What Are The Best Conferences To Attend In 2026?

0:02Mazda has been named Consumer Reports' safest new car brand. It starts with our approach. Every Mazda comes standard with proactive safety features. So you're more aware of what's around you, more focused on the road ahead, and ready before problems ever start. Mazda. More of what matters most to you. Go to mazdausa.com to learn more. Consumer Reports does not endorse or promote any product. Owning a small business comes with a lot of challenges. When I was starting out, I was chairing meetings. I was scripting and shooting podcasts. I was putting up social media posts. It's a lot. I know. I've been there.

0:41There is no doubt growing your small business is hard. It's even harder to do it efficiently. But with LinkedIn, you get all the tools you need to grow in one place. With LinkedIn, simplify your sales, marketing, and hiring so that you can, you know, actually run your small business. Learn more at linkedin.com slash MBA show. What are the best conferences to attend in 2026? Conferences can be a great return on investment, but they also could be a big waste of time and money. And I don't want that to happen to you. So I'm going to answer today's Q &A Wednesday's question from Lisa about what are the best conferences?

1:19What are conferences supposed to do for you? And how do you identify the conferences that actually are going to move the needle for you and your business. I've gone to the wrong events, and I've met the wrong people there, and I've sat through the wrong talks, and I've come home exactly the same as I did when I left, except I was a little bit poorer, and I wasted a bunch of time. So instead, I'm going to tell you exactly which conferences are worth going to in 2026. Every single one of these conferences I've been to, I've attended, and I can give you my honest opinion about it. But more importantly, I'm going to show you what makes a conference worth attending.

1:54So even if the conference you want to go to is not on this list, I'll be sharing with you today. You know how to evaluate if this conference is worth your time and your money and your effort. So let's get into it.

2:10Welcome back to the$100 MBA show. I'm your host Omar Zinhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to help you start, grow, and scale your business. If this show has helped in any way, it would be amazing if you could drop us a quick review on whatever app you're using to listen to this podcast right now. It helps me and my team bring new episodes every week. And more importantly, more entrepreneurs will be able to discover our podcast so you can help someone else start their journey. Thanks so much. Let me start by saying that I owe a lot to conferences.

2:47Conferences have helped me so much along the way. They've been the catalyst, they've been the trigger for a lot of different inflection points in my career. In fact, I started podcasting because of a conference that I attended in 2012 called New Media Expo. This conference doesn't even exist anymore, but it had the right ingredients to inspire us to go down the podcasting route. So throughout my life, I've gone to dozens and dozens of conferences and events. And what I found is that great conferences consistently do three things well. Number one, they curate the right people. This is the most important factor.

3:24A great conference will attract the people that you want in your network, people that are actually doing things, people that are building, people that are operators, people that are serious creators that are inspiring to actually just meet, that are doing fun and interesting work. If the room is filled with tourists and tire kickers and people that are playing business, It doesn't matter how good the speakers are. You're going to rise to the level of the audience. And if the audience are not where you want to be in the future, then you're really not going to get a lot out of it. There's something that happens when you have a room full of inspiring people that are taking action, that are cool, that are fun.

4:02The molecules in the room change and you really go away with a great experience. The second important thing that makes a conference valuable is the actual content. The content actually has to be valuable. We're not talking about hype. We're not talking about recycled motivation or quotes on a screen and somebody really just pretending they're on a TED talk. No, we're talking about real insights, real case studies, real conversations that are happening on stage. It's things that challenge you a little bit, things that kind of make you feel a little bit uncomfortable, maybe things you haven't thought about.

4:32The best conferences respect your intelligence. They respect your time. And the people that are on stage, they bring it, right? They actually not only bring in the goods in terms of the content, but they bring in the delivery as well. So you're actually feeling like, wow, this conference has it together. They've invited some of the best of the best in this space or in this market to speak on stage. The third thing that is important in a conference is sort of the X factor, the vibe. The vibe of the conference has to be warm, has to be human, has to be kind of humble too, because you don't want people beating on their chest.

5:06Now, how do you find out what the vibe of this conference is if you've never been to it? Well, this is where you got to do a little bit digging. You got to, you know, maybe check out some Reddit forums or watch some YouTube videos of people reviewing this conference because this matters more than what people realize because, you know, you can have great people on stage and you can have interesting people attending, but if it feels stiff, it feels awkward or overly buttoned up, you're really not going to get a lot of it. People are not opening up. If they're not being vulnerable and sharing, then you're not going to really have that exchange you're looking for that you're looking for when you go to these conferences, in-person events.

