We have all heard the classic Whitney lyric “I believe the children are our future” but until I attended the Tomorrow’s Web Conference held in London at the Keyworth Centre on Saturday, I didn’t quite realise just how appropriate that lyric is.
I got there promptly at 9am and was one of few attendees who made it on time due to it being...well a Saturday and with the tubes typically being down, this didn’t help. On arrival, I didn’t really see an adult in sight as the whole conference was based around teen web entrepreneurs and was run, organised and presented by teenagers.
It did seem a little surreal watching a bunch of 15 year olds scrambling around with cans of coke setting up projectors, checking the wifi and so on and I have to admit, at the grand age of 26 I felt old. I did have to smile to myself at a few typical teen like remarks that I overheard during the buzz of the excitement. ...and then I felt even older for doing so.
After a 30 minute delay due to the tubes, bright eyed and confident looking 17 year old Josh Buckley took to the stage and presented a 15 minute slot on virtual worlds and virtual goods. Josh is the founder of Menewsha.com and I have to say, gave a very well researched and succinct presentation given the pressure of being first up.
When talking about virtual gifts he has designed for dating sites, I had to smile when he claimed “If you’re hot like me”. Josh was confident yet didn’t come across cocky and knew what cheeky lines to throw in to add a bit of spice to his presentation. It felt somewhat odd to be told about micro-transactions and what makes a good business revenue model by a 17 year old, but I had no way near the same knowledge on the subjects which definitely alerted me that I need to invest a lot more time educating myself.
To be completely honest, all the presentations were well researched, informative and entertaining but there were three people who particularly stood out for me. Firstly, Nick Pellant, co-founder of A Big Important Company spoke like a true pro, with a slick presentation which simply defined the steps of how to go about setting up a successful business from merely an idea. I also loved his bow-tie! He raised the one point which I think many people forget who want to set up shop just to earn millions – you have to do what you love else your heart won’t be in it and therefore you’ll resent the time you have to invest in making it successful.
Nick spoke the sense of a 40 year old but that idea of putting passion and creativity first is a normal thought process of a typical teenager as after all, whilst your living with mum and dad, the pressure to solely earn money is removed and allows you to really get creative and experiment with ideas. These teenagers have just had the foresight to acknowledge this key success fact early on and are subsequently now earning more than many of the attendees.
Next on my shout out list is Jamie Rumbelow, founder of BinaryCake who aside from looking like the most adorable 14 year old on the planet literally made the place come alive when he spoke. And when you’re trying to engage your audience whilst talking about API’s, I imagine this is normally a very difficult task. Jamie is somewhat of a young eccentric, is clearly hugely intelligent and spoke very technically about building and protecting API’s.
The final talk which really impressed me was Charlie McDonnell, otherwise known as the UK’s most subscribed YouTube video blogger Charlieissocoollike!!! who spoke about his YouTube fame. Unlike the other speakers, Charlie’s primary focus was never to make money out of his vlogging and therefore spoke very honestly with just a small notebook with seven points that he wanted to cover as opposed to an all singing and dancing PowerPoint pressie. Charlie spoke very honestly about the mistakes he has made and how he has unintentionally made money as a YouTuber. Endearing, entertaining and informative.
For lunch I nipped into the local Wetherspoons for a much needed glass of wine and as Elephant and Castle doesn’t have much in the way of pleasant bars or cafes, many of the speakers were also in there drinking their cokes and eating burgers with their proud parents. It really hit me just how young these amazing entrepreneurs are and I wondered if worrying about tax return forms and all those boring tasks that come with running your own business have maybe detracted from these people fully experiencing their should-be-irresponsible teenage years?
I actually don’t think so however as ‘normal’ teenage life would never be stimulating enough and judging by their humours and giggles I think these guys definitely know how to have fun and haven’t lost their sense of ‘being a teen’.
The afternoon session consisted of a different format of panels and pitches Dragon Den style. Pitching business ideas was Simon of ZOOD, the suited and booted Florin of Open Uni Networks and James of Gig Locator. The judges were made up of the super glam founder of News Pepper and TechFluff TV presenter Hermione Way, Milo Yiannopoulos of TechCrunch and The Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury.
All three pitches were excellent but one definitely stood out in terms of pitch presentation, business feasibility and long term success. Eighteen year old James Proud, co-founder of Gig Locator is undoubtedly the ‘one to watch’ and blew us all away with his truly engaging and concise pitch.
James knows his stuff – he knows his market and his product inside out and has built up some great industry contacts simply by him and his business partner getting out there researching and networking and then spending what sounds like 20 or so hours a day building and coding the website. What I also really liked about James was that he was completely down to earth, business savvy, skilled in the web design industry and a ‘grafter’ as my mum would say. I personally can’t wait for his site Gig Locator to launch!
After a rather long and drawn out debate on the definition of ‘New Media’ with four other teen entrepreneurs and tech wizards, we then had a further panel discussion in which three guest speakers, all of whom had run successful businesses as teenagers (and still only in their 20’s now) spoke about their personal journeys, mistakes they had made and any advice they would suggest to the budding entrepreneurs.
I personally felt that despite some great advice being given that the teenagers who had already spoken were pretty much at the same level (e.g not ‘budding’) and the conference would have benefited more having a significantly older panel who could offer a more defined and weighted journey in business and entrepreneurship. It would have also added a bit more of a dynamic approach to the discussion.
I could sense a mid-afternoon slump occurring and despite a break, I felt really sorry for the next speaker, Greg Cooper who really had to pick up the momentum once more and get the attendees engaged again. He did a brilliant job however and spoke about his role as a UI designer and the importance of information architecture. His presentation which could have potentially being very ‘techy’ was easy to digest and his passion and humour alas lifted us once more.
Oh, I also have to give a big shout out to Anna Debenham who spoke in the morning about the pros, cons and steps you have to follow to become a successful freelancer. Anna who is a front end developer was also the only gal speaking at the event which was a little disappointing. Her presentation slides were brilliant (lots of cats in hats!) and her talk was very informative and honest to anyone thinking of going freelance.
After a demo of James Proud’s Gig Locator which inspired many questions from the audience who wished they’d have come up with the idea themselves, the afternoon definitely ended on a buzz. I come away excited, inspired and truly amazed at how innovative, intelligent and business savvy these teenagers are and also how genuinely nice they were! I have to admit I was expecting to spend most of the day largely irritated by a bunch of gangly, cocky teens bragging about how much money they had earnt but this was certainly not the case.
There was a definite air of modesty in all the presentations yet a self confidence that cannot be taught. Indeed, you can educate yourself in learning web design, building apps and how to run a business but I don’t think you can learn entrepreneurship. These teens just have it in them and are driven by passion. They have started their ventures and business models not necessarily just to make money but because the web and the potential which lies within it excites them. They are true pros in their fields – they are certainly not playing at this and I’m sure have more knowledge than some so-called senior agency and industry ‘experts’ because they are driven by their passion to learn.
I’m now following most of the teens on Twitter (which seems a bit strange given my age!) and the buzz going on between all of them is immense because they are so excited about having met one another and are probably discussing collaborations and such like.
That is what makes this event so unique and special. What I also loved was the wide range of web topics discussed covering all avenues. Grant Bell, the primary organiser (and also a tech entrepreneur) who presented the event did a sterling job and I certainly anticipate substantial demand for a Tomorrow’s Web 2010 conference. Yes, when I’m really old.