|
Last
year was a transitional
one for NamesCon
Europe. It was the 10th
anniversary edition of a show
originally founded by Dietmar
Stefitz under the Domaining
Europe banner. Three months
before the 2018 event in Valencia,
Spain Dietmar decided to turn
the reins to his baby over to NamesCon
with last year's event jointly
hosted and run by both the show
founder and the NamesCon management
team.
With
the upcoming 2019 conference
(June 20-22 in Cascais,
Portugal, just outside Lisbon)
being fully produced by the NamesCon
team, we wondered how it will both
differ and remain true to the
show's traditions established over
the past decade. To get the answers
we connected with NamesCon CEO Soeren
von Varchmin, Senior Marketing
Manager Helga Neumer and show
founder Dietmar Stefitz for
the interview below.
Soeren:
The soul of this European
domaining event remains true to
its origins - a close gathering
of friends and colleagues in a
beautiful place to make connections
and share knowledge. We’re adding
some new elements this time to mix
it up a bit, so you will be able to
learn new things and then use them
right away!
|
Clockwise
from top: NamesCon CEO Soeren von
Varchmin, Senior Marketing
Manager Helga Neumer and show
Founder Dietmar Stefitz.
|
|
Founder
Dietmar Stefitz will return to this
year's event but it will be in a
much less taxing role this time
around.
Dietmar:
I will be in Cascais as an
Ambassador for the event. For me
the event is usually the end of all the
work that has to be done to produce a
conference. It all starts a minimum of
six to nine months earlier,
with looking for the venue, lining
up speakers and sponsors and getting
ready to welcome guests. This year I had
an easy task as all the work has been done
by the team at NamesCon, especially from
Helga Neumer, who took over the event
organization, backed by a crew of over 20 people .
Helga
has never been one to complain about
her workload, in fact the first
thing she wanted to talked about was
a new experience guests can look
forward to in Cascais that will be fun
as well as informative.
Helga:
This
is the first time that NamesCon
Europe will feature surfing.
Nobody says “surfing the net”
anymore, but we can do it with real
boards in Cascais.
DNJournal:
When it comes to changes, one of the
obvious and most exciting ones will
be having the conference staged in
the Lisbon area for the first
time. In addition to being one of
the fastest rising tech centers in
the world, Lisbon and the region
around it is consistently citied by
the leading travel magazines as one
of the 10 most beautiful places
in the world to visit. Tell us
about your decision to select that
area, and your specific resort
location in Cascais, and how you
think that will impact the
conference experience for NamesCon
Europe 2019 attendees?
|
Helga
Neumer |
Helga:
We wanted a location that
people would really want to
visit, but also a place
that’s easy to get to.
Lisbon is one of the most
popular destinations in the
world right now. Besides
being the home of Web
Summit and the new home
of so many tech
professionals, and I guess Madonna,
it’s just such a hot
place to be right now.
The energy is amazing!
Cascais is only half an hour
from Lisbon on the train,
but it feels like another
world! The beautiful
landscape and ocean are
peaceful and relaxing, and
we found that the setting
really helped us focus.
Attendees will have the same
experience. The Cidadela
Pestana Cascais is
different from any other
venue we’ve seen. It’s a
beautiful little world
inside the walls of an
ancient fort, and it’s
only a few meters from the
seaside. You won’t want to
leave!
|
DNJournal:
You have once again put together a
diverse agenda
filled with expert speakers and
panel discussions. Tell us about
some of the topics chosen and why
you are putting them front and
center at NamesCon Europe this year?
|
Soeren:
This time, NamesCon Europe
is totally
investor-focused. We
wanted to send a really
clear message that this
event isn’t just about the
C-Suites of service
providers, but rather it
welcomes the domain
investors who make this
whole ecosystem work. So we
chose topics for our expert
panels that would be of keen
interest to domain
investors, and that will
deliver insights they can
apply right away. So anyone
who is serious about making
a future for themselves in
this industry should join
us. Go to NamesCon.com/europe
and register!
