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Leveling up via East Meets West Conference

Picture of Hoala Greevy Hoala Greevy April 25, 2019

From the founder

Rick Kuwahara and I took Chenoa Farnsworth out to lunch earlier this week at Fête in Honolulu. Five years ago, Chenoa and Blue Startups trail-blazed East Meets West, a conference that's now gathering traction around the Pacific. Our primary objective for the meeting: How do we level up our Paubox SECURE conference?

East Meets West

Chenoa Farnsworth, East Meets West

East Meets West (EMW) is a two-day conference organized by Blue Startups. Now in its fifth year, EMW brings together investors and entrepreneurs from Asia, Hawaii, and North America. EMW positions itself as the startup event of the year in Hawaii. See Also: Entrepreneurs & Investors Convene at Annual East Meets West Conference

Paubox SECURE

Rick Kuwahara, Paubox SECURE

Paubox SECURE is a digital health security conference that brings together leaders in healthcare, cybersecurity and innovation. It is a unique event that drives learning and discussion around the challenges of IT security in healthcare. See also:

My Takeaways

Fête - Paubox

The Ia salad Here are my takeaways from our lunch with Chenoa:

"The international startup community knows Us because of East Meets West.”
Try to Fill the keynote spot(s) first
Live streaming is very tough. Not worth it
Has not seen much impact from FB ads (as far as ticket sales go)
“I’m all for getting out of the building. As much as possible.”
Book speakers at least six months out
Getting big names first helps a lot. Helps with recruiting other speakers, tickets sales, and sponsor sales
Building hype and FOMO is important
Cultivate the speaker relationships. Organize events that encourages them to talk to each other.
Hotel blocks are tough. Too much hassle & stress
The speakers themselves will push and promote the event
Event experiences are key. Shared experience like stand up paddling, ATV riding, and surfing.
Sponsorships are crucial from a revenue standpoint