5:38You don't want to go somewhere where everybody's hiding behind their phone. The best conferences feel like a community, feels like a family, feels like, wow, where have all these people been all my life, right? Where has this conference been all my life? You want a place where people feel approachable and they feel generous and they feel giving. And I got to say that this tone and this vibe comes directly from the actual organizers of the conference, and it actually changes everything. And this is why I find that if you go to conferences that are led by other founders, a founder of a company or a business, a builder or creator started that conference, you're going to probably get a great vibe because they know what it's like to be you.

6:21And therefore, they're trying to create every aspect of the conference to curate experience and a feeling that they want, right? That they would want if they were in your shoes or they're on your journey. So let me give you my conference shortlist and share with you why would you want to go to this conference, whether you're in a particular business or stage in your business or whatever your values might be at the moment. If you're into podcasts, if you have a podcast, if you want to start a podcast, if you care about the business of podcasting, then the Podcast Show London is the conference for you.

6:57This is my favorite podcast conference, and there's many podcast conferences around the world, but the Podcast Show London is special. And the reason why it's special is that you see every angle of podcasting, the content, ads, sponsors, networks, the podcasting equipment, the discussions are thoughtful. They're really forward-looking. They're challenging. You meet people who actually take podcasting seriously, like this is their business, this is their life, so it's kind of inspiring. Some of the most valuable moments I've had in this conference don't even happen on the stages. They happen over coffee, they happen over lunch or maybe a dinner conversation or even between sessions when we're walking out of the session and talking to other attendees and sharing ideas about, hey, what did you think of that session?

7:42The podcast show London happens around every May in London and tickets are usually around 200 pounds or$300, which is an incredible value in my opinion. And I believe that this is probably the most valuable or most bang for your buck conference in the list of conferences I'll be sharing today. If podcasting is in any part of your future, whether you want to advertise on podcasts or you want to be a podcaster, this is an easy yes. Today's episode is sponsored by Square. Whether you're selling lattes, cutting hair, or running a design studio, Square helps you run your business without running yourself into the ground.

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9:50Everyone on your team sees the full thread, replies are faster, and customers actually feel like they're taken care of. And Quo works wherever you are, right from your phone or computer. Keep your existing phone number, add teammates in minutes, sync your CRM, and let the call routing handle itself as you scale. Money's on the line. Always say hello with Quo. Try Quo for free, plus get 20 % off your first six months when you go to Quo.com slash MBA. That's Q-U-O dot com slash MBA. Now, if you're interested in software or SaaS, software as a service, this conference, in my opinion, is the best conference to attend.

10:33It's called MicroConf. And if you're building any kind of software, any kind of SaaS, any kind of bootstrap tech business, MicroConf is one of the best conferences in the world for good reason. It's run by Rob Walling, who we've had here on the podcast, so you should check out his episode. and his community is absolutely special. Now, before I get into the community, if you don't know who Rob Walling is, Rob Walling is the founder of Drip, which is one of the most popular email marketing softwares. He sold Drip to Leadpages and now runs TinySeed, which is an incubator for bootstrapped SaaS companies.

11:09Now, let me get back to the community. This is one of my favorite conferences of all time because of the community. Everybody I meet at MicroConf is warm, is humble, is generous, is sharp. despite the fact they're incredibly successful. Some of the people I meet at lunches and dinners and on walks and on excursions are running multi, multi, multi-million dollar businesses and are so humble and just so generous with their information that you would never know it. I've been lucky enough to speak at their conference twice. And when you speak at a conference, you kind of see the inner workings a little bit.

11:41You see it behind the scenes. And I got to say, it's a tight ship. It's consistent. It's top tier. So you might be wondering, Walmart, why do you love this conference so much? Well, number one, it has one main track. It's not overwhelming. So that means that you don't really have to choose which session should I go to? Should I go to one of these five sessions that are happening at two o 'clock or do I go to this main stage session? No, you don't have to do any of that stuff. It's just one session or one main track for everybody. And it's really, really well done because Rob brings on some of the best speakers from the best companies in the world.

12:15So if you're not into overwhelm and just want to have a great experience. You're going to love this conference. And also what I love about the main track is that everyone attends the same talk so that you can have similar discussions. Everybody's on the same page when you're on a break or when you're having lunch or whatever it might be. You all were there, right? You were all a part of the same talks. They have a theme in MicroConf called the hallway track, which means they bake in a lot of time between sessions so that you can get to know the attendees and you can talk to people and have discussions.

12:46And I love the fact that it's not high pressure and not, you know, 20 minute session after 20 minute session. You actually go deep and you learn and there's a lot of Q &A time and it's really well done. There are two locations actually for this conference, different dates. You can attend the one that's in the US. I attended the one that was in Las Vegas one year. And you can attend MicroConf Europe, which is in a different place in Europe every time, pretty much. I attended the one that was in Dubrovnik, was gorgeous. I think last year was in Istanbul. So a lot of variety if you want to check out a new location or go to a new conference.

13:19One thing I want to include is that in MicroConