The 4th edition of our annual summit is just around the corner.
What better time than now to take a moment to look back on where it all started?
In other words: what led to us hosting what went on to be the biggest event in the industry?
Let’s take a trip down memory lane.
This is the history of the Web Agency Summit.
First, WordCamp Asia Was Canceled
In early 2020, we were a small, 3-person software company just over 3 months old. We were hedging a big bet on attending WordCamp Asia, a major event in the industry – as a sponsor and to fly our team out to attend.
Due to COVID-19, a pandemic that would end up affecting everyone’s life in some way for over 2 years, the event was ultimately canceled.
When WordCamp Asia was first canceled, I had a lot of thoughts, of course. Something that we were somewhat really hoping would help us make a big splash in the industry was pulled away from right under us.
But, instead of letting this setback get to us – we decided we had to do something.
We decided to step up and host what was then the first (and went on to be the biggest) virtual summit in our industry. Sponsors like GoDaddy, WordPress.org, and many more were quite quick to step in, to the point where we were overwhelmed by the support we received and how well-received the entire summit concept was.
And this is how we came to host the first-ever Web Agency Summit…
Which is returning this year … for the 4th edition, supported by incredible companies:
If you’re interested in joining the conversation with companies including Microsoft, Google, Yoast, and more – grab your ticket here, and we hope to see you there.
Here’s a throwback to our founder, Vito, introducing the summit:
Taking Our Infrastructure Offline On Day 1
That said, the concept and marketing were one thing. Now we had to deliver an experience that lived up to the expectations we had set for sponsors, attendees, and ourselves.
Case in point: on the first day of the summit, we took our entire platform offline.
Fortunately, after a couple of hours and help from some of the industry’s leading experts who were more than willing to help – we brainstormed a solution that would allow us to safely bring the platform back online and prevent it from being taken offline again.
This made it possible to minimize the impact on the summit’s overall schedule so that people would still be able to enjoy all the talks originally planned.
Year 1 Could Safely Be Considered A Success
We heard it from attendees.
And the numbers don’t lie.
The first Web Agency Summit was a resounding success.
Sure, it was rough around the edges, and we ran into our fair share of issues along the way … but all truly only in the best way. It really goes without saying that, by any measure, we could safely call our community’s first summit a success people were hoping would return for round 2 the following year.
We were (and still are) beyond grateful for the support we received from sponsors and attendees to be able to put together an event to fill the gap we all faced in lockdown due to the pandemic in such a short time period.
Sidenote: Our Team Retreat Still Happened
While our summit did an incredible job, there are certain things that virtual summits can’t replace, and those are the personal connections that come from meeting in person.
Fortunately, we were able to reunite with everyone at the next WordCamp Asia, which took place just earlier this year, and we wrote about our entire experience here.
And with that, the annual web agency summit was born.
This Year = Bigger Plans
This year, as with every year since year 1 – we are taking things up a notch.
Over 20+ talks hosted by incredible people from StellarWP, Yoast, XWP, and many more on topics ranging from hiring, building great team culture, and podcasting through to SEO with recent developments in AI. All handpicked by the Atarim team to cater to what really matters in the agency, WordPress, marketing landscapes, and beyond…
- Featuring panels, interview sessions, and much more.
- We’ve partnered with MasterWP & Post Status to echo the summit throughout our community as much as possible.
- The theme has been redesigned to take inspiration from the Woodstock festival of 1969 (inspired by my background in music)
In addition to sessions hosted by speakers, there will also be a series of 7 expert-led panels you’re invited to participate in.
Here’s a breakdown:
#1 – Changing Tides: How Industry Acquisitions & Investments are Shaping the Future of WordPress, and What It Means For Your Agency
This panel will be hosted by: Stephanie Hudson.
When: Tuesday, 25th, 10-11 AM
People on this panel:
- Marieke van de Rakt – Head of Strategy of Yoast
- Joost de Valk – Founder of Yoast and Head of Strategy at Newfold Digital
- Devin Walker – Founder of GiveWP
- Miriam Schwab – Head of WP relations at Strattic & Elementor
- Saad Iqbal – Owner of WPExperts
- Vito Peleg – Founder of Atarim
- Cory Miller – CMO of Post Status
#2 – From Connections to Clients: Building Communities for Web Design Agency Growth
This panel will be hosted by: Stephanie Hudson.
When: Wednesday, 26th, 9-10 AM
People on this panel:
- Stephanie Hudson – Co-owner of FocusWP
- Davinder Singh – Creator of WP Weekly
- Lee Jackson – Creator of Agency Trailblazer
- Rob Cairns – Founder of Stunning Digital Marketing
#3 – From CMS to Digital Powerhouse: The Expansive Power of WordPress and How It Can Reshape the Tech Landscape
This panel will be hosted by: Vito Peleg.
When: Wednesday, 26th, 12 Midday to 1 PM
People on this panel:
- Josepha Chomphosy – Executive Director of WordPress
- Greg Karelitz – Director of Partnerships of HubSpot
- Soeren von Varchmin – Chairman of the Advisory Board of CloudFest
- Andrey Lipattsev – Partner Development Manager of Google
- Adam Warner – Director of Field Marketing of GoDaddy
- Remkus Devries – Founder of Truer Than North
- Alain Schlesser – Director of Technology & Innovation at XWP
- Lukas Hertig – Senior VP of Business Development of WebPros
#4 – Building The Future: Exploring the Power of Next Generation Website & Page Builders
This panel will be hosted by: Vito Peleg.
When: Thursday, 27th 10-11 AM
People on this panel:
- Amitai Gat – Chief Product Officer of Elementor
- Robby McCullough – CEO of Beaver Builder
- Nick Diego – Developer Advocate of Automattic
- Raitis Sevelis – Head of Product of Visual Composer
- Benjamin Intal – CEO of Stackable
- Dimi Baitanciuc – Founder of Brizy
- Josh Ronk – Product Manager of Divi
#5 – Cracking The Code: How to Choose the Best Web Hosting for Your Business
This panel will be hosted by: Andrew Palmer.
When: Thursday, 27th, 11 AM to 12 Midday
People on this panel:
- Ben Gabler – CEO of Rocket.net
- Rajendra Zore – CMO & Product Strategist of RunCloud
- Jessica Frick – Director of Operations of Pressable
- Tom Fanelli – CEO of Convesio
#6 – Embracing AI in Web Design: Unlocking Profitability for Agencies & Freelancers
This panel will be hosted by: Andrew Palmer.
When: Friday, 28th, 2-3 PM
People on this panel:
- Fabrice Canel – Principal Product Manager at Bing of Microsoft
- Andrew Palmer – CEO of Bertha
- Rob Howard – CEO of MasterWP
#7 – Beyond Viral Videos: Maximizing YouTube for Agency Growth & What Comes Next
This panel will be hosted by: Stephanie Hudson.
When: Friday, 28th, 9-10 AM
People on this panel:
- Paul Charlton of WP Tuts
- Jamie Marshland PootlePress
- Imran Siddiq of Web Squadron
- Jeffrey Dalrymple LytBox
So … will we see you there?
Every year since the inception of the very first summit we’ve hosted, we’ve been working hard to take things up a notch.
And we’re beyond excited to be back for our 4th edition.
So, if you’re interested in joining the conversation with companies including Microsoft, Google, Yoast, and more – grab your ticket here, and we hope to see you there.
