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Confessions of a MWCer: Part One

We’re off to Barcelona at the end of the month to check out some of the coolest innovations taking place in the mobile world. And we are sure you are also looking forward to attending the world’s biggest conference on mobile at this year’s edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which will take place between February 27 – March 2. For those in the mobile industry, it’s a yearly pilgrimage that only gets bigger with each passing year!

Whether you are a first-timer hoping to sign that much-awaited client, an entrepreneur looking forward to your very first demo of a kick-ass product, or an MWC veteran who has seen the conference grow year over year, there’s never a dull moment as a MWC attendee, and one that comes with a lot of expectations!

Starting today, we kick off a four-part series where we will introduce you with AppLifters who have attended MWC over the various years and will share their first-hand experiences so you get an insider look at what to expect at the conference, apart from some shiny new smartphones of course!

Get ahead with us! And if you are attending this year’s conference, come say hi to us at booth: 8.1E61. Set a meeting with us by sending us an email at: bookameeting@applift.com

In this first part, meet AppLift’s MD and CRO, Maor Sadra, an MWC Veteran and this year will be his 7th year at the conference!! (Read part two here)

When did you first attend MWC and for how many years have been attending it?

My first MWC was in 2011, when it was still in the “old FIRA”. That was my first year in mobile advertising, after spending 10 years in “desktop”. I’ve attended every MWC conference since!

Maor MwcAny embarrassing moments from your first time at MWC?

Probably the most embarrassing one was an endless rotating company video. My former CEO kept insisting on turning the volume up! I probably listened to that video trailer over a 1,000 times. I still have nightmares from that trailer!

What do you like the most about MWC?

The fact that it is in Barcelona and that by the 2nd day, you get to see 100,000 people from the industry all tired and wobbly together! It’s a trade show, but the amount of partying that goes on in this trade show is absurd.

What’s your least favorite thing about MWC?

After the 2nd day, the meetings start to look the same. It’s an extremely tiring trade show where you need to be at your best 24/7 with no rest whatsoever.

Your favorite memory as a MWC attendee

My best memory is always the last few hours of the conference, where everyone in the team is super tired, but are happy. It’s like a sigh of relief that everything went ok, and that all the preparations paid off.

Share with us one experience of MWC that you cannot forget

Trade show meetings typically are short, to the point, and in “masses” i.e. I would sometime have 14-16 meetings/day over 4 consecutive days. Everything tends to blur. I recall one meeting with my previous company where the other side came SOOOOO prepared that it made me call up the CEO, the product stakeholders, CTO and 2 account managers to “witness” the greatest preparation and honesty I’ve ever witnessed at a trade show. That meeting alone made our company realize how much improvements we could make into our product to better our results, which lead to a workshop that evening and by the next day, we had an almost new product roadmap that helped us make that much desired “hockey stick” turn in our performance..

If you could change one thing about MWC, what would it be?

I would wish it would be shorter. Probably 3 days instead of the 4.

Your favorite post-MWC thing to do

SLEEEEP!!!!!

Tell us one insider secret from MWC

If you walk about 500 meters to the right of the taxi stand, you can grab a taxi about 30 minutes faster vs. standing in the long queue (apologies – Israeli genes!)

Your tip for a first-timer at MWC

BRING COMFORTABLE SHOES. Do NOT bring NEW shoes to MWC. You will suffer. Also — drink lots of water.

Stay tuned for the next part in the series as we countdown to MWC! Share your tips and insider secrets with us in the Comments section!

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