Web Summit 2022: Roundup and impressions

4 days, 900 speakers, 2000 startups, and more than 70 000 participants from all over the world. Obviously, Web Summit is no regular tech conference, and the chance to be a part of an event that is redefining the global tech industry was very exciting. Our Martians had a chance to dive into the entrepreneurial atmosphere, get inspiration and connect with like-minded people. So, it’s best if we just let them do the talking and share their Web Summit 2022 impressions.

Renato Ruk, Frontend Developer

What was your overall experience of the event?

The WebSummit was a huge event and a thoroughly organized conference. It had speakers from big companies from all parts of the world and covered a broad variety of fields and industries, all relevant to technology and the future.

From a developer's perspective, what did you most like about the conference?

The FullSTK and Creatiff tracks had a few very interesting speakers that showcased examples of their work and gave practical tips on topics, such as how to improve processes in the company, application performance and cost reduction, and information security.

Were there any speakers, talks, or moments that stood out to you? Did you make any connections?

The talks that stood out the most were from Figma’s Chief Product Officer, Yuhki Yamashita, called “Confessions of modern design: How design is changing, and how we need to change with it”. It emphasized how in the world of digital products, the work is never done and one of the ways that we can track our progress is not by arbitrary progress checkpoints, but at a fixed, predictable cadence. E.g. it’s better to catch up with the team two times per week and be better aligned on the progress rather than reviewing work after 2 weeks.

What was the highlight of the event for you?

The most interesting talk was from Vercel CEO, Guillermo Rauch, who talked about the future of web performance with edge functions, which enable developers to serve dynamic content at the speed of static through the help of a special middleware that runs before serving requests from edge cache.

Iva Obrovac, Product Marketing Manager

What was your overall experience of the event?

In two words - big and busy. Although the size of the event can be quite overwhelming, I do believe that Web Summit has huge business potential, especially for early-stage startups that can introduce themselves to the public and investors. The conference part definitely talks about current trends in the market and what is yet to come. Although, in my opinion, the conference format doesn’t allow presenters to go more in-depth. I preferred listening to keynotes where presenters at least had 20 minutes to tell their own story instead of listening to panels and interviews as those were mostly quite generic and questions raised in those talks didn’t raise interest.

From a marketing and business perspective, what did you like about the conference?

I loved the talks about Metaverse and Web3. It was really great to meet up with some startups, and also to watch startup pitches and hear more about their proposals. The judges were on fire :)

Were there any speakers or moments that stood out to you? Did you make any lasting connections?

Yes, definitely. As a big Lego fan, I enjoyed hearing the talk from Lego’s chief product & marketing officer, Julia Goldin, that shared what are they doing to engage with their target audiences. It was also awesome to hear Apple’s and Figma's keynotes. Apple shared how are they driving innovation in health, while Figma’s CEO, Yuki Yamashita, offered tips through different success stories on how to navigate in a world where everything is always changing. I loved the presentation “How do you build iconic brands for Web3” held by the CEO of FNDR, James Vincent, who as a former advisor to Steve Jobs, Airbnb's Brian Chesky, and Snap's Evan Spiegel really had a lot to say about how to build brands in an increasingly decentralized world.

What was the highlight of the event for you?

For me, that was the moment I participated in a live video call with R/GA and Metaverse creator Don Allen Stevenson III. Don reached out to the audience from a Boston airport and talked about Metaverse identities while showcasing some of the capabilities at the same time by changing his digital identity.

Mario Skočić, Backend Developer

What was your overall experience of the event?

My overall experience of the trip was amazing! Regarding the conference, I do have some mixed feelings. The conference is great if you are a startup/company owner looking for partners, investors, or cooperation. It's also great if your company is there to present a product. But, it lacked developer-related talks overall.

From a developer's perspective, what did you most like about the conference?

Although there weren't many dev-oriented talks, the most useful sessions were on the smaller AWS stage which was a bit crowded so it was hard to find a place if you were not there from the beginning. However, they offered to scan our accreditations and send recordings to our email addresses.

Were there any speakers, talks, or moments that stood out to you? Did you make any connections?

I attended talks and interviews on various topics, but none of them really stood out for me.

What was the highlight of the event for you?

The highlight was the size of the whole event - it’s said that over 100,000 people registered for it. I have never attended such a big event!

Martina Šćirek, Digital Designer

What was your overall experience of the event?

It was a really great experience and I enjoyed every minute of the trip.

From a design background, what did you most like about the conference?

I liked all the talks that were Design-oriented. Perhaps the best presentation I attended was "Confession on modern design: How design is changing, and how we need to change with it" by Yuhki Yamashita (Figma). I enjoyed talking to one of the designers that were representing his team and their project. It was nice to share thoughts on design tools and give feedback on his design.

What was the highlight of the event for you?

I cannot pick one thing in particular, so I would say the whole mix of presentations related to design, experiencing live company pitches, meeting designers from all over the world, and sharing thoughts on design and tools. Just being in the same place with so many people from the same industry is motivating.

And last but not least, I have to highlight hanging out with my teammates, exploring Lisbon, drinking sangrias, and tasting delicious local food.

All in all?

As I said, Web Summit is an amazing event - being surrounded by so many like-minded people from the same industry at the biggest technology conference, inspired me so much.

Kristijan Kotris, Product Manager

What was your overall experience of the event?

Although we were there for (almost the same) purpose, the whole atmosphere of a large variety of people, races, cultures, and backgrounds was superb to see in person. I wouldn’t give the Summit the highest grade because it had delivered so much content that got a bit lost in the whole enormous scale of several pavilions.

From a PM background, what did you most like about the conference?

With the majority of product-related topics being more focused on upper/higher management, what I have noticed and liked about the conference was the ability to see how other products are portrayed by others, and how people who care about what they’re doing can stand out.

Were there any speakers, talks, or moments that stood out to you? Did you make any connections?

On the product/pitch side, what stood out for me was definitely an AI-backed solution for creating and building custom applications → Builder AI. I’ve witnessed the process of choosing an app template, and ultimately created a clickable prototype that could be used for really quick idea validations and/or pitching.

The talk on the Auto/Tech track, regarding the post-pandemic future of last-mile delivery was insightful, as it was primarily focused on differences between EU and American regulations and how each comes with its own set of problems.

What was the highlight of the event for you?

The fact that I reconnected with a former employee that I’ve lost touch with, and also got a solid sales pitch (as a practice for bigger fish) was amazing!

But THE HIGHLIGHT was seeing our group of Martians connecting, getting to know each other better, and learning from each other’s experiences.

Any additional comments?

Small-scale team building after actual team building. Obrigado, Martian&Machine!