Last week I attended TieCon 2007. It was a balancing act in time management, given that I was there for the first day only and the following objectives to accomplish.
- Find out what the latest buzz is
- Revive my professional network
- Get inspired
Needless to say, I spent my day hustling from one panel discussion to another, meeting new and old acquaintances, and scouting for the most optimal food and coffee queues.
Btw, was pleasantly surprised to see quite a significant rise in the women population compared to last year. To me, it also felt like an Alumni event..I must have met about a couple dozen SCU
classmates. Note to myself: No need to spend that extra 100 bucks for the upcoming alumni event!
Latest in Power Networking: Saw a very ROI focused behavior in some budding entrepreneur types. They generally hang around the strategic food areas, start by exchanging pleasantries, one minute on what you do/what I do type conversation, exchange of business cards, and then mingle on. I met an immigration lawyer, a Staffing recruiter, a chartered accountant that way..all distributing business cards like hotcakes.
Lasting impressions: I truly felt that the Indian origin professionals have become a force to reckon with, in the global business landscape. Sure..Americans have the marketing edge, the Chinese have the tenacity but we have the intellectual and entrepreneurial horsepower to compensate for it. On a personal level, the energy you feel just from being part of such an event is truly captivating. It's like spa therapy for your professional being.
To all my volunteer friends at TieCon: Keep up the good work, Folks!
Some tidbits to round it off:
Best Keynotes (I'm a sucker for inspirational ones) :
- Marc Benioff, CEO of salesforce.com: He's an unique combination of a true salesman and an equally good social entrepeneur. Look out for the audio webcast at the salesforce.com site.
- I heard that Meg Whitman's speech was quite a hit too. I have seen Meg in action during my eBay days. Her ability to transform from an un-assuming personality serving ice-creams at the ebay socials to one that can truly inspire an entire TieCon 3000+ budding intra/entrepreneurs crowd is amazing
Memorable quotes:
- "The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet." -By Tim O'reilly, CEO of O'reilly Media.
- "Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast" By Deep Nishar, Director at Google
- "We are not about poverty pornography. We are about business." By Premal Shah, President of kiva.org.
Coolest Business idea:
Wireless Battery charging for mobile devices (would i love that or what!?)
Buzzword :
CleanTech (shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone) I heard Web2.0 is passe.
The quintessential "dont bother coming to the conference without it" item :
Your business card