Thank goodness, my brain has finally caught up with my body after NamesCon. The twenty-four plus hour journey from Vegas flying in a tin can at nearly 40,000 feet is more something to be endured rather than enjoyed. During my time of Internet withdrawal (there isn’t any on the planes across the Pacific) I pondered the question, “Was NamesCon worth it?”
If you judge NamesCon on parties and having a big crowd of like-minded people in one location then you would have to emphatically answer, “Yes”. But NamesCon is more than these two things, for me, it’s was all about business, deal making and getting the roadmap for the year ahead.
You see, the right people were at the right location at the right time and this meant that every conversation became even better than the last. There was a “let’s do a deal” mentality that made it feel like opportunities were falling from the sky….which was quite an achievement since we were all inside.
I had the privilege of launching each day with a session titled, “Morning Movement”. Luckily for me, the attendees had done theirs and so I was able get the audience going in other directions. It was a lot of fun as attendees learned how to get the most out of NamesCon, won some prizes and taught them the great Australian chant, “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!” It sounds a little silly but was a lot of fun.
I then shared with the audience how Australians say hello. “G’day mate. Howya goin?” This then became the catch cry around the conference as people introduced themselves to each other with a smile on their face. If you’re going to say, “G’day” with an American accent then how can you not smile?
I must admit that I really enjoyed the ICU Top Golf event was a hit (no pun intended) and as you might expect, the Sedo German beer hall function involved the consumption of a lot of the amber liquid.
ParkLogic had a booth at the conference and this was manned by my two colleagues, Danny and Laci. Despite the long days, the two of them had a great time meeting clients and showing new customers how ParkLogic could make them more money. If you dropped by to say “Hi” then expect to be contacted within the next few days.
Other than the “morning movement sessions”, what did I do? I just counted and I had over thirty-five scheduled meetings plus a host of impromptu ones that were just as valuable. As you might imagine, this kept me pretty busy.
Was NamesCon worth it? Absolutely! From my perspective, NamesCon ticked all the boxes and if you weren’t there then you really missed out on a very special event. I should also mention that NamesCon will be held in Austin, Texas next year…..so we’re no longer going to be at the Tropicana….thank goodness!
