Conferences Innovator: Anh Nguyen

Anh Nguyen is the founding father of Spark Occasion Administration, a full-service occasion administration agency. She can be the founding father of the Spark Occasion Collective, a community of impartial planners collaborating to ship occasion experiences. Her expertise with entrepreneurship’s thrills and frustrations is essential to her enthusiasm for serving to impartial planners obtain their profession aims.

Nguyen has over 20 years of expertise in occasion advertising, occasion design, manufacturing, and administration. She has managed a variety of occasions, together with intimate company capabilities, subject advertising occasions, awards and fundraising galas, giant conferences, digital occasions, tradeshows, and worldwide hospitality occasions.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Anh efficiently led 50 main occasion professionals to coordinate the International Conferences Trade Day (GMID) Goes Digital initiative, which gathered occasion professionals in an try and set the document for the largest-ever digital occasion.

Nguyen has served on the board of administrators for main chapters of business associations, together with Assembly Professionals Worldwide (MPI) and the Skilled Conference Administration Affiliation (PCMA).

Conferences Innovators is a brand new collection devoted to shining a highlight on the trailblazers who’re defining the way forward for the conferences business. Every month, we function visionary professionals who’re breaking the mildew with revolutionary methods, contemporary views, and daring concepts. Past planning occasions, these pioneers are crafting experiences that resonate, encourage, and cleared the path ahead. Be a part of us as we have fun the artistic minds taking the longer term into their very own fingers and shaping what’s subsequent on the planet of conferences.

Conferences Innovators is sponsored by Stova.

What does innovation imply to you?

Innovation could be a little bit of a buzzword.

For me, innovation isn’t nearly creating know-how or new innovations. It’s about recognizing a spot or alternative in how we’re doing one thing and being motivated to discover a resolution.

It occurs once you take the chance to problem the established order and push your self and others to suppose in another way, experiment, attempt (and generally fail), however in the long run, work in direction of discovering a greater method to do issues. It’s all about incremental enchancment, even when it’s in only a tiny method.

Do you see your self as an innovator? Was there a second in time once you felt you grew to become an innovator?

I’m the kind of one who isn’t afraid to query why we do issues a sure method. After I spot a possibility to enhance or get annoyed with how one thing works, I don’t simply complain. I complain a bit, however then I deal with bringing individuals collectively to brainstorm, experiment, and take a look at new approaches to repair it.

I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with some wonderful individuals on tasks that aimed to supply contemporary options to previous issues. Some have been enormous wins (#GMIDGoesVirtual, #EventProfsBreakShit), whereas others fully flopped. However for me, it’s not about one huge second. It’s the continued strategy of experimenting and making an attempt new issues that retains me in an revolutionary mindset.

Does your previous expertise with know-how allow you to be an innovator?

Completely! Constructing know-how is all about an iterative mindset. You launch it, discover bugs, get suggestions, and enhance with every replace. Experimenting and being okay with failure are key to innovation—it’s a relentless cycle of studying and evolving.

This may be robust for occasion planners. Powerful since we are usually perfectionists who need all the things to be good. Nonetheless, studying from the tech business and adopting a extra agile, iterative method has helped me get extra comfy with experimentation and even embrace failure alongside the best way.

What areas of the conferences business are most in want of innovation?

Our business is brimming with individuals driving unbelievable improvements in areas like know-how, sustainability, and attendee engagement. 

One space I mirror on usually is our business affiliation mannequin.

Many associations have broad initiatives and messaging, making it difficult to speak worth clearly. This has opened the door for a lot of grassroots communities to emerge and thrive. I feel we’re seeing development in these teams as a result of these giant associations might not be providing planners what they want.

The way in which we study, join, and collaborate has developed considerably because the pandemic, and there’s an thrilling alternative for associations to adapt and meet these altering wants.

Which organizations do you see genuinely innovating?

I discover a lot inspiration in business occasions which might be pushing the boundaries of content material supply, occasion codecs, and know-how. Occasions like Money20/20 stand out as a result of they’re so clear about their artistic course of. They share not simply their successes but in addition what didn’t work and the teachings they’ve discovered alongside the best way.

