Even though RISE officially starts tomorrow, the days leading up to the conference have been jam packed. On Monday we went to a fireside chat with Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrove, and on Tuesday, a presentation by the team at Brinc, a Hong Kong-based hardware accelerator. Both were highly insightful for different reasons so we thought we’d share our top 4 takeaways:

1. Try, and try again

Today Web Summit tech conferences attract thousands of attendees each year. But it wasn’t always like this. Paddy shared how his first event was very small. Undeterred, he threw the same event the following year and before he knew it, attendance was exploding.

2. Use your data to pay attention to details

Paddy’s team designs their events to help attendees maximize their time. How? By gathering data and paying attention to details. They use GoPro cameras to observe how people move around the conference venue, then they utilize AI to strategically place exhibitors in areas where they will benefit most.

3. Asia is an exciting place for startups – especially hardware startups

Both Paddy and the Brinc team vouch for Asia’s undeniable energy. Bay McLaughlin from Brinc said Pearl River Delta’s unparalleled access to logistics and manufacturing make it the most ideal place in the world to launch an IoT product.

4. Understand the ecosystem of your product

If you’re going to create something different, think beyond just your first product, says Bay. Have a product roadmap and figure out how your software or hardware can maintain exponential value.That’s just the start of it! Here’s what else we have in store for RISE:

We’re pitching at RISE on Friday!

Come hear Julian pitch Ambi Climate (in 4 minutes!) at the Pitch Stage at 10:30am on Friday. There will be a public Twitter vote afterwards - vote for us by tweeting “@ambiclimate for #risepitch”!

Visit our booth on Saturday!

If you’re attending RISE, please come visit us at our booth (B114-1 in the Builders Area) on Day 2! See a live demo of Ambi Climate and get a hands-on look at our app.

Ambi Climate Demo at our HQ

If you can’t make it to RISE, come to our office for a live demo on Friday! Get in touch via social@ambiclimate.com and we’ll set something up.

Our iOS app will be in the App Store tomorrow!

Check back here for release information - we can’t wait to share the iOS app with everyone!