This year was Light IT Global’s first time visiting TechBBQ—an annual tech summit uniting innovators, investors, startuppers, and IT professionals from around the globe. This trip to Denmark was something absolutely unique as TechBBQ differs from similar IT conferences held in Europe and outside the EU.
That’s why we’re eager to share our experience at this event and everything we’ve learned there.
It All Starts with Mental Health and Well-Being
It may be unusual to start not with some kind of tech trend but with a topic that, in many ways, doesn’t seem fitting for an IT gathering. But we’ve already mentioned that TechBBQ isn’t a usual conference, so this seems appropriate.
The importance of maintaining mental health and overall well-being in entrepreneurship ran like a golden thread throughout the summit. This applies not only to panels and discussions but also to side events and calming breathing and meditation sessions led by professional trainers and available to all attendees.
Mental health is viewed through the lens of its influence on the ventures’ resilience, success, and sustainability. Speakers provided their outlook on embedding mental health and well-being into the modern startup culture and shared practical tips and advice.
More importantly, such a multifaceted topic was examined from different perspectives. It included conversations not only about the founders’ mental health but investors’ and employees’ as well.
For example, one of the sessions was dedicated to the topic of immigration and talent mobility and how fostering more supportive working environments focused on well-being can drive growth in tech. The other put an emphasis on the cultural component in mental health support within the workforce.
In this regard, the choice of a startup contest winner was just perfect. The North Star Pitch win went to MuchSkills—a state-of-the-art skills management and talent platform focused on bringing employees’ talents to light and, consequently, boosting productivity and increasing the company’s profits.
Unleashing the Potential of FemTech and Female Leadership
The growing influence of women in tech was the topic of many conferences this year, including Bits&Pretzels, HLTH, and others. But no other event we’ve attended this year didn’t have such a strong presence of female leaders and visionaries as TechBBQ.
During two days of this year’s conference, seven different panels and gatherings were dedicated to FemTech and women’s journey in tech entrepreneurship. Key matters included:
- Struggles female leaders face during fundraising and strategies to overcome them
- The power of community-driven investment and efforts put in closing the gender gap in tech and other industries
- How sensitive data protection is ensured within European FemTech
- The ways in which female startup founders can make a difference within their industries and how to unlock better investment opportunities
- Building and strengthening the European female health ecosystem through collaboration, experience exchange, and private and public sector partnerships
A separate meeting was held specifically for those willing to connect with women VC & angel investors, giving real-life opportunities for female leaders.
AI everywhere
The discussion around Artificial Intelligence keeps going. At TechBBQ this year, speakers shared their views of AI's potential to boost operational efficiency, reshape the workforce market and media landscape, drive societal change, and revolutionize digital solutions development.
The most pressing questions in this regard, for sure, were “Will AI take people’s jobs away?” and “Can AI help us build a more eco-friendly and sustainable future?”
As for the job displacement, the speakers remained optimistic. They didn’t exclude layoffs across enterprises due to AI-powered automatization. What’s interesting is that it turned out more difficult for Artificial Intelligence to replace manual entry-level jobs and blue-collar jobs than more creative and complex white-collar office jobs. However, experts still emphasize that human presence and empathy cannot be replaced by AI.
The role of AI-enabled technology in ecological initiatives was hyped by multiple speakers. Many investors see value in green AI-based solutions and many startups succeed in bringing revolutionary ideas to life utilizing Artificial intelligence.
One of the most ambitious visions is, by far, the building of intelligent urban ecosystems that would include scalable and adaptable infrastructure aimed at sustainable consumption and environmental care.
But it doesn’t have to go that far. Many panels discussed more selective AI applications in ClimateTech, construction, energy management and consumption as well as other “green” sectors.
Besides the two larger topics mentioned above AI-centered conversations touched on more “traditional” business challenges like productivity, user engagement, data analysis, governance, and decision-making. As expected, the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence simply cannot be ignored when it comes to these subjects.
The Bottomline
TechBBQ 2024 was one of the most inspiring and uplifting events this year. The view speakers shared on the future of technology, and the European business landscape was nothing but optimistic. IT innovations are expected to pave the way for a better future, new exciting discoveries, and unity across society.
At Light IT Global we also believe that technology can be a major force behind positive changes. That’s why we’re always open to new partnerships and always ready to help businesses develop life-changing digital solutions. If that’s your intention too, contact our experts today, and let’s create something amazing together!
