From near collapse in 2021 to a record-breaking 2022
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Early 2021 was the most challenging period of Web Summit’s existence. Revenue had dropped by more than €30 million through 2020. In 2020, for the first time in Web Summit’s entire existence, we lost money. A lot of money.
Worse still there was no indication in early 2021 that we could run a single conference in all of 2021. If we couldn’t, Web Summit would collapse. It was a terrifying moment.
But in early 2021, at the very moment we faced our greatest crisis as a company, the team at Web Summit rallied. Eighteen months later, Web Summit’s 2022 revenue has grown by around 300 percent compared to 2020, and will set an all-time record. We’ve returned to profitability. And tomorrow, Web Summit 2022 will sell out three weeks ahead of schedule.
“When faced with adversity, quitting is often the easy option. Try not to.”
It’s been the most incredible rollercoaster. And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the people I work with every day at Web Summit.
I’d in particular like to call out my C-level team, many of whom I’ve worked with for nearly a decade. Every single one of my C-levels who entered the pandemic with Web Summit remains at Web Summit. They took enormous professional risk. But their professionalism and ingenuity steered us through.
When faced with adversity, quitting is often the easy option. Try not to. Walking out on your team or friends at that moment when they need you most is something you’ll probably regret for life, whereas if you give it your all in that moment where the odds seem stacked against you then, no matter the outcome, you’ll have no regrets.
Out of the storm of 2021, Web Summit emerged like a rocket, stronger and more ambitious than ever before. We’ve been very fortunate as a company. And I’m very fortunate as a CEO to work with such extraordinary people at every level of our now nearly 300-person company, a company nearly 50 percent larger than when we entered the pandemic.
We can’t wait to see you Lisbon in three weeks’ time. Never give up believing!
Main image of Web Summit 2021 Opening Night at the Altice Arena, Lisbon: Sam Barnes/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)
