

Utilize Tech Conferences for Launching Startups? - kineticac

Anybody have any experience with launching an application in or at the same time as a tech conference?  Which ones have you done or are planning?  How are you getting in there and into the PR?
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pg
I don't recommend it. Conferences happen on fixed days. It's very unlikely
you'd otherwise launch on that exact day. So you'd either be launching late or
early, both of which are dangerous. You'd either sit on something launchable
and risk having a competitor launch first, or launch something incomplete that
users disliked.

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ivankirigin
You should distinguish between a product push and media push.

You'll find that you can say you're launching even if the functionality has
already launched a few days before hand.

This has been the case for some iterative launches for me, so maybe it's
different for a site launch.

We launched Tipjoy at a publishing conference. It wasn't a good idea, as
TechCrunch posted a story a bit early while we were on a flight. I think my
exact thought at the time was: "fuck!"

If I were to do it again, I would have an open-to-anyone site for a few days
before "launching" at the conference. I fixed more bugs in the first 24 hours
of launch than the previous week of development. (and keep in mind this dev
time was mid YC push)

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kineticac
Thank you both (pg and ivan) for the suggestions! I will definitely lean
towards distinguishing between the product and media pushes.

And when you were coordinating the conference push, was it actually integrated
or announced at the conference? Or just alongside the buzz with some other
form of PR on the same day?

