How to exhibit your startup: lessons from Tech in Asia Tokyo 2015

If you’re a startup planning on ramping up your marketing efforts for the next calendar year, you might have planned to attend a few tech events to exhibit your startup. And why not? There are some great reasons to do so, including getting some face time with active investors, converting passers-by as users, and sourcing for potential employees – if you play it right, of course.

Based on our observations from the recent Bootstrap Alley at Tokyo, we’ve compiled a few learning points on what you should (or shouldn’t) do to help you get the most bang for your buck when exhibiting your startup at a tech conference.

1. Everyone loves freebies

With close to 200 startups over the two-day Tokyo conference, it was hard to remember what some of them were exhibiting, even when we went through our stack of name cards at the end of the day. What might have helped to jolt our memories? Freebies. Bonus points for relevant ones.

There weren’t many given out in Tokyo save for the run-of-the-mill branded pens, or stress balls, which meant there was an opportunity to easily outshine competition. If you’re feeling loaded, feel free to go all out with the giveaways. Otherwise, get creative! Aim to create an easily perceived association between the gift and your brand in order to make a lasting impression –
an apartment rental service could give out keychains for example.

Disclaimer: if it’s going to be forgettable however, you’re better off not doing it. Your resources are better spent elsewhere.

2. Prepare your pitch.

There were a few awkward moments when I wandered up to a booth only to be met with silence. I got the initial conversation going with some questions about the product, but it occasionally felt like more of an interrogation on my end than a conversation.

Know your pitch like the back of your hand to kickstart the conversation, instead of passively waiting for people to ask questions. Planning a structured approach to take your audience through your startup might be effective in helping them understand clearly. And of course, tailor your story in accordance with your audience. Investors are likely to be interested about the problems you’re tackling, potential employees might be keen to hear about future opportunities, and current or potential users will want to know how you can make their lives easier.

3. Don’t be a zombie

In the same vein, you might have tons to share about your revolutionary business idea but if you’re sounding like you’d rather be elsewhere, it’s not going to help your cause either.

During our field trip around Bootstrap Alley in Tokyo, there were plenty of startups that seemed like they had potentially interesting ideas… but we never got to confirm that. There is nothing less enticing than a half-hearted elaboration from a founder who sounds bored by even himself. We left those booths in a hurry.

On the flip side, several Japanese startups who were less proficient in English impressed us with their enthusiastic demonstrations, which more than made up for the language barrier. This only goes to show, excitement is contagious and often a make-or-break factor in engaging conference attendees.

We know how tiring conferences can get – still, the show must go on. Squeeze in adequate rest or arrange to take shifts with your colleagues to help keep your fatigue in check. Alternatively, grab a cuppa or come armed with energy drinks to get you through the day.

4. The booth is your oyster

Exhibiting at a conference usually entitles you to a space, which by default, looks identical to the ones allocated to hundred other startups. The good thing is you usually get some freedom in decorating your booth – take advantage of that!

Demonstrating your product or prototype is a must. People love interactive demos – it helps them visualize better and lead to better questions. If you’re a software company with no item to display, fret not – monitors can do an equally impressive job! At the Tokyo conference, we found ourselves naturally gravitating toward booths with attractive banner stands and – cheesy as it sounds – teams with shirts to match their booths; it easily caught our attention from halfway across the room.

On the other hand, a sparse booth can end up looking like it’s still in the midst of setting up – which inadvertently puts people off from visiting. If you’re planning on showing up at more than one conference, you might want to invest in banner stands you can easily reuse.

5. Be present

What’s worse than a boring booth? An empty one.

There were several instances where startup founders abandoned their booths, for refreshments, or to catch the exciting action happening at the main stage. While there’s nothing wrong with taking a break, it’s good practice to make sure that your booth isn’t left unmanned.

I saw an attendee donning an investor pass lingering for some time at an empty booth before deciding to move on to other booths where there were actually people to talk to.

While we can’t say for sure if this missed opportunity might have materialized, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Again, work out a schedule with your co-founder or colleagues on manning the booth – especially important if there’s going to be exciting conference content everybody wants to catch.

If you’re on your own at the event, the very least you could do is leave a stack of namecards behind.

It’s showtime!

Think you can do better than some of the awesome startups in Tokyo? We’d like to see what you have up your sleeves.

Applications to join Bootstrap Alley at Tech in Asia Jakarta 2015 are well underway. We are looking for startups with a working prototype, and less than US$1.5M in external funds raised!

Join us in Jakarta by signing up via the button below today. The deadline to apply is October 8.