intimidated into a sales situation, because that is where new ideas can spark.

So don’t sit in the same table throughout the conference – they are all free seating banquet tables (usually 8 to a table). If you sit in 4 different tables for 4 keynote sessions, you would have met 7 * 4 = 28 other people. Then go visit the exhibition area as well – there are plenty of people especially SingTel managers and their partners who have spent a lot of energy putting up a nice show – get to know them whenever there’s a break. Stop by every cocktail table and say hi, try to apply everything I’ve said in a previous blog entry about networking during a conference.

Add to that 10 of the 40 track sessions you will attend, special interest groups, 2 lunches, potentially 1 dinner, as well as other networking events like Software Freedom Day on Saturday, CloudCamp on Monday, Overseas Delegates night on Tuesday, iJAM on Wednesday, Mozilla night @ hackerspace on Thursday, and finally ad-hoc gatherings to go walk about F1 tracks after Accelerate from Friday to Sunday, there’s much chance to get together, get close with the speakers and make new friends!

4. Take Notes

If you haven’t noticed, Accelerate is one conference that covers a wide range of topics and interests. This is a deliberate attempt to create a conversation that’s larger than the usual niches (e.g. cloud focus only, social network focus only, mobile focus only, etc).

We see so many convergence today: web developers trying their hand on making iPad/iPhone app, broadcasters and telcos trying to do ICT, Systems Integrators starting to build ICT products, telcos venturing into Media and Content, and so on. Connections built in Accelerate will help build the basis of the next generation of interdisciplinary innovation teams.

Therefore, it’s crucial that you take notes! Some of the subjects discussed won’t be as straight forward to you (e.g. copyright laws for music, term sheets for VCs, various new programming platforms, APIs and user interfaces, small gestures with huge impacts while doing business in Asia, etc.) so it’s best to take it back to digest the content.

5. Don’t Drive if possible

If you’re a local hermit in your dwelling and haven’t been to town of late, please note that there will be road blockages everywhere from Sept 22 onwards. The best way to come to the conference is to take MRT to Esplanade MRT station (or walk from City Hall MRT).

If you’re coming from overseas and staying in a nearby hotel, you should be fine if it’s walking distance. Otherwise, please call your hotel to seek assistance on transportation to the conference venue. All hotels are pretty well briefed of the traffic situation of the venue.

Part 2: 3 points for Deal Room Participants

Some of you will be pitching at the deal rooms, either for access to regional markets (the speed dating for local partners), or for equity investment by VCs (iMATCH, like, “you wanna piece of me?”). Again, there will be official instructions and tips posted on SiX website, but I also want to add 3 more personal tips for you.

1. Dress appropriately

This goes to the people who are pitching for the first time either as a start-up entrepreneur or a first-timer business development dude. I know Accelerate is a developer conference and that shirt and jeans thing is cool etc. I also know you’re not exactly selling to customers. But do remember that you have a panel of either telco product directors (whom you don’t know) and/or venture capitalist (who don’t know you) to have a conversation with.

First impressions count. Needless to say, don’t be late, sit into your room a few candidates before you to note what the panelist have to say about the products that are similar to yours (we group by product relevance and market segments). Greet, thank, and be humble. All these are hardly new, but it is my sincerest hope that you take extra care. This is Asia with many norms in doing business that you will need to adapt to if you’re looking at expanding.

2. Speak slowly

Although the deal rooms are conducted in English, there are many non-native speakers of English taking part. Our multitude of English accents across Asia guarantees that 90% of your speech won’t be heard by at least one of the panelist. I spoke to some of the panelist over the phone earlier, and I can testify to the need to be short, concise and clear, best to illustrate concepts on your slides and graphically.

3. Take initiative to follow up

Remember, each panelist would have seen something like 30 to 40 companies over the two days by the end of Accelerate (while for iMatch that would be around 20 for the afternoon). Unless you’re extremely unique, they probably can’t remember you and your product. You have to take the initiative to connect with them after the session, maybe try to get their contact details, ask questions, etc.

More importantly, you also have to make an informed decision whether you are ready to take on the partnership and/or investment. It is through these interactions that you’ll get an honest 3rd party opinion about your product. Be smart, be sensitive, but be brave.

See everyone at Accelerate 2010! w00t!

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