thegeekconf 2025

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Business Goal

Transition GeekyAnts out of the “dev-shop” reputation and position ourselves as a trusted partner for Fintech enterprises looking for IT consultation and AI transformation services.

Event goal was to get 80 decision makers (from engineering and business) in one room. This should generate 20 meetings that will eventually convert into three deals by the next quarter.

My Contribution

  • Designed the strategy for prospecting and outreach.

  • Orchestrated the coordination of respective teams and how the delivery will work, without overstepping on each individual contributor’s expertise.

  • Led the team on the event day to ensure a smooth execution. Every interaction from first entry to final handshake at the end of the event was planned with the team.

  • Arranged seating so that leaders attending the event naturally gravitated towards business teams of the GeekyAnts for conversations.

Final Outcome

  • 120 high-quality Fintech enterprise leads. Companies included JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, American Express, IBM, Synchrony, WorldPay and Finastra.

    • 14 meetings booked in the first two months

    • 1 discovery call happened within the first month

  • Four videos with speakers that were later repurposed as social proofs and shareable content.

The Inside Scoop

We need to change our reputation!

May 03, 2025

I got a ping from my CEO on Slack — “Please come to the conference room in the corporate floor.” I replied “Sure. Give me 5 mins.” On the hallway, I met my manager, the CMO; she had also gotten the same message. We walked into the conference room where the CEO greeted us.

15 mins later. The CEO had highlighted his business goal for the upcoming quarter—position GeekyAnts as a trusted partner in the Fintech space. This decision came from an insight that 40% of GeekyAnts’s revenue came from the Fintech sector. Evaluation of internal capabilities also pointed at a strong setup to take up projects from the financial space. “We need to change our reputation from being a Dev Shop to a consultacy service that is AI-first. Please come back with a strategic decision for the same.”

A “mini” it cannot be.

June 04, 2025

I sat in the conference room watching Tulika, she was creative lead of the team, making last minute edits to a presentation. We were showcasing the new branding direction of thegeekconf mini.

Three weeks ago, a plan to change the brand perception was already presented and thegeekconf (mini) was a part of the various activities planned.

The new branding direction was approved and it was decided that the conference would happen on September 2025.

July 11, 2025

Pin drop silence in the board room. The CMO had just suggested that we should merge our ABM efforts with thegeekconf. “Let us make it a gated conference. We invite the ICP into the room and we share our expertise. They will also get value. And if we impress them enough, our brand will be equated with quality AI development,” she had said one minute ago.

I had already gotten a briefing of this plan a day ago. I was all in.

20 mins of deliberation later. The plan was approved. ICP for the conference was to be Fintech companies from North America that have operations in India. The attendance would be invite-only. Invitees had to be from the C-suite, directors, VP, and business managers that can take decisions on vendor partnerships.

July 19, 2025

NIMHANS convention center. Build With AI Meetup by GeekyAnts. Powered by Google Developer Community.

“We should expand thegeekconf. I do not think it should be a mini anymore. See if we can take this Hall A also for the conference. We can keep this one open to the public and we can use Hall B for the invite-only tier. Let us discuss this on Monday.” the CEO told me, the CMO, the CFO, and the community manager.

It is risky, but the ROI will be high…

August 22, 2025

I am at my desk, staring at the numbers and projection for the conference. It was not a healthy picture. I was five minutes away from presenting these numbers. Ever since the decision to make the conference not the mini version, the marketing team had speed ran the planning. The branding idea was ready, the calling list was set, ticket announcements were ready to go live, and soft promotions has started.

But we a major problems. The date of the conference was not decided yet. The permutation of execution timelines therefore was going in red with every passing day. Moreover, September to October is conference season. We were already exhibiting in two and attending one in Singapore. The team was already stretched thing and going the extra mile. Not having the date clear made it very difficult to align execution.

“Prem” I called out. “Let’s chat.” He came over to my desk.

August 22, 2025

“I agree with your proposal. The target is 80 profiles that match our decided ICP. We are not doing the two halls. This will be a marketing lead conference and the sole purpose will be lead generation and to establish ourselves as a trust worthy IT services and consulting company for AI,” the CEO summed up the decision.

The CMO and I looked at each other. I was asked what I think. “It is risky, but the ROI will be high,” I replied.

You Ask the Impossible, But We Will Do It

Using Apollo.io we identified 20,000 contacts that we could reach out and approach as invited guest. Past experience and data had shown that if we wanted to reach the number of 80 guests, we had to have 160 people confirm they will come 1 week before the conference. The number always dropped to half when the event day came. This was data from having organized 100+ meetups and events. It meant we had to make in a minimum dial 100 contacts a day and speak to 30 people.

There was a logistical challenge too. The timelines for building the creatives and the merch for the conference was clashing with the three other conferences we had. Plus, our hygiene activities were also starting to demand higher attention as ideas got more ambitious.

August 26, 2025

The Great Marketing huddle. “So that is plan team. We need to get alteast 60 confirmed attendees for the event to go ahead. If we do not get 60 confirmed attendees 30 days before the event date, which is still not decided, we will not get an approval to get going.

I know this is conference season. I know that the November trials as upcoming.