To me, true innovation is about experimentation, studying, and embracing failure. The occasions that overtly share their journey are those that actually embody what it means to be revolutionary.

What did the innovation journey of making Spark Occasion Administration and Collective seem like?

I didn’t got down to be an innovator—my journey was born out of survival.

Balancing my new function as a mom with working my enterprise made it clear that our business’s method to workload, assist programs, and work-life stability is deeply flawed. Hustle tradition and the “hero complicated” the place you must do all of it by yourself usually prioritize work above well being, household, and private well-being, and I wanted to alter that for myself.

I got down to discover assist for myself and it led me to begin constructing a group of senior planners—one that gives built-in assist whereas permitting people to stay autonomous and impartial.

It’s been an thrilling journey crammed with experimentation, studying from failures, and evolving. I’m pleased with what we’re creating and might’t wait to see the place it goes subsequent.

Are there different components of your skilled journey that you just see as revolutionary?

I’m extremely lucky to have the assist of business friends and buddies who’ve embraced new concepts with me all through my profession.

Some of the rewarding tasks I’ve labored on is #EventProfsBreakShit—an initiative designed to assist occasion planners and know-how firms join and study from one another in non-traditional methods (down with the demo!). It was wonderful to see this idea acquire momentum through the pandemic, and it continues to thrive.

To this present day, we nonetheless ideate and maintain common brainstorming periods, continuously exploring new methods to bridge the hole between occasion planners and tech, pushing boundaries, and driving significant collaboration.

How has specializing in innovation modified how you concentrate on conferences and occasions?

I’ve develop into rather more open to experimentation—each in my enterprise and in designing occasions.

I really like working with purchasers who’re keen to problem their very own establishment and embrace new concepts. It’s thrilling to collaborate with individuals who see the worth in making an attempt one thing totally different, even when it means entering into the unknown.

Specializing in innovation has made me extra comfy navigating uncertainty. Earlier in my profession, I might need been hesitant to plan occasions the place the trail from level A to level B wasn’t completely clear. Now, I see these moments as alternatives to find one thing really distinctive and impactful.

What a part of your skilled journey are you most pleased with? 

What we’re constructing at Spark Occasion Collective fills me with pleasure.

Our workforce and group have grown to incorporate 20+ senior, impartial planners who method tasks in a method that aligns with their lives. They’ve the pliability to tackle as a lot or as little work as they select, with the reassurance of a talented, supportive group able to step in at any time when wanted. Nobody has to do it alone, and nobody has to sacrifice their life for work.

The caliber of planners we’ve attracted is actually inspiring. I’m so proud to collaborate with such a gifted and dynamic group.

Are there particular individuals who impressed me to develop into a gathering innovator?

There are three unbelievable individuals within the business I’m fortunate to collaborate with: Shawn Cheng, Sina Bünte, and Miguel Neves. Collectively, we’ve brainstormed concepts (some good ones, some not!), shared views on business challenges, and helped one another uncover blind spots.

They’re not simply inspiring occasion professionals but in addition wonderful buddies. Every time one in all us sees a possibility for change, we’re fast to attach and discover it collectively. Typically, we spark an thrilling new thought we wish to attempt to execute.Different instances, we share an excellent snicker. Both method, the group chat is at all times inspiring and hilarious!

What would you want your legacy to be?

I don’t overthink the concept of legacy—for those who got down to create one, you may find yourself upset.

For me, it’s about specializing in small, incremental adjustments that make a distinction inside my circle of affect. I really like working exhausting on significant tasks with nice individuals, and that’s what retains me motivated on daily basis. That easy mixture of function and collaboration is sufficient for me.

What’s your recommendation for aspiring innovators?

“Simply purchase the area.”

That’s my mantra at any time when I’ve an thought, whether or not it’s absolutely shaped or not. It’s my method of claiming, “Simply get began.” Taking a small first step is commonly all it takes to place an thought into movement.

It’s simple to get caught in evaluation, ready for the proper timing or for all the things to align. However generally, you simply have to take that leap. Possibly the area sits dormant for some time, or perhaps it turns into the muse of one thing unbelievable. Both method that easy motion may be the spark—no pun meant—that will get you shifting.