You walk in thinking you’re here to learn something new.
You leave realizing most of the lessons are about what you’ve been avoiding.
I spent the days moving between talks, private conversations, and random hallway discussions. The real value rarely came from the main stage. It came from patterns I kept seeing again and again.
The first big insight was simple but uncomfortable. Distribution matters more than the product itself. I saw genuinely smart teams with strong tech who struggled to explain what they do. At the same time, simpler companies with clear messaging were winning attention, partnerships, and users. Attention isn’t a bonus anymore. It’s the foundation.
Another thing that stood out was speed. The teams making progress weren’t perfect. They were decisive. They shipped early versions, listened closely, and adjusted fast. Most people are still waiting for the “right moment.” That moment doesn’t exist. Momentum does.
AI was everywhere, but not in the way most people talk about it online. The strongest companies didn’t treat AI as a feature to show off. It sat quietly in the core of the business, improving decisions, workflows, and scale. When AI is positioned as an add-on, it feels forced. When it’s infrastructure, it disappears into the product. That’s the difference.
What also became very clear is how much personal brands accelerate business. Founders who actively communicate, share their thinking, and show their faces move faster. Trust forms quicker. Conversations skip unnecessary steps. People don’t buy from logos anymore. They buy from people they understand.
Storytelling came up more than I expected. Not as marketing, but as a survival skill. If you can’t explain what you’re building in a few sentences, you lose attention instantly. The best founders weren’t the most technical. They were the clearest.
Some things genuinely surprised me. A lot of startups still sell complexity. Heavy language, long explanations, complicated onboarding. Users don’t want that. They want clarity and confidence. I also noticed how many creators don’t think like operators. Content without systems drains you. Content with structure compounds.
Despite all the AI noise, many so-called AI companies are still very early. Plenty of demos. Very few real-world implementations at scale. It reminded me how much opportunity is still open for teams who focus on execution instead of hype.
After Web Summit, a few things became obvious for me.
I’m tightening positioning across everything I build. One clear sentence. No confusion.
I’m launching faster and betting smaller. Feedback over perfection.
And I’m doubling down on owned platforms. Websites, email, products. Less dependence on algorithms I don’t control.
Web Summit didn’t inspire me.
It grounded me.
Execution is still rare.
Clarity is still undervalued.
And most people are still overthinking instead of moving.
The question I left with was simple.
Are you actually building momentum. Or just collecting ideas?
