In 2012, the organisers of the Web Summit conference held 50 invite-only meet ups - or what they called it "Pub Summits" - mostly in Europe, in search of the new thing. They met some incredible startups, investors, bloggers, incubators, and invited the most interesting and promising to the Web Summit. 2013 sees the return of the Pub Summits. This year however, it will be hitting 100 cities in every corner of the world to bring together exciting tech communities over a pint. The first Budapest Pub Summit will take place on Thursday, May 23 at thehub.hu.
“There are lots of different formats for meet-ups, and a lot of them are centered around content. Being talked to by a single person in a room of 100 people is a missed opportunity for those 100 people to mingle and meet each other. And the one thing we don’t do less and less of is spending time socializing with like minded people. Pub Summits are a great opportunity to meet startups, investors, media and advisors and make those vital connections in your hometown. It’s booze, and good people. The Irish have been perfecting it for generations.” - summarized Paddy Cosgrave, founder of the Web Summit conference.
The Pub Summit series is also providing a great opportunity for startups. As part of the Spark of Genius startup competition, the organisers of Web Summit are searching for 200 incredible startups to pitch in front of over 5,000 attendees from around the world this coming October at the Web Summit in Dublin. Half of these finalists will be sourced from local Pub Summits. (Read The Next Web's coverage of the 2012 competition.)
For each Pub Summit, startups can submit an application. Afterwards, voting will be opened to the public. The most popular startup for each city will be fast-tracked to Day 1 at the Dublin Web Summit. So, if you think you're that startup, or know a startup, you'll find the one-minute application details here.
Entry to the Budapest Pub Summit is free of charge, but registration is required. Follow this link to RSVP. The event will take place at the lovely rooftop terrace of thehub.hu on May 23, and starts at 18:00 – don’t be late!
