Most attendees are leaving today, but several are staying for a few more days of Curacao hospitality. Generally speaking, this is an unusually friendly island, and the resort staff has been especially accommodating.
Several last day conversations have revealed a deep appreciation for this show by IG veterans as well as first-timers. The same reason was repeated over and over: the right people are here so real business got done.
Add to the mix a full slate of activities, dinners and parties designed to bring people together, and you have a recipe for superior networking that can pay off handsomely. It’s pretty much as simple as that; though I doubt the bone-tired IG staff would characterize their laudable efforts as “simple.”
One of the great things about this event is the fact that there is an element of risk associated with some of the activities, and this year I know that better than most. Someone has to eat it during the Extreme ATV Tour, and this time it was me. Suffice to say, I found myself airborne during a particularly exciting stretch as we were racing down a narrow dirt road with thick shrubbery on either side. I must have hit a deep rut, but my memory is dim. The end result was lots of bruises, a left arm that I’ll be able to use again in a few days and almost everyone asking after my wounds. It turns out that word of these event injuries travels very fast indeed.
There were other minor incidents, including a Python nipped slightly by a shark (yikes), but at the end of the day nothing of real concern. This is not Universal City Walk — even though all the guides are thoroughly professional and always stress personal safety, real things can and do happen.
The Wisdom Sessions also found their audience. Saturday, Monte Cahn from Moniker gave a talk on domains to a room full of people, and Sunday attorney Chad Belville taught a handful of us how to most effectively (and cheaply) deal with cyber squatters and also how to resolve business conflicts without having to resort to expensive litigation.
At the end of the day, the vacation atmosphere of any exotic location can easily overwhelm the real purpose of a trade event, and many business retreats are of course lame excuses to travel. But it would be a big mistake to think that is the case with Island Gathering.
Good company owners score an event by the amount of business accomplished, and when hardboiled CEOs speak in no uncertain terms about how satisfied they are with the business they’ve done, and actually start rattling off numbers with utter confidence, it quickly becomes undeniably clear that a potent concoction has been created.
Suffice to say, as the adult tradeshow circuit continues to provide a year-long schedule of events of all shapes, sizes and focuses, Island Gathering is maintaining — and indeed improving upon — a unique and valuable niche all its own.