Inman Connect New York – Vendor Alley Recap

Reporting Live From Brooklyn:

Inman Connect NYC ended yesterday. I’m staying until next week due to a few Cloud CMA presos I’m doing with MLSLI on Tuesday and Wednesday. I decided to stay in Brooklyn to change it up a bit. So far, I love this place. A great mix of people, sights and sounds.

RECAP

Reviews were mixed on the new venue. While there was a lot to like about the new hotel I think people missed being in Times Square. And a tweet about the elevators being too slow got a lot of comments.

I was only to able to see the first day of sessions, including Brad Inman’s keynote. Brad looked pumped up and energetic when he held up what looked like a 7 inch thick stack of real estate forms, contracts and transaction documents bound by paper and binder clips, and rubber bands. “This is what we are going to war with for the next few days” and then dropped the bundle of paper with a big thump on the stage. Great stagecraft. Even better was the naming, regardless of whether you agree with the premise I must of heard the phrase “latte vision” about a hundred times during the conference.

There were a lot of presenters that first day I enjoyed but If I had to pick one/two it would be the father and son team Jon Steinberg (President & COO, BuzzFeed) and his dad Richard Steinberg, (Executive Managing Director, Wurburg Realty Partnership & “Selling New York” HGTV star.) Richard talked a bit about being a salesperson, and how that it is a necessary and a profession he was proud of, my favorite quote, “It’s possible to be an ethical salesperson and still be successful”. True dat.

The other presenter I thought was very strong was Reshama Saujani, founder & chair of “Girls Who Code“. She was inspiring and a bit controversial, once stating “If you teach one girl to code, she will teach four, If you teach one boy, he will teach zero.”

I also met a lot of new people while moderating the Technology Panel on Thursday. One thing I am super impressed with is how smart these new batch of entrepreneurs really are. Especially the ones coming from incubator programs. Tony Cappaert from Contactually and Caren Maio from Nestio come to mind. They are so fresh and filled with optimism, I felt like a jaded old man. I wish all of them good luck, success and a strong liver.

Another trend from my panels was a new sense of transparency. Many of the vendors shared (with a little prodding) their sales practices, churn rates and other best practices. This is something that I a big believer in and was great to see live.

Unfortunately I missed a lot of parties due to conflicts with other parties, or plans. I did make the party we sponsored with John Heithaus and his “Superstar Factory All-Stars”. I love a live band and these guys brought it. Great fun.

I did hear a lot of rumors and a bit of gossip but I’ve run out of time, I’ve got tickets to go see Glengarry Glenn Ross on Broadway tonight (Al Pacino is playing Jack Lemmon’s role in the film), so I gotta go. And remember…

“COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS!”