It’s a small island we live on and, when it comes to eCommerce, it can seem like everyone knows everyone else. But if your mission is to replace the word eCommerce with Commerce, and to make the tools for selling online work for everyone, then you’re not satisfied with that. You know hardworking people who are eager to learn, and you know exactly who to introduce them to.
That’s the idea that drove Vinny O’Brien to start The eCommerce Summit in Tralee, where he lives, and bring people together to talk about business. Having moved to Kerry just a year ago, he knew dozens of entrepreneurs who were blazing a trail online, and who wanted to do more. And he knew eCommerce experts with valuable insights on how to find and satisfy customers online.
What’s more, he knew that bringing people to the South West for two days would focus the minds and give people a fresh perspective, a chance to step away from the usual day-to-day and to think strategically.
As he explains in this video, the idea is to leverage traits of the Irish character.
Where we’re terrible is going to buy a service at an event but what we’re great at is going to figure out who we should be talking to at the bar later on. It’s in us. I don’t think we should be avoiding it; it’s part of what we want to do and we share that message really really well. I think, when I look at all of the aspects coming together, it was almost the best traits of people from any industry. You didn’t have to be from eCommerce. We have retailers. We had technologists. We had people from the payments industry. We had people from new startups and, from that perspective, I think they were all learning from each other. They were sharing willingly and that was a criterion I had in my head, for those people who’ve willingly given up information to me over the years, who’ve helped round up my knowledge. And I was just keen to put them in front because they’re just wonderful people and that kind of generosity is something that we don’t see too often and it’s part of – there was a lot of talk about values – if we’re looking at values that the Summit is going to foster – it’s about generosity. Generosity of time, of money, of spirit, of just being social and pulling out your phone and saying: here’s the guy you should call.
Blacknight sponsored the eCommerce Summit, and our CEO was one of the speakers who shared his expertise. We also shot lots and lots of video. We have more to come from Vinny and from others. Subscribe to this blog and you won’t miss any of it – and you should sign up for our monthly newsletter as well.
