Our European team had a fantastic time presenting Littledata’s ecommerce analytics technology at this year’s Techsylvania conference. But we weren’t just there to speak, we were also there to listen, learn and be inspired. Here are some of our core takeaways from the 2018 event.

If your mindset is set on innovation, Techsylvania is the place for you. It’s the leading technology event in Eastern Europe for a reason – tech enthusiasts and business innovators come together in a spirit of collaboration and friendly competition to connect, hack and share ideas.

What we learned

Edward Upton, CEO: I learned so much from pitching at the Startup Avalanche competition at Techsylvania. The competition attracted startups from all over Europe and Asia, and Littledata was honoured to be chosen for the finals. After a few days of rehearsing the pitch and refining the slides, with intensive coaching from the Risky Business team, I have a much better idea of what investors want to hear – and how to communicate it succinctly.

Hearing how Intercom uses speed of product development as a competitive advantage made me remember how our (already Agile) process could be improved

Aside from the pitch competition, I listened to some of the great speakers from across the industry. My favorite was from Rich Archbold, a technology leader at Intercom. Hearing how they use speed of product development as a competitive advantage made me remember how our (already Agile) process could be improved. Yet, the greatest learning came from talking to founders of many interesting tech companies, some based in Cluj and others with growing offices here.

Rares Ionescu, QA Guru: Techsylvania was a blast! I was especially impressed by Ralph Simon, the chief executive of Mobilium Global, a visionary with a vast experience in the entertainment world. He is known as the founder of modern mobile industry, also referred to as the “Father of the Ringtone” making a lot of trending musical references during his talk. The speech was comprehensive on building a successful start-up ecosystem.

Florina Vintan, Analytics Superstar: I was impressed by the number of high-level attendees with strong technical backgrounds. I most enjoyed the conversation on Digital Transatlantic Bridges by Peter Gersak (IBM), Frederic Boulanger (Macadamian), Pat Sheridan (Modus Create) and Lucas Roh (Bigstep). The chat revolved around companies that established offices in different parts of the world to break down the transatlantic barriers. In case you didn’t know, Littledata breaks down those barriers every day with offices in London, New York and Cluj-Napoca!

Bianca Dihoiu, Customer Advocate: The conference vibe was amazing, people seemed excited to be there and discuss tech stuff with their fellow enthusiasts. The talk that I enjoyed most was by Ashley Carroll from Social Capital. It focused on product management best practices and helped me to visualize our own product management more clearly. As a customer research at Littledata, I bridge the gap between Product and Support, so this was a perfect fit!

Elisabeta (Bety) Crisan, Finance Pro: As an account manager, I found Luke Mawbey’s speech on money laundering the most appealing. The Head of Technology at Comply Advantage talked about a future in technology that will automatically fight financial crime. In the breaks between the conferences we managed exchange a few words on account issues and I learned some useful tips and tricks.

Ioana Botian, Marketing Rockstar: Techsylvania was a vibrant event highlighted by the sharing of a lot of valuable information! I loved the Startup Avalanche pitches where startups had a chance to present their unique ideas. We were represented by Edward Upton, founder of Littledata, who charmed the audience with his charisma and insights about the many ways that fixing your analytics can lead to higher revenue — especially with our smart automation like an analytics audit and automated reporting.

I loved the Startup Avalanche pitches where startups had a chance to present their unique ideas.

I also attended a mind-blowing conversation between Anda Gansca, CEO and Co-Founder of Knotch, and Katherine Manderfield, Director of Content Strategy at The New York Times about the Future of Advertising. The panel was a real eye-opener for me that made me rethink my strategy as a marketer.

Alexandra Dimitriu, Analytics Maven: For me, Techsylvania was highlighted by great questions, lots of ideas and an amazing atmosphere. I had a chance to meet many passionate people that are concerned with the future in technology and are willing to make a difference in the world. My favorite speech was the one from IVCBOX. They illustrated how successfully connecting with customers can drive conversions and increase sales — all things we’re passionate about here at Littledata. What a great event!

David Pascu, Biz Dev Guru: I had the chance to network with various representatives of Romanian tech companies and gather knowledge about their business and revenue drivers. Most companies admitted they are facing great difficulties when it comes to talent acquisition, so more and more are starting to invest in internship programmes.

With developers in high demand here, more and more Eastern European tech companies are investing in internship programmes

Having the chance to hear various experts talk about their experience in starting or managing a company encouraged me to push for roadmaps ruthlessly oriented to success, as these days the key for success in our field is to build up processes oriented and matured to have the most impact with the least drain on resources.

Gabriel Bira, Galactic Overlord of Code: Although I started out sceptical about yet another “tech conference”, my opinion quickly took a U-turn. The conference coupled professionals describing an exponential progress curve of the Eastern European country in the world of tech. I had the rare opportunity of attending a speech from a local maverick, a 19-year-old Storyheap entrepreneur, Sebastian Dobrincu. The presentation revealed many insights for me on how to build a successful company from scratch.

I also attended a technical event, held by a representative of Slack, Jeremy Apthorp. He presented us Electron, an open source framework that allows creative applications in JavaScript, HTML and CSS to build cross-app platform at low costs.

A final thought

Techsylvania was a perfect mix of tech enthusiasts, developers and entrepreneurs. A true centre of innovation and inspiration.

If you or someone you know is looking to join one of the hottest startups in Cluj, I have good news. We’re hiring! Check out our open positions and read about one of our newest employee’s first design sprint.

We can’t wait for next year’s conference. See you there?