I help companies renew their patents effectively and with no fuzz • 12 years as an entrepreneur • A big history 🤓 • Customer Focused • Last year, we helped +2000 companies achieved +10.000.000 EUR in combined savings
I don't want to be the youthful, overly optimistic tech founder who shouts, "Down with the old, archaic ways of doing business!" but here's the reality: I've been in the Intellectual Property space for 7 years and still haven't participated in a single conference, fair, or community gathering of IP professionals. Despite encouragement from prospects, customers, and advisors, we never went. This might change this year, but then again, I feel like I've said that every year. We've noticed traction in other mediums that connect people, but not in group gatherings. Coupled with our inexperience at these events, we decided it shouldn't be a priority. It might also be because our competitors have huge booths, free merchandise, interactive videos, paid receptions, and host expensive dinners at top-tier hotels. Is it obvious that we're doing something wrong and our assessment is off? Apologies to everyone I've told that we might participate in INTA, IP Service World, etc., but didn't follow through. It's not that I'm not excited to meet the community. I just haven't been able to justify the investment compared to our other channels. You can't do all growth initiatives at once, can you? Maybe if we're invited to give a talk, we might go. I don't know. It might contribute something to the venue to have a company with an average age of 35 standing around in t-shirts with sleek slogans and giving talks as the newcomers and provocateurs, but again, I don't know. To sum up, I might be blind to a great opportunity. I'm not claiming to know whether it's an attractive channel or not and haven't ignored it based on assumptions that it's the "old way." We have experienced and build our company through other channels as only a few have in our industry but at some point, maybe now, we should integrate more seamlessly into the community that we especially virtually, are a member of? Maybe I'm not the only founder who finds the world of fairs, tradeshows, and conferences to be unexplored territory in an industry where it's almost the primary customer acquisition channel? Happy INTA to everyone attending - I am envious! #inta #ipserviceworld #onpremisesales