Startup Hub Take-Away’s from ILTACON19

A Little About Me
As a professional who’s been part of the Legal Tech community since I officially started my career in 1999, exhibiting at ILTACON has been a long-time goal of mine.  My father was a regional Sales Director for Wang Laboratories, responsible for the legal vertical throughout the US during the mid-1980’s.  So much like being born into a New York Yankees baseball family, I had very little choice and ended up finding my passion delivering technology to the Legal community throughout my career.

Opportunity on the Horizon
This year, we introduced our brand-new company and solution DocStyle to ILTA’s membership as part of Startup Hub at ILTACON in Orlando, FL.  Those of you who do not know, Startup Hub is a special program and opportunity extended by ILTA for select emerging technology businesses with Legal specific solutions to bring them before the industry.  There’s an application process which starts months in advance of the event, in the end eight solutions are chosen and prominently displayed.  I must take a moment to acknowledge and thank Donna Payne, CEO of Payne Group, Inc. who first informed me about Startup Hub and encouraged us to apply.

Having just returned from ILTACON, I can already tell that Startup Hub has been an invaluable way to generate awareness about our solution and boost us out of the early stages of business.  Year one is always the most difficult as you’re literally pumping every nickel you have into design, development and go to market initiatives. This leaves very little room within the budget for an event like ILTACON, yet I knew we absolutely needed to be there.  Frankly without the Startup Hub program I can’t see how we prioritize it over other operational needs, so I am extremely grateful.

ILTACON is widely recognized as the premier event in Legal Tech, and as such generally draws a Big Law crowd.  As a Startup Hub Exhibitor, the challenge was not so much in addressing the costs involved with getting to the show, rather with positioning our product as well as we can to maximize our exposure.  To make the most of the opportunity and our investment as a first time Legal Business Partner, we needed to position our solution so that it appeals to all firms, while emphasizing the benefits for Enterprise.  Knowing who your audience will be at ILTACON is more important than with other conferences, as typically it’s the technology support leadership personnel from large firms who are found in attendance.

The Experience
ILTACON is a very long conference, which was described during Orientation as a marathon, not a sprint.  Opening night for most begins Sunday with a cocktail reception, followed by a theme night on Monday introducing the attendees to the vendors on the exhibit hall floor for the first time.  This year’s theme was “A Whole New World of Possibilities-A Journey through Classic TV.”  Getting into the spirit Adrian and I dressed up as Crockett & Tubbs from the classic TV show Miami Vice, representing DocStyle’s Miami roots with pride and a little humility.  This turned out to be a fantastic ice breaker which would setup the next few days allowing for more relaxed interpersonal engagements with attendees.

As a first-time Exhibitor this year I found tremendous value throughout the event.  In years past with previous ventures, I’ve participated as an exhibitor at other events.  My takeaway in terms of contacts established and new relationships made can only be summarized as exceptional.  Leaving Orlando with just about ¼ of the typical contacts, I can already confirm without hesitation the remarkably higher quality found within each connection made.

The real value of ILTA is in the relationships and networking opportunities, as there are very few hours within each day that do not offer educational sessions or after-hours interactive events.  The attendees we met were more knowledgeable overall and were able to connect with the intended benefits our approach to the business challenges we believe DocStyle solves.

Because of the technical competency of the attendee’s, we found a deeper skill set from Business Partners exhibiting, who as well send their best and brightest.  Because of this, we were able to forge relationships during the event and start new partnerships right away.  The venue itself could have been better, there were challenges navigating the expanse between hotels and difficulties finding session rooms.  Overall though, if you planned out the event in advance, your experience should have been very fulfilling as was my own.

Take-Away
At the end of the week, we left with a renewed sense of excitement and reaffirmed the positive impacts we anticipate DocStyle will have within Legal as we press forward.  We discussed new ideas and received all kinds of feedback, most of which I consider invaluable.  Aspects of these conversations have already found their way into the planning process for future iterations of the platform.  Although I did not make it to every session or networking opportunity, the ones I attended were rich in value.  I know I’m starting to sound like an ILTA spokesperson, however I had a wonderful experience, one which I will remember for years to come.

By Chris Cangero
Chief Executive Officer/ Co-founder