99 Reasons Why Web Summit Vancouver Sucked!

This blog is for companies and startups that have never attended Web Summit and are wondering whether the ROI would actually make it worth attending.

We attended Web Summit in Vancouver, and here’s how it went. For context, we're a B2B tech company that helps employees get to know each other at in-person company events, including all-hands meetings, client conferences, leadership retreats, and other internal company events.

We attended Web Summit to connect with people in manager-level roles at tech companies.

Networking is difficult, especially if you're an introvert. However, that's not what made networking hard. Web Summit is huge and by nature it attracts all sorts of people.

Over the course of the summit, I interacted and had conversations with 40 - 50 people. And none of those people were my ICP or even connected with people that would be relevant.

Most attendees were early-stage, pre-PMF founders, students, local professionals from Vancouver, exhibitors, and international attendees looking to expand their global network for their logistics-style businesses.

The scale of Web Summit makes it hard to meet the right people!

Exhibiting brings the promise of meeting potential prospects or existing clients who want to learn more about what we were doing.

What instead happened –

Almost all the meaningful foot traffic was taken by the "Big Companies" Microsoft, Dell, etc, partly because of location, they were located at the entry of the venue, while other exhibitors were placed at the back.

It wasn't just me ....

I walked around and saw many booths where teams were just sitting, doing work, and replying to messages on their laptops because hardly anyone was stopping by.

Did I meet anyone meaningful for my business? No. Did I meet anyone at all at my booth? No.

In fact, it was so bad, I left my booth and tried something else.

Our booth was so far back that the traffic was reduced, and I realized I could either be frustrated or do something different.

I took my tripod and went to the Web Summit sign right in front of the entrance.

People would see me, thinking I was a pro photo guy, and I would help people take photos and I would talk with people after taking their photo.

I met 30 different people doing this.

One of which was my ideal customer and we connected. So this was far much easier, less pressure and actually produced results and it's cheaper than paying to be an exhibitor.

The irony is: If you help people get what they want, you'll get what you want. I helped people take photos, and I got the opportunity to meet potential prospects.

This was by far the most surprising aspect of the summit.

I have been to smaller, like 200 person events and they at least offered free water, and had complimentary food and appetizers for way more affordable ticket prices.

I could not believe a $1000+ ticket did not come with complimentary drinks or food.

The backstage lounge (for exhibitors) got me excited... I was expecting muffins and light snacks, but it was disappointing, to say the least.

Okay, maybe you're not into food or drinks, but for an event of this scale - I was surprised.

Let's just say 99.9% of the companies, founders, etc, were AI based.

There was literally a company that used AI .. to help you find parking. Imagine this:

You pull up to the grocery store, and while driving (yes, while driving), you pull out your phone, let it load, then it will use AI to let you know where to park.

Lots of ridiculous companies …

And let's just put our thinking hats on for a second … What were these companies doing before AI?

AI is beneficial, it's a tool - however, at this Summit, it felt like it was part of the requirements to get in. AI toilet finder, AI parking app, and of course, none of these companies had PMF (product market fit), surprise surprise.

I know this is a list of things I didn't like about Web Summit. However, Vancouver is the hosting city, it’s beautiful and expensive.

Unfortunately, it is one of the most expensive cities in Canada and that includes cost of living, and cost of visiting.

Hotel prices, restaurants, everything…

Love Vancouver, however, for a week long event, the price adds up way more than just the Web Summit ticket.

The people at Web Summit made it worth the while. Everyone was open to a conversation.

What I loved most was the random connections on the sidewalk and in the hotels, where someone would have their badge on and you'd know, this person is here for the same thing.

This is what I enjoyed most.

I loved the discovery feature on the Web Summit app and website. That made it really worth it.

Even though I only met at most 50 people in-person, I got access to over 100 people and potential leads from the discovery feature.

We love Vancouver.

Just wanted to say that.

Instead of [CITY/COUNTRY] Meetup

I'd love to see more events segmented by industry. At times the networking was good for meeting people, but it wasn't good for meeting the right people.

Jam Bingo helps introverts talk and connect with new people at events. It's a way to gamify networking, and would love to see Jam Bingo at the networking sessions at Web Summit.

I loved the first time experience, however, without real ROI, it's hard to make such an investment. The real loss is time, and energy.

Sometimes I think, I could have just skipped the Summit and just paid to have access to the app (for the discovery feature), so I could contact people who did attend and book real effective meetings, instead of hoping to cross paths with them and doing a quick intro that probably will be forgotten during the week.

Would I attend the Web Summit in Vancouver again? Probably not, the energy, time, flights, it becomes an opportunity cost - could I be using that same energy and time for something else that would create greater ROI? The answer is, yes, I have done things that required way less energy and time and produced more ROI than what I got from Web Summit, and that’s just energy and time, not to mention the financial impact.

Should you go? If you’re launching your startup and thinking that this would be a good way to get it out there, do not, in fact, reach out to me. I'd take your money and show you how to set up a real inbound generation SEO campaign and outbound email campaign instead.

With the high ticket prices, you’d be better off investing (or doubling down) in higher-ROI activities like SEO/GEO, Google Ads, and outbound sales.

Now knowing how much time and energy Web Summit took, we likely wouldn’t have attended in person. Instead, we would have focused on outreach through the app and building targeted lists.

From a business perspective, the ROI of attending in person wasn’t significantly higher than simply scrolling through the app and DMing people directly.

Of course, this depends on why you’re going. If you received a sponsored ticket, then absolutely go and experience it live. But if you’re paying out of pocket and evaluating it purely from a “Will this help grow my business?” standpoint, attending in person likely isn’t worth the investment.