DNJournal:
NamesCon is the only major
domain conference that is
still staging a live
premium domain auction
and you had a very
successful one at this
year's NamesCon Global
event in Las Vegas.
Because they are major
undertakings, very few of
the regionally focused shows
have offered them but you
are going to be doing it at
Lisbon. What are your |
Soeren
von Varchmin |
|
expectations going into
the sale and how can buyers
and sellers participate
(will it be for onsite
bidders only, or have an
online component as well)? |
Soeren:
There will be an extended online
auction, but of course the main
action happens live. This
time the list of names is really
tightly curated, so it’s
super-premium stuff only. Names like
audio.com, thriller.com,
zlz.com, and seniordating.com
are available, and quite a few,
like alright.com and human.info,
have already blown past their
reserves—the game is in full swing!
Helga:
Live auctions like this are
difficult to organize, but our
friends at RightOfTheDot
and NameJet
are total pros at this. The catalog
and auction details can be found here.
|
Surfing
image from Bigstock |
DNJournal:
It looks like you are
planning to take full
advantage of your beautiful
surroundings as the
entire closing day on
Saturday, June 22, will
revolve around a beach
party. Every survey of
conference attendees has
shown they consider
networking opportunities to
be the most important reason
to attend events. That often
happens in the host hotel's
hallways but by taking
everyone outdoors
where they can socialize in
a spectacular environment
you may be setting a new
standard. What led to this
unique way to wind up the
Lisbon event?
Helga:
When you have a beautiful
beach right there, you
have to use it!
The |
|
beach
party will also include
surfing, where we’ll be
joined by professional
surfers to give us tips.
We tested the waves already
and they’re very good for
beginners! |
Soeren:
Yeah, two of our keynote speakers
are Andrew Cotton and João
de Macedo, pro surfers who have
ridden some of the biggest waves in
the world! These guys are amazing!
Helga:
What makes NamesCon Europe so cool
is that the networking, socializing,
and scheduled sessions join into
one another. You get a lot done,
but it doesn’t feel like work! Why
can’t every day be like that?
DNJournal:
Good question! Is there anything you
would like to add about what's ahead
at NamesCon Europe 2019?
Helga:
Registration is still open at namescon.com/europe.
Hotels and flights are still easy to
get, too - you can get a
business-class flight for as cheap
as $2,000. There are many hotel
options within a few minutes of
walking to the venue. Pack business
cards, sunscreen, and a swimsuit.
Increasing your domaining skill set
is about to get a lot more fun, and
we’re so happy to be building on
Dietmar’s fantastic legacy!
Soeren:
Also, if you’re going to ICANN65
in Marrakech, there are
several flights a day between Lisbon
and there. If you join us for
NamesCon Europe Thursday through
Saturday, there are two short,
direct flights on Sunday! We can’t
wait to see you in Cascais, and we
look forward to showing you around
and opening this new chapter in the
event’s history. It’s history
that you’re all helping us write!
|
Dietmar
Stefitz |
DNJournal:
Speaking of history, let's
give Dietmar the last words
as he has lived the entire
history of this event,
starting with its birth in
Valencia, Spain and on
through subsequent stops in The
Hague, Netherlands and Berlin,
Germany that helped turn
it into a conference truly
designed to serve the entire
continent.
Dietmar:
When I handed over Domaining Europe to Soeren to be
NamesCon Europe, we agreed that the event should be
held every year in a different European country. Lisbon is the first step of this
show tour. Helga did a great
job in finding the venue, which is a
17th-Century fortress that’s been converted into a 5-star luxury hotel and arts district.
2020 will be in another European country, which could be
France, Italy or one of the many European countries. Europe is very different from the USA, as every country has
its own domains (ccTLDs) which are a good combination
with other domains for investors.
It is also |
|
interesting
for investors to meet
people from other countries
every year, which makes networking
even more interesting! |
DNJournal:
Thank you all for your time and
wishing you and your
NamesCon Europe all the best as the
show enters its second decade
this month in beautiful Cascais,
Portugal.
|
