Virtual Conferences, Revenue Generation, and Making Mistakes with Sami Benchekroun

Insights Xchange: Conversations Shaping Academic Research

In a continuation of the chat with Nikesh Gosalia, Morressier’s Sami Benchekroun shares his expertise on the inner workings of virtual conferences. He talks about the use of virtual conferencing to spur revenue generation, as part of an integrated business model that takes into account the key components of content, conference members, and sponsors or exhibitors. Nikesh and Sami tackle a valid concern among remote participants – effective networking. While Sami admits that there is no definitive way of ensuring that virtual participants get the same value as in-person participants, he suggests well-rounded business packages that adjust price for value. He reiterates the importance of experimenting with different ideas and making mistakes, especially since online conferences can be quickly improved upon based on participant feedback. Sami also shares his strategies for staying updated, including podcasts, meetups, and staying open to different conversations.

Sami Benchekroun is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Morressier, a virtual and hybrid conference platform geared towards the scientific community. He has significant experience in virtual conferences and scholarly publishing, and has achieved a Master of Science from ESCP Europe. A man of many hats, Sami is the founding member of the Edtech Founders Club, guest lecturer at the Technische Universität Berlin, and a polyglot proficient in 4 languages. Sami can be reached via his LinkedIn or Twitter.

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