Geeks are getting excited to head to Vancouver for GROW2013 and, as a recently published BCBusiness article explains, Vancouver is excited to host them. Vancouver will also host TED2014 for its first time outside of California. Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite, explained, “[These conferences] do put eyeballs on the city and help build a brand that is compelling and convincing enough to attract talent from further abroad to relocate.”
Conferences like GROW also engage with the city in ways that larger conferences might not. BCBusiness mentions SXSW as an excellent example of a host city engaging meaningfully with a big event and its participants. GROW is building a similar relationship with Vancouver. “The fact that locals are getting more involved and they want to step up, that’s what made [SXSW] as big as it is,” Debbie explained to BCBusiness. “What we’re doing this year, which I can’t wait for, is a bunch of the guys… are going to rally all of the bars in Gastown.” GROW participants will also have the option to participate in an Outdoor Adventure program where local insiders will be able to show them the great outdoors of Vancouver.
“The value of a local app developer meeting a Sand Hill Road venture capitalist in a Gastown bar during GROW or a viral TED Talk that begins with the speaker waxing poetic on Vancouver’s natural setting is harder to quantify,” BCBusiness explains. “But big ideas are a growing part of Vancouver’s economy, so it’s no wonder that those tasked with making the city more conducive to international business welcome the next group of 1,200 extroverted thinkers with open arms.”
Read the full article at BCBusiness >>
