I spent two days at London Tech Week this year, and as promised, I am bringing you the highlights through my lens.
What is London Tech Week (LTW)?
LTW is the UK’s flagship technology festival, serving as a global stage for the tech industry. It unites visionary founders, global leaders, policymakers, investors, and rising startups to explore investment, innovation, and talent shaping the future of technology. It is essentially a large-scale convergence of the global tech ecosystem, featuring people, businesses and tech from around the world.
A Pleasant Upgrade
It was my first time at the event, and I had initially planned to attend the Expo and other open sessions, but I got a fantastic surprise upgrade from the organisers that allowed me to dive deep into the restricted headline stages.
Woohooo! As you can guess, I was even more amped to attend, and as I do with every multi-day trip to London, I put on my planning cap. I live 2 hours away from London by train. And since I planned to attend for 2 out of the 3 main days, I had to book my trip, plan for accommodation and research how best to make the best of the event.
Suggested Read: Tips for Travelling to London on A Budget
My approach: Be an observer first.
LTW is a huge event with over 20,000 people attending, and if you are an introvert or ambivert, that can be a lot to navigate. So, my approach was first to observe the room.
I like listening before speaking, watching before integrating, and making sense of what I’m seeing before deciding what it means for me. And honestly, that approach served me well. I left London Tech Week with pages of notes, but more importantly, I left with better questions.
Let’s dive into my notes.
There Is No Playbook
One of my favourite sessions was the “writing the multi-billion dollar playbook” session featuring founders and investors who openly disagreed with each other.
One panellist talked about founder resilience and adaptability. Another emphasised listening to customers. They reiterated David Cohen’s (the panel’s moderator) point that there is no universal blueprint for building a multi-billion-dollar business.
A few notes to mention from the session:
– ensure there was actually a market for what they were building.
- Build for a market where there are a lot of people
- You can be an older or younger founder, and you don’t need to go through YC to be a successful founder
The session was a refreshing reminder that there isn’t one right way to build a company, career, or life.
We often spend so much time looking for formulas that we forget that context matters. The people we admire succeeded because they understood their context and made decisions accordingly.
Build Something People Deeply Need
A recurring theme throughout the week was product-market fit. And then I learned about founder-market fit.
- Build something people genuinely love
- Solve painful problems that you care about
- Listen deeply
- Understand your users
Everything else becomes easier when you start there.
Know Your Advantage
This reminder resonated with me so much that I thought to share it with you.
Know your advantage as a founder and use it.
Every founder has a unique story, and it is important to know what this is and leverage it for your advantage. Some founders are technical. Some are exceptional storytellers. Some have lived experiences that give them unique insight into a problem. And some have deep industry expertise.
The point is not to have every advantage; it is to understand the advantages you already have and build from there.
I found myself reflecting on how often we focus on what we lack instead of leveraging what already sits in our hands. It’s one of the lessons I would be applying to how I build Tehillah Solutions going forward.
Why Inclusion Is Not Passive
Another note I scribbled down from Anne-Marie Imafidon, “If you don’t intentionally include, you unintentionally exclude.”
Inclusion isn’t passive; it takes intentional effort. Communities don’t become welcoming by chance, nor does representation happen by default.
People feel seen because someone made deliberate choices.
Whether we’re building products, companies, communities, or events, a notable reminder is – inclusion requires intention.
Choose Your Hard
Perhaps my biggest takeaway was this: Choose your hard.
- Building is hard.
- Starting over is hard.
- Pivoting is hard.
- Remaining where you are is also hard.
Every meaningful path comes with challenges. The question isn’t how to avoid difficulty; it is, which difficulties are worth embracing because they move you closer to the future you want.
I didn’t leave London Tech Week with fewer uncertainties. I left with better questions, a broader perspective, renewed curiosity, and a reminder that sometimes growth isn’t finding the answers. It is learning to ask better questions.
The point is not to have every advantage; it is to understand the advantages you already have and build from there. Share on X
Did you attend the London Tech Week? How was it for you?
If you found this helpful, then make sure to subscribe to the blog, so you can know when I share two more posts in this series, including tips I have now learned on how to maximise the event as an ambivert.
See you in the next post.
Love and Light Always,
Esther
