Web Summit Lisbon 2024: Business Outcomes and Future Opportunities (Days 5-7)

The moment you realize your startup isn't just a local solution but has the potential to grow on a larger scale—that's pure magic. For us at Digital Reception, Web Summit 2024 was exactly that transformative experience. The participation showcases our evolution from pitch refinement to successful product demonstrations. The team generated 200 quality leads, identified and confirmed new market verticals, including funeral services and hospitality, and engaged with international investors. Key achievements included successful stand demonstrations, strategic networking, and the discovery of unexpected market opportunities in Brazil. The summit proved transformative, positioning Digital Reception not just as a startup product but as a scalable solution ready for new opportunities.

* GuideLites team in front of the stand 

 

Breaking Through: The Evolution of a Startup Team

Second day at the summit, and picture this: Ministry of Innovation, Serbia's First Lady, all Serbian startups, investors in one room. The next day brought a remarkable turnaround. Armed with lessons from our first pitch, we presented on the Serbian island in front of an impressive audience. The difference was night and day—our refined pitch, incorporating feedback and experience from the previous day, did a much better job engaging the audience.

We were one of seven startups presenting. Post-presentation conversations with consultants and investors revealed that we did a good job. This contrast between our two pitching experiences illustrated the value of learning from setbacks and adapting quickly. When we stepped onto that stage, something shifted. The nervous energy of our first pitch had changed into pure, confident momentum, resulting in a much better presentation than the day before. 

Pro Tip: Confidence isn't rehearsed; it's built through genuine belief in your solution and relentless preparation.

* Presenting the digital reception on Serbian island

 

Making Meaningful Connections

As the Summit progressed, we refined our networking approach. Rather than trying to meet everyone, we focused on fewer but higher-quality connections. This strategy led to several valuable conversations.

Our networking strategy had become surgical. Instead of collecting business cards like trophies, we learned now that one meaningful connection beats fifty superficial interactions.

Personal Recommendation: At international conferences, treat every conversation as a potential partnership, not a transaction. Quality always trumps quantity.

* Our 40-word presentation running on screen on the Summit

 

Digital Reception Takes Center Stage: More Than Just a Stand

On the final day of the summit, we got our chance to present the solution in its real form. Instead of an abstract concept, we brought tangible technology that people could touch, experience, and immediately understand.

We had a minor setback when some pre-ordered hardware didn’t arrive on time. However, our backup plan—using tablets and a Surface device—proved equally effective. This highlighted another key learning: always have a Plan B ready!

Engagement wasn't just about showing a product; it was about telling a story. Our hardware demonstrations became immersive experiences that attracted potential leads into genuinely interested partners.

Our stand's setup taught us valuable lessons about conference presence. Despite being located in a lower-traffic area on the final day, our solution demonstration proved to be a powerful differentiator. Showcasing the digital reception system on physical devices drew visitors eager and made it easier for them to grasp the software solution.

Team coordination was our secret weapon. Zoran's strategic thinking, Jelena's communication finesse, Predrag's technical brilliance, and Dennis's experience and international perspective created a presentation of the solution that tackled all components.

Pro Tip: A great team doesn't just complement each other's skills—they amplify them.

 

The Future of Funeral Services

One of our most intriguing meetings was with a Belgian funeral industry innovator. They shared their vision for modernizing funeral services through digital signage, leading to discussions about white-label solutions. This conversation expanded when we met with another innovation manager from a well-established company, who brought up challenges around nameboards and visitor management in funeral homes. Together, we explored ideas including e-ink screens for graveyards and digital receptions for funeral ceremonies—a perfect example of how conversations at Web Summit can spark unexpected business opportunities.

Imagine digital signage that brings dignity to memorial services, streamlined check-ins that respect grieving families, and technology that makes difficult moments slightly more manageable. The conversations inspired us to think about implementing technology while taking into account the extra need for personal elements in certain industries. 

Personal Recommendation: Always look beyond the immediate application of your technology. Business opportunities often happen in the most unexpected places.

 

Hospitality Sector Breakthrough

Our stand attracted significant interest from the hospitality sector. A potential partner from a hotel chain from Mauritius and another one from a local hotel both saw immediate applications for Digital Reception in their properties. These conversations revealed a clear market need: while some hotels have digital check-in, there's a strong demand for comprehensive reception solutions integrating QR codes, door access, and room card dispensing. 

Digital check-ins, automated guest experiences, and QR code room access are of real added value in an industry that is increasingly embracing digital solutions.

 

Global Ambitions: A World of Possibilities

Brazil emerged as an unanticipated potential market. Multiple Brazilian startups showed immediate, excited interest. What started as a European expansion strategy suddenly felt like a global opportunity.

Pro Tip: Your first international market might come from the most unexpected region. Stay open, stay curious.

 

The Investor Experience

A particularly memorable meeting came with a German-based Ukrainian investor from the oil industry. His direct approach taught us valuable lessons about investor interactions:

Pro Tips for Investor Meetings:

• Be ready with your three-sentence business explanation
• Know your numbers cold
• Be clear about market differentiation
• Have your scaling strategy ready
• Understand and articulate your funding needs and intended use

We ended up exchanging our LinkedIn profiles and will send him the pitch deck to continue exploring the investing possibilities.

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* Digital Reception booth and the board with informations

 

Unexpected Discoveries and Future Directions

Through numerous conversations and demonstrations, we uncovered new possibilities:

• Our voice authentication feature caught the eye of multiple visitors, seeing it as superior to current biometric solutions. More secure and more intuitive than traditional biometric methods, it represents the future of secure, personalized access
• Document signing integration became a hot topic, leading to internal discussions about pre-registration workflows. Each conversation revealed potential use cases we hadn't initially imagined

 

Insights and Success Measuring

Beyond leads and connections, we gathered profound market insights:

• Investor Interest: Serious discussions from sectors we hadn't targeted
• Partnership Potential: At least 5 significant collaboration opportunities
• Market Positioning: We're not just a startup; we offer a refined solution that is ready to be upscaled

 By the end of the Summit, we had:

• Generated 200 quality leads
• Successfully used our own Digital Reception system to invite 140 leads to our stand
• Identified several new potential market verticals
• Gathered concrete feedback about product direction

* Digital Reception running on a tablet with video calling feature 

 

Getting Back Home

Our final Lisbon day was a tornado. A 15-kilometer walking tour capturing the city's essence. Our return journey became a metaphor for our startup journey: complex, interconnected, and full of unexpected turns.

Returning home, Zoran and Jelena celebrated their family's traditional Slava—a beautiful reminder that behind every professional journey are personal stories and traditions.

What we learned personally as a team that participated in this event:

• Adaptability is our greatest asset
• Every conversation is a potential opportunity
• Technology solves problems, but human connection drives true opportunities

 

Future Plans and Conclusions

Perhaps our most significant realization was about our position in the market. While we came as a startup, our established product and real-world implementations set us apart. We weren't sharing ideas; we were demonstrating proven solutions.

The Summit showed us that we're not limited to our current verticals—we're building a platform with broad applications across industries we hadn't even considered. 

Our beta startup transition plan crystallized during these days. We're ready for the next step in showcasing the product on more potentialy interesting markets for us.

We established new key focus areas:

• Vertical market expansion and exploring uncharted industry verticals
• Strategic international partnerships and building meaningful global partnerships
• Continuous innovation in visitor management technology (advancing voice authentication technology)

To our potential partners, investors, and fellow innovators: Our journey is just beginning.

Stay curious. Stay bold.

[Note: This blog post is part of our Web Summit 2024 series. Read about our pre-summit experience in our previous post.]