They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in many ways, that rings true for startups – especially when it comes to finding your foothold in the market.
We’ve created a list of the 10 best startup conferences to attend in 2024. But first, let’s take a look at what these conferences can mean for startups.
Why Attend Startup Conferences?
For starters, it’s important to acknowledge that as a startup, there are times when you don’t even know what you don’t know. Startup conferences allow business owners to leverage a trove of insights and information that is particularly crafted to help them wherever they are in their startup journey – whether that be at the very beginning or not. Startup conferences also talk about the specific pain points that startups face, taking into account a possible lack of resources, expertise, or tools to streamline crucial processes. Moreso, it also speaks to your specific business goals as a startup, which could include scaling your business, finding a foothold into new markets, or securing venture capital funding, and the role that compliance plays in it all. As an added bonus, these events are also a prime opportunity to network with sought-after industry leaders and like-minded entrepreneurs.
However, that doesn’t mean that businesses should simply throw a dart at a map and travel to any startup conference. There are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.
Things to Consider When Attending a Startup Conference
When considering which event to attend as a team this year, it’s important to evaluate the following factors to ensure that you’re getting the most out of the opportunity (without draining critical resources). A few key factors include:
The purpose of the event: Be sure to confirm what you’re hoping to get out of the event. Perhaps it’s to learn about new innovations and technologies, perhaps to find new business opportunities, and network with industry experts. Perhaps it’s solely for educational purposes to upskill your team. Or, it could be all of the above.
Consider the cost: Startup events don’t come cheap. This means you’ll want to consider the event as an investment opportunity, whether that be for growth and networking opportunities or security awareness training for your team. Ultimately, it’s important to weigh the costs and logistics as well as the travel and lodging costs and whether it will eat into operational hours.
Consider the attendees: Finally, it’s important to evaluate the speakers and attendees. Be sure to gauge whether the topics and types of businesses attending are relevant to your interests.
For those ready to mark their calendars, here’s a list of compliance conferences that are worth checking out.
List of Top Conferences for Startups in Early 2024
Gartner Cybersecurity and Risk Management Summit 2024
The Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit mainly focuses on helping security and risk management leaders improve their cybersecurity and risk management strategy – which is a responsibility that often falls on the shoulders of startup founders in the early stages of business development. The summit delves into topics such as continuously improving the flexibility and responsiveness of security risk management techniques and the latest technology to achieve mission-critical objectives.
Details:
Date: 12-13 February 2024
Location: Dubai, UAE
Website: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/emea/security-risk-management-uae
Hello Tomorrow Global Summit 2024
Hello Tomorrow is renowned as the largest and widest Deep Tech network while helping Deep Tech startups and corporations build new solutions. Their global summit promises inspiring breakthroughs and honest, radical discussions regarding everything from energy transition & clean mobility, healthcare for all, and climate resilience & biodiversity to the new frontiers of advanced computing. This is the perfect conference for startups that are interested in how tech and compliance can speak to greater global challenges while simultaneously discussing how to scale and finance the best solutions and debating the ethical and societal consequences of emerging technologies.
Details:
Date: 21-22nd March 2024
Location: Paris
Website: https://hello-tomorrow.org/global-summit/
TechChill Riga 2024
TechChill 2024 is the perfect opportunity for up-and-coming startups that want to make waves in the tech industry. Its dynamic approach and festival feel bring together international, local investors, founders and ecosystem players, bridging the gap in knowledge, skills, and network. The upcoming conference delves into three main ideas: Frontier Technologies, Startup Foundation, and The New Rules, helping startups navigate game-changing technologies with real-world implementation, and the regulatory requirements that follow.
Details:
Date: 17 – 19 April 2024
Location: Riga, Latvia
Website: https://www.techchill.co/
Infoshare Conference
The Infoshare conference brings together software developers, business leaders, startuppers, investors, marketers, and enthusiasts of technology to gather in Gdańsk to learn more about the digital world and everything that comes along with it, making Infoshare conference the biggest tech and startup event in CEE.
Details:
Date: 4-6 June 2024
Location: Gdańsk + online stream
Website: https://infoshare.pl/conference/
Infosecurity Europe
Infosecurity Europe is the perfect entry-level conference for those looking to either build a foundational knowledge of compliance and infosecurity, or keep up with the latest changes and updates. Branded as including ‘Everyone and Everything You Need to Know in Information Security’, the InfoSecurity Europe Conference promises to keep business owners and startups connected with everyone in information security, from the brightest minds in engineering to industry innovators, while keeping you up to date on everything information security and what that means for your business.
Details:
Date: 4-6 June 2024
Location: London
Website: https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/
Compliance Conferences to Keep on Your Radar for the Year Ahead
If you’re on the lookout for something more specific to your security landscape, we’ve done some additional research on the top five conferences that speak directly to some of the specific compliance frameworks and regulatory requirements that may be keeping you up at night.
FinTech Week London
A culmination of London’s FinTech ecosystems, including over 1,000 senior decision-makers from leading FinTech companies, banks, investment firms, regulatory bodies, media organizations, and service providers.
Details:
Date: 10-14 June 2024
Location: London, UK
Website: https://www.fintechweek.london/event/ee96db61-42b0-4092-9f31-405728a82965/summary
Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit (DHIS)
This conference dives into everything you need to know about technology and healthcare compliance – which is quintessential for those who may be subject to mandatory HIPAA compliance. This year’s agenda includes topics such as Generative AI in Healthcare and the cross-section between Healthtech and Fintech.
Details:
Date: 5-6 June 2024
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Website: https://dhis.net/west
2024 PCI North America Community Meeting
Leverage the opportunity to hear from the regulatory bodies themselves concerning recent developments and requirements regarding PCI DSS compliance. This includes important Council updates, regional insights, opportunities for feedback and networking.
Details:
Date: 10 – 12 September 2024
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/event/2024-pci-ssc-north-america-community-meeting/
Cloud & Cyber Security Expo 2024
Pin this one! Cloud and cybersecurity is one of the most significant factors of ensuring a robust security environment. But as with most things in compliance, it’s easier said than done, especially in a complex and hostile digital environment. However, the cloud and cyber security expo allows businesses the opportunity to collaborate with
cyber security innovators, technologists and business leaders, to help them protect their networks and assets without compromising their resources or compliance.
Details:
Date: 6-7 March 2024
Location: London, UK
Website: https://www.cloudsecurityexpo.com/
Security Compliance for Startups
If you’re still on the fence about whether security compliance should even be on your radar as a startup, we’d recommend checking out everything there is to know about compliance for startups here.
