Looking back at DTS19

So a month has passed since we discussed what tomorrow looks like.

And as we venture into the remainder of 2019 and emerge into a new era of the twenties – it’s important that we look back on some of the highlights of things that have been. And in this blog post, we’re going to look at the highlights of Dublin Tech Summit 2019. So let’s dive in;

1: A Space Oddity – Making the impossible real.

Speakers at Dublin Tech Summit we’re out of this world…literally. One of our headline speakers the renowned Candian astronaut and previous commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield took to the stage to deliver a speech and performance of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, leaving the audience on their feet and in ruptious applause.

Chris inspired the audience of changemakers, telling them “you have to be willing to imagine something that doesn’t exist yet or that’s impossible to do…and then figuring out how to make it happen”.

He stressed that it’s important to have dissatisfaction with the normal, and that change is difficult but that when we choose to do something different, we don’t choose to do it because it’s easy we choose to do it because it’s hard. To accomplish these goals he advised everyone to deliberately, incrementally, and day by day, change how you are in order to be able to do achieve that goal you’ve set.

2: Starting up in a New Venue

This was the first year DTS was held in its new home, the RDS. The synergy between a venue steeped in history and an event which is determined to showcase speakers, startups and visionaries that want to make history. Our exhibiting companies represented a selection of startup and scaleup companies, those who’ve established themselves within their industry or are trying to use tech to drive a societal good with companies such as Change Donations, Inboarding and Fresh Spots. Startups, being the heart of DTS, got to connect with corporates and investors in order to augment their success and growth even more through strategic partnerships. The startups ranged from tech for good, AI, future of work and blockchain.

3: A new event Ignited

2019 saw the ignition of a brand new Dublin Tech Summit event. Ignite X gathered over 150 international investors, angel accelerators and founders in Dublin for its inaugural event in the Guinness Storehouse.

With speakers and panellists from companies such as 500 Startups, Accel Partners, Samsung NEXT, Hubspot and Eventbrite, as well as representatives from the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), Enterprise Ireland and the European Investment Fund, the event was the first of its kind and the first of many to come.

The panels covered topics such as Ireland in the Global Investment Landscape, Mental Health in Tech Founders, the global venture capital environment and the M+A outlook for 2020.

4: Change for tomorrow – starts today!

To tackle the issues of tomorrow, we have to look at how to enable all of society to engage in creating this change. Many of DTS and Ignite X panels focused on this, one, in particular, was the key diversity panel on Prism stage on Day 2.

This panel featured a line-up of incredible women igniting and driving changes in their industries to smash ceilings, break boundaries, and open doors that have been previously closed not only to them but others. The positive messages reinforced by those on the panel which included Abyah Wynn (Twenty65 Fund), Anne Ravanon (Global Invest Her), Niamh Graham (Workhuman) and Elena Gomez (CFO, Zendesk), can inspire future visionaries who will shape what tomorrow looks like.

Celebrating visionaries such as these is an important step in cultivating a diverse tech community which is why we are continuing our efforts to do this with our second annual DTS Women in Tech awards taking place October 10th this year!

5: What’s your Vision?

The common and inspiring thread throughout DTS was the vision of the future that all our partners, startups, investors, media and speakers have. Each has a view of the world they strive for and are actively working towards making this possible.

What is your Vision? Let us know and you might be in with a chance to win one of 10 free tickets to DTS20. All you have to do is upload a 30 second video to our twitter page of what your vision of the future is and what you’re doing to make this real.

Applications close on July 1st.