Indie Conference: April 2018

TBEX Europe, AltConf & Conferences For Introverts

This month we've got updates from TBEX Europe, Laracon US, MicroConf, WWDC & AltConf, a video from Jason Cohen, and a book about conference tips for introverts!

Conference Updates

TBEX Europe, the Travel Blog Exchange conference, has moved to Ostrava in Czechia on 26 - 28 July. They have early bird discount rates until May 18th for travel bloggers and digital nomads.

Laracon US is in Chicago on 25 - 26 July and tickets are now on sale. They've got a killer lineup of speakers, including Ryan Holiday (author of The Obstacle Is The Way), Jason Fried (founder of Basecamp) and Samantha Geitz (senior developer at Tighten).

MicroConf tickets are on sale now for their Starter Edition. MicroConf is on May 1 - 3 in Las Vegas, USA at the Tropicana Resort. The Growth Edition (for indies with >$5000/month revenue) is sold out, but you can add yourself to the waitlist for tickets.

WWDC, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, has been confirmed for 4 - 8 June, and will be held again in San Jose. Tickets were assigned by random ballot, but you can still get tickets to AltConf, a free WWDC alternative for indies who couldn't get or afford tickets. This year AltConf has room for 900 attendees and the introduction of AltLabs, where attendees can host their own Lab for other attendees.

Know a conference that other indies, digital nomads, makers & bootstrappers would like? Let me know at: www.indieconference.com/contact

Conference Video Of The Month

Jason Cohen: How Honesty Makes You More Money

From MicroConf 2012, Jason Cohen shows that you can increase your profits by being brutally honest. It seems counterintuitive, but by being upfront about your flaws and deficiencies (in your product or service), you can reduce product returns. You'll turn away customers who aren't right for your product, but you will also endear yourself to customers who are comfortable with the tradeoffs with using your product.

Jason also suggests being honest about who you are. If you're a one-person indie business, be direct about it and don't pretend to be a large corporation. It will turn away large businesses that you don't have the resources to support or make products for anyway, but will attract customers who are right for your size of business.

Conference Book Of The Month

Conferences for Introverts by Alan Mendelevich

This was recommended by Paul Thurrott on the Windows Weekly podcast, and is a quick read at just 60 pages. It's very snappy and filled with useful tips for getting the most out of a conference, especially if it's your first conference.

I recognize many of the tricks & tips in here - researching other conference attendees on Twitter ahead of time has worked for me, it's much easier to meet someone as an introvert if you've already built some rapport with them online first. Alan's advice on wearing a signature item so people recognize and approach you first is also effective - Patio11 / Patrick McKenzie's red Twilio hoodie that he wears in his Twitter avatar & also at conferences is a good example.

The book focuses on Alan's experiences from attending the Microsoft Build conferences, so you might need to translate some of the anecdotes if you're from outside the software scene. (I had no idea who Scott Guthrie is or why talking to him should be intimidating - apparently he's a Vice President of Microsoft.) But the book is an easy & enjoyable read, applicable to all kinds of conferences (I've even used some of the same techniques at music festivals), and the Kindle version is just $3.

What's On Next Month

Games Week Berlin
Conferences for gamers, indie developers, industry professionals and Let's Players.
(23 - 29 April 2018, Berlin, Germany)

XDC: Xojo Developer Conference
For Xojo coders, a cross-platform RAD language similar to Visual Basic.
(25 - 27 April 2018, Denver CO, USA)

Peers Conference
An inclusive conference for web and software developers, with emphasis on community.
(25 - 27 April 2018, Austin, Texas, USA)

MicroConf
For self-funded startups and single founder software companies.
(April 29 - May 3, Las Vegas NV, USA)

Published 19 Apr 2018, Links Updated 27 Aug 2022