I attended this year's first-ever Techweek in NYC and was super excited to hear a great lineup of speakers, meet some cool entrepreneurs and learn a lot more about the tech scene in New York City. The conference took place on Thursday, October 17 in SoHo and it brought out a huge variety of attendees, from media and business owners to investors and all-around tech lovers.
Here's a recap of some of the panel sessions I took part in:
"Building A Brand Through Online And Offline Experiences"
ft. TIM RILEY
Director of Online Experience at Warby Parker
He spoke about the importance of engaging with the audience and creating a great user experience. He spoke about different collaborations that the brand has done, such as Ghostly and The Standard Hotels. They interact with their customers effectively and are a brand that is easily accessible. They even post quick YouTube video responses to questions, rather than simply writing an answer. They also show that they like to have fun. For April Fools' Day, they came up with Warby Barker, a parody site for dogs. It was hilarious. They definitely go above and beyond when it comes to bringing their online brand to life - they've gone from tents and bikes to buses and planes.
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| Photo via http://www.warbyparkerclasstrip.com |
"How To Make It In New York: A City Of 8 Million Entrepreneurs"
ft. KELLY REID, Forbes
ZACK GREENBURG, Forbes
Forbes colleagues Kelly and Zack (who also happen to be childhood friends) took the stage for an interview-style session. I was super interested in this panel because Zack is actually the author of a biography about Jay-Z, called "Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office." The guys talked about Jay-Z's massive success as an entrepreneur and what's like trying to stand out in the NYC business world.
"How Tech Teams Run Today's Fashion Brands"
ft. STEVE JACOBS
CIO of Gilt
Gilt is a designer shopping website that was launched back in 2007. Since then, it's become a popular online destination for finding flash sales on designer merchandise. The company's Chief Information Officer (CIO) talked to the audience about the importance of the tech teams behind these fashion brands in today's society.
"Curating Cool, So You Don't Have To"
ft. SHAUNA MEI
Founder & CEO of AHAlife
AHAlife is a luxury shopping site, which takes a different approach to online shopping - by moving away from flash sales and encouraging the sale of luxury goods. Shauna Mei spoke about her experiences with her company and the importance of carefully curating the best possible products and really giving the customer the best that's out there.
She shared insight into her thoughts on marketing, e-commerce, social media and the works.
She shared insight into her thoughts on marketing, e-commerce, social media and the works.
"How To Build A Fashion Brand In The Digital Space"
ft. ALIZA LICHT, DKNY
FARRYN WEINER, Michael Kors
AMY RAPAWY, The Jones Group
TARA DHINGRA, AHAlife
HILLARY HUTCHESSON, Beauty Booked
Each of these digital brand specialists shared their own points of view on building up an effective online presence when it comes to today's fashion world. I've been a huge fan of Aliza Licht, aka DKNY PR Girl and have heard her speak before at another event, but this one was different because she was moderating the discussion. Each of the ladies on stage gave their personal experiences and things they've learned along the way in the fashion-tech space.
"From Discount Bins To InStyle Magazine: How Hukkster Spent The Last 12 Months"
ft. ERICA BELL & KATIE FINNEGAN
Hukkster Co-Founders
The brains behind Hukkster, a shopping app that helps you find the best deals on your favourite products, shared insight into how they turned their simple idea into a helpful app that has grown into something so much bigger. They even teamed up with the amazingly talented Patricia Field for a super cool outdoor fashion show during last month's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Check it out below:
Next up on the blog: the LAUNCH Startup Competition + Fashion Meets Tech, The Runway Show 
For more info on Techweek, check out www.techweek.com
- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28
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