t’s official! We can add another successful Global to the books. Just a little over a week ago, more than 8,000+ global attendees & 150 speakers came together in Redwood City to celebrate entrepreneurship, form connections, and sharpen their skills at Global 2020.
It was a massive undertaking that required all-hands-on-deck from the Startup Grind crew and 70+ volunteers. Leading up to the event, long nights turned into early mornings for our team, some of whom had traveled everywhere from England to South Africa. But, as has been the case every year, the end result was well worth the grind.
Missed Global 2020? Or just want to relive the magic? Here were some of our favorite highlights and memories.
1. Global 2020 by the #s
We were incredibly pleased to welcome startups, attendees, and Chapter Directors from all over the world. Over 96 countries were represented this year, illustrating the magnitude & reach of what our community members are accomplishing globally. And that’s just one stat highlighting the power of this global gathering. Check out a few other numbers that made Global 2020 the event that it was above.
2. 100+ Incredible Sessions with Industry Experts
With over 100 engaging talks & workshops, there were honestly too many good sessions to choose favorites. But we got great feedback from you, the attendees, on which sessions stood out as extra special via our Global app. Have a look at some of the top Mainstage session recordings below.
— The Power of Community, with Reddit:
— Essential Startup Advice: Founding & Funding Outside of Silicon Valley:
— The Next Generation of Cultural Influencers in Tech:
— Pioneering an Industry — Allowing for Others to Follow:
— Startup Grind: What I’ve Learned, Ten Years Later:
— Tackling Hard Work on the Way to a Big Idea:
3. Incredible Insights from 150+ Leaders
A cornerstone of Global is creating a space where we can learn from one another, with one another. This year, with over 150 speakers , there were plenty of leaders to connect with and get inspired by. Here’s a look at a few quotes that resonated during the sessions.
Austen Allred, Co-Founder and CEO of Lambda School in “Reduce Risk, Succeed Together: A New Business Model”:
“One of the most important moments of being a founder is when someone you respect like crazy tells you something that you know to be wrong. And you have to turn towards your own judgement and make the call you know you need to make. At the end of the day, building a company is about learning how to manage your own psychology…. what you have to learn is not outsource your judgement making to other people.”
Annie Jean-Baptiste, Head of Product Inclusion at Google, in “The Business Case for Inclusion: For Products and People”:
“If you don’t proactively include, you will unintentionally exclude. Build products for everyone, with everyone.”
Jennifer Hyman, Co-founder + CEO at Rent the Runway in “Pioneering an Industry — Allowing for Others to Follow”:
“When the team gets bigger, the team is looking to you — the CEO, the leader — for full inspiration and they’re taking every single word you say literally. They’re looking at your body language. Take that seriously. This happens way faster than we give it credit for. If you have a team of 10 people this will start to happen where people will start to take you way more seriously than you even take yourself. Being conscious of the impact that you’re having on those aware you is your job as the CEO.”
Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer @Adobe, in “Tackling Hard Work on the Way to a Big Idea”:
“My argument to you is that a decision made gives you data. A decision not-made gives you nothing. And sometimes making a bad decision and knowing what not to do in the future — the value of that is better than making no decision. And so decisiveness, decisiveness, decisiveness.”
Janine Pelosi, CMO of Zoom, in “Standing Out in a Crowded Market: Early Marketing Must-Haves”:
“Have strong networks and leverage them. Make sure your early customers become a reference for you and make sure people can find you (have a website with clear call to action, etc.). Balance your brand and be frequent, so they will not forget about you.”
Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, in “The Power of Community”
“What helps a small community survive? One of the things we’ve learned [at Reddit] is that the creators of the community, the first moderators, the founders, have a disproportionate influence. It may be the only thing that matters. There might be some “right place, right time in there” but really it’s the creators… the people who are taking that idea from zero to one.”
Derek Andersen CEO @Startup Grind, in “Startup Grind: What I’ve Learned, Ten Years Later”
“There’s no point, I’ve learned, in gaining the world if you lose your soul in the process. The true unicorns are not the companies that have big valuations. The true unicorns are the people who successfully scale their business and their lives at the same time. What Startup Grind is actually about is about improving yourself every single day. It’s about creating a better future for the world. It’s about taking care of your family and the families of the people on this earth journey with you.”
4. A Truly Stellar Startup Showing
It was a complete pleasure to see the hard work of over 300+ startups inside the packed Startup Program tents. From fintech to edutech to healthtech, we had startups of all growth stages showcasing how they’re problem-solving for the future. In addition to making organic connections in the tents, we’re happy to report there were 303 pitches and 186 meetings with investors. Want in? Learn more about the Startup Program here.
5. Plus Countless Memorable Moments
Global was filled to the brim with learning & opportunities, from in-depth expert panels to meeting new friends on our annual pub crawl. A few notables included:
— The Breakout Stages
We featured over 75 breakout sessions ranging from expert Q&As to insightful panels. These targeted breakouts covered everything from marketing to branding to fundraising. Also new — we added a “Workshop Stage” this year for action-based sessions. The workshops were some of our highest attended sessions, so they’ll be back next year!
— The Quickfire Pitches & Pitch Stage
We got to see multiple rounds of pulse-quickening, quickfire pitches from 55 startups on the Mainstage. Lots of talent. Lots of energy. And lots of brave entrepreneurs taking center stage to pitch their passion. On top of that, Global’s Pitch Stage allowed the startups to pitch to an audience in a more intimate setting while also gathering immediate crowd feedback.
— The “Start a Chapter in Your City” Meetups
Our community team hosted two meetups over the course of the conference to share more info on our Startup Grind community. These helped connect people who want to start a chapter of their own, and lay the foundation for more chapters to come. If you left Global feeling inspired and interested in starting a chapter of your own, check out the details here.
— Startup Awards Announced
Startup Grind awarded two coveted awards to two well-deserving startups this year. Evolve Energy took home the “Startup of the Year” award and Swit.io won “Growth Startup of the Year.” A huge congratulations to these hardworking teams! Definitely be sure to check them both out and give them kudos.
— New Connections (and Friends!)
One of the best things about Global is connecting with others. Sometimes it happens when you’re waiting to fill up your water bottle and other times it happens as you listen to a leader onstage talking through the highs and lows of running a company. This year was no different and entrepreneurs from all over the world made connections that led to conversations that led to possibilities. We can’t wait to see what all those connections bring to light over the next year!
A Huge Thanks to Our Sponsors
We couldn’t have put on Global without our sponsors. A big shout out to the companies & individuals who gave us the support we needed. It takes a village to keep a community running. Thanks to everyone who made it possible: Google for Startups, Chase Ink, CBRE, Oracle for Startups, AWS, Mailchimp, among many more.
Want to Join In On the Fun Next Year, Too? Snag Your Tix to Global 2021
Global is an annual event which means it’s never too early to start planning for next year! You can pre-order your Global 2021 tickets now to get an awesome discounted price.
We’ve also got Startup Grind’s Europe Conference 2020 coming up in September. Will you be there? Our past speakers include Eric Schmidt (Google/Alphabet), Cal Henderson (Slack), Luciana Lixandru (Accel Partners), John Collison (Stripe), Julia Hartz (Eventbrite), and many more. Got you feeling excited? Learn more about Startup Grind’s Europe Conference 2020 here.