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The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
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Industry Conferences
Deep participation in 2+ conferences to build relationships and understand industry dynamics
Why It Works
Industries have concentrated communities that gather at specific events, providing efficient access to key players
Prerequisites
Research team memberConference budgetClear learning objectives
How to Execute
1
Identify the 2-3 most important conferences in target industry
2
Attend as participant, not vendor, to build relationships
3
Schedule meetings with diverse stakeholders (suppliers, customers, intermediaries)
4
Follow up with detailed interviews after initial meetings
When It Fails
When conferences are primarily vendor-focused rather than industry problem-solving focused
Real Example
“Attending maritime conferences to understand shipping industry, leading to container marketplace and procurement platform opportunities”