The Collision tech event took place from June 26th to 29th, 2023, at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Ontario. People10 found it to be a highly enriching experience. The event brought together prominent global tech leaders, promising startups, and renowned journalists, fostering connections between influential figures and companies from around the world that are reshaping the global tech industries. Collision provided attendees and participants with valuable opportunities to network, collaborate, and forge meaningful connections.
People10 was represented by Rakesh Dahiya (CEO), Nisha Shoukath (President & COO) and Deepti Vij (Director – Software Delivery). Our team had a great opportunity to network and build relationships with other industry professionals, as well as to showcase our products and services throughout the event week.
People10’s E291 booth saw many prominent visitors from well known companies who came and shared their needs and requirements in the IT world with us, such as Pankaj Bakshi (Co-Founder of RpaBotPro), Sarbjit Grewal (CEO of Tekki Web Solutions), Clara Doumet (Co-Founder of Vanyoo Invest Ltd), Neil Appalsamy (Senior Information Technology Consultant at 4Pay Inc.), Adam Hepburn (CEO at ELO), Rubina L (Co-Founder of VectorSolv Corporation), Dariel Vila (Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Front10) and Zak L (CEO of ChargeLab)
Our VR demo was a huge success at Collision, attracting hundreds to our booth. Attendees lined up to experience our many exciting demos, ranging from gaming to educational content. During their visit, participants were enthusiastically invited to take part in our raffle giveaway, resulting in a significant surge of enthusiasm and engagement. We were delighted with the outcome of the raffle as it not only served as an excellent platform to showcase our products and services but also facilitated the establishment of valuable new connections in an enjoyable and interactive manner. The lucky winner of our giveaway was Irene Wu, Co-Founder & CEO at Amelia.
About the event
In addition to expert-led workshops, speaker sessions, panel talks and fireside chats, the event also hosted roundtable discussions led by experts across the tech industry, with a 45 minute panel format discussing the biggest issues facing tech and offering Q&As. The Collision event provided a wide range of knowledge and insights about current topics like AI and Machine Learning, Data Science, E-commerce and SaaS from tech leaders.
The event hosted more than 40,000 attendees from different fields and industries within technology, as well as authors, athletes, actors, and musicians who leveraged Collision as a pretext to discuss the various ways that technology impacts their respective fields. The event featured 30 different topics ranging from the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare to the impact of social media on politics. The attendees and exhibitors were able to explore a Corporate Innovation Summit, as well as peruse 20+ content tracks over 9 stages throughout the event, such as Autotech, Content makers, Creatiff, and Crypto.
One of the most important highlights of the conference was the return of the Indigenous Attendee program, which had the purpose of elevating indigenous business owners and innovators. This program was accessible to the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities of Canada, offering them complimentary full-access to all three days of Collision and providing them an opportunity to network, attend talks, take in masterclasses, and more. The event’s primary objective for this program was to elevate public awareness regarding the abundant technology and business expertise within these communities.. There were many benefits to participants attending through the Indigenous Attendee program, such as engaging discussions led by leading industry experts on the hottest topics like AI, telecommunication, Machine Learning, Crypto, Data Science and more.
The Collision program was committed to diversity and inclusion in changing the gender ratio by organizing the Women in Tech program, empowering women across the world by encouraging and building mentorship programs and supporting women in the tech community. The program offered a dedicated networking lounge where women were able to connect with other attendees, speakers and sponsors. We were delighted to meet many high-profile women in business attending this event, such as Serena Williams (Tennis Player), Anjali Sud (CEO) Vimeo, Melanie Perkins (Co-founder & CEO) Canva, and Nicole Kidman (Actor & Producer).
Speaker sessions
The speaker sessions provided to all attendees/exhibitors an opportunity to learn from experts in the fields of AI and Machine Learning, Mobile Development, Privacy and Security, Sustainability, and Design and SaaS. Among the speakers who gave a brief overview about these topics were Christina Cacioppo (CEO and Co-founder at Vanta), Dave Rogenmoser (CEO & Co-founder at Jasper), Aidan Gomez (Giving technology language at cohere), Jeremy Legg (CTO at AT&T), Jona Moore (CTO at MataLab), and Mohannad Ali (CEO at Hotjar).
Networking opportunities
With over 40,000 attendees from around 140+ countries, more than 750 investors, 2,000 startups, and about 250 partners, the Collision event was a boon for the industries looking to build new connections. There were a multitude of ways to get involved and connect with others at the event. Participants were able to interact by sharing their thoughts at roundtable discussions, walking on the floor and talking to attendees/exhibitors, and exploring the event app to generate leads and network with potential contacts. With the event app in hand, it was very easy for attendees to make the most of the event by planning the content they wanted to experience.
Some of their best networking happened away from the conference floor at the Collision After Hours, where there were a series of parties and receptions for all the attendees, featuring a live DJ. Partnering with Collision After Hours helped us to continue our conversation with the leads from the conference floor to the after-hour party and engage with the attendees in a more relaxed way.
The Collision After Hours at the Grand Bizarre on June 26th from 6pm to 12am was fully exclusive to all attendees, just a 11 minutes walk from the Enercare Centre. The following evening, Collision After Hours was hosted at the Distillery District, and was open from 8pm to 12am.
The Women in Tech Party at the Soho House Toronto was hosted by the Collision Women in Tech program, and it featured a variety of networking activities, as well as speakers and panels on topics relevant to women in tech.
Partners
Partnering with Collision gave vendors the opportunity to reach a global audience of decision-makers and influencers, and helped to increase brand awareness, lead generation, provide networking opportunities, and provide access to exclusive content. There were some additional benefits of being a partner at the Collision as well, such as discounts on tickets, inclusion of the company logo on the Collision website, and media coverage. Some of the partners at the Collision were RBC, Aws, At&t, Interac Corp, Italian Trade Commision – ITA, Volkswagen
Investors
Collision was one of the largest tech conferences which attracted thousands of investors, entrepreneurs, and tech professionals from all over the globe. This provided investors with a unique opportunity to network with potential partners and collaborators with an added advantage of early access to participating startups where they can meet and pitch with potential partners.
Some of the investors attending Collision were:
- Hans Tung (Managing Partner at GGV Capital)
- Sarah Guo (Founder of Conviction)
- Anish Acharya (General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz)
- Nigel Morris (Managing Partner at QED Investors)
- Rebecca Lynn (Co-founder and General Partner of Canvas Ventures)
- Shardul Shah (Partner at Index Ventures)
Conclusion
Overall, the Collision event was a great platform for the attendees to make meaningful connections and find valuable leads, as well as obtain access to premium content at the Collision After Hours. The event provided an opportunity to hear from the world’s best speakers about their success stories and challenges faced by them, and covered a wide range of topics from technology and digital media to music, politics and culture, and brought together tech leading companies from around the world. Team building at the Collision was the best part of the conference, where they showcased how to Connect, Learn, Share, Grow. Some of the world’s leading media organizations including CNN, Wired, the New York Times, Bloomberg and the Financial Times were part of Collision in Toronto. Having the access to these publications gave the opportunity for exhibitors to share their message far and wide across the globe.
