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A Guide To Getting The Most Out Of Any Conference (Without Losing Your Mind or Your Schedule)

While Web Summit Lisbon in itself is one of, if not the largest, tech conference in the World, it does not only have a Centre Stage program that is entirely captivating, but it has 20 Summits within the conference, over 220 networking meetups, several masterclass tracks, a startup university, podcast booths, and so much more.

When one says it’s a jam-packed conference experience – it’s a jam-packed conference experience! And all of this is not even counting the more than 200 side events happening across Portugal…. in just four days.

So, where does one start with deciding on what to do, where to go, and whom to spend your time with? A few years ago, I wrote a short guide for the attendees of a technology company’s annual user conference. And now, I’ve decided to take my own advice and follow that guide to get the most out of Web Summit Lisbon 2025. Cause after all, you get out of it what you put in, right? 

Bring Your Best Questions

What are your current curiosities, wants, and needs? Web Summit offers wast access to diverse knowledge and industry experts from everything on Government, AI, SaaS, New Energy, Marketing, Commerce, New Media to New Ventures, FinTech, Developer, Investor, and so much more. So, where are your current curiosities and what questions are you finding it difficult to get enlightened and informed answers to these days?

Personally, I am very curious about several topics, professionally and personally, so I’ll need to find a way to either clone myself or make a hard-cut prioritisation list. It’ll probably be the latter, and it’ll probably happen at the very last minute.

Professionally, my interest of course lies within the realm of Marketing, SaaS, AI, and Innovation, and oh do I have so many questions I’d love to get answers to during Web Summit. I’m hoping the following sessions can help me gain some more clarity on those topics:


Personally, I’ve got more than just a few curiosities as well – both as a new resident in Portugal, but more importantly as a citizen of the world:


If you too are facing the challenge of having way too many questions and curiosities going unanswered, a week fully immersed in obtaining knowledge, perspectives, and inspiration is always a good investment. Whether you walk away with a few new great ideas or several notebooks full of inspiration, you walk away with something you didn’t have just a few weeks before.

Because a conference, such as Web Summit, is only around for a few days a year, it is worth investing the time to clarify your question before going in. This way, you know you’ll walk away with something that is valuable, usable, and actionable for yourself.

Know What You Want To Build

We’re all building something, whether it is business, communities, network, life, knowledge, passions, and so much more. And we congregate at conferences to fuel these builds and give them speed and nurture to grow, faster. So, when going to Web Summit Lisbon – what do you wish to build?

For me, I’m naturally focused on building connections that can fuel the growth of Momentum Marketing and the clients of Momentum Marketing. While I realise my value is directly delivered in the consulting projects I deliver to clients, an equal amount of value is provided through the power of my network and knowledge accumulation over time. That’s one thing I’m going to focus on building at Web Summit. 

Another, is discovering and engaging with new communities I have yet to tap into and learn from, so I can maintain the momentum (pun entirely intended) of knowledge accumulation and the kind of value exchanges that happen in communities. We really do not go far without them, do we?

And lastly, I want to build my understanding of the systems we live and operate in, on a local as well as global scale, so that I can navigate my role as an actively contributing citizen of the world, and – in all truthfulness – try and make life a little easier to manage. With everything that’s being thrown at us in this age, a little easier goes a long way.

So how can one do this? While the conference schedule is packed during the day for knowledge accumulation and hallway catch-ups, the over 220 meetups offer a space for more in-depth community and networking engagement, and deeper conversations. Based on the goals listed above, I’m likely to be attending quite a few, and hopefully all, of these meetups from the following communities:


With a list of over 220 to choose from, NOT including the ones that aren’t directly affiliated with Web Summit, it’s quite the selection one is presented with. And as I notice there are meetups from sneaker collectors, to gamers, to authors, to just about any of the conference attendee nationalities, decision-making and time management become something of a critical skill set to leverage here.

Knowing what you want to build going into the conference means knowing where to focus your time and energy. Start there, and go find your building fuel!

Expand Your Professional Circle

“I think one of the missed opportunities at these larger events is the realization ahead of time that you’ll meet a lot of people quite different to you,” was a very good advice given from a former colleague. They continued: “There are so many opportunities to talk to someone you would not usually be around or run into, simply because you don’t run in the same circles on a daily basis. Any person might provide a new perspective, or help shift a mindset in another direction, so my advice would be to keep an open mind and engage in conversations with people outside your focus area and industry.“

I’ll add my own, short and sweet notion to this: Everyone you will ever meet, knows something you don’t. And with that level of curiosity, expanding your professional circle at a conference can become so rewarding for you, and the new connections you make.

Now, at a conference the size of Web Summit, you have the potential of meeting and speaking to 100s of new humans. (I’m an extrovert, so this excites me! If you are an introvert, feel free to run behind me and capture the connection while I make the conversation. Safe space all around!)

But capturing 100s of new human connection details, while trying to make it personal and remember the thing that caught your interest to begin with? That requires some tooling and pre-planning. Here are a few good tips on how to do that:

  1. Keep your LinkedIn QR code ready, either by having the app open on your phone or by screenshotting it for a quick scan. 

  2. Create your own personal CRM for networking in Notion, making it easier for you to keep track of all the details of each person you meet. You can build in a priority scoring, so you know which ones to follow-up on first post-conference.

  3. Use a personal CRM software, such as Orvo, Clarify, Nimble – but check for voice capture feature, as this is a feature that will help you capture quick notes in less than 30 seconds in between meetings and greetings.

  4. Give yourself a connection target. Yes, really! Is it not realistic to have a goal of at least 50 new connections per day? Include speakers, lunch buddies, meetup events, and the people you meet walking to and from sessions. It is doable! Tip: The speakers you can add ahead of time for the session you’re already planning to go to, saving yourself time on the day of the conference. The same goes for the community meetups who are open to engagement pre event!

And one last one on this one, people will remember how you made them feel first, and what you said second. So be intentional with how you meet and greet people, and always, always, lead with kindness, curiosity, and compassion. It’ll make it a much more rewarding experience for you.

Share Your Ideas, Big and Small

While you enter a conference to learn, soak up knowledge, make new connections and build with intention, you are also there because you have ideas. Your questions going into the conference are based on ideas and thoughts that are brewing in your mind. Make sure you share these – make sure you allow them to be heard by others. They just might be able to provide you with an insightful perspective, perhaps even a new kind of partnership or business collaboration that wasn’t even thought of before.

In addition, go into the conference with a few ‘elevator pitches’ in mind, so you can target your message to the person you interact with for maximum connection value. I would recommend having the following types of pitches ready ahead of time, and yes – practicing them in front of the mirror and on whoever is around you works wonders:

  1. Personal career pitch ->  When you need to showcase credentials and build professional trust in capabilities

  2. Business pitch -> When you need to explain what your business does for others, and at what growth stage it delivers value to them

  3. Personal story pitch -> When you need to build a personal connection that is intended to bridge a connection beyond business transactions


Here are some examples, based on what I usually make use of:

Personal career pitch: I’m now a strategic Marketing Consultant after having spend over a decade building hyper-growth tech companies globally, specifically in cybersecurity and data management tech, and scaling businesses from last to market leader, through M&As, and latest taking part in an IPO. Hyper-growth scale-ups is my thing!


Business pitch: Through my strategic marketing consultancy Momentum Marketing, I work as a fractional CMO & GTM advisor for late stage start-ups and early stage scale-ups. I particularly enjoy helping ambitious founders cut through market complexity and scale faster with clear messaging, GTM strategy & demand gen that drive $Ms in measurable growth.


Personal story pitch: I’ve recently relocated to Portugal, my fourth country of residence, after having spent quite a few years in The Netherlands, and a couple in the UK. I’m originally from Denmark and consider myself a fully fledged viking that is set on traveling and conquering the world. As we do. I work in B2B tech, and love to nerd out about that professionally.

The countdown to Web Summit Lisbon 2025 is on, and I’m ready to dive in with curiosity, connection, and a whole lot of momentum. If you’ll be there too, let’s make the most of it. Drop me a message or come say hi at one of the meetups!

Through Momentum Marketing, I act as a Fractional CMO and advisor to AI and SaaS start-ups and scale-ups. I help you build and launch revenue-driving go-to-market strategies that deliver ROI within 90 days, and keep you scaling for 12+ months. Book a strategy call with me today to learn how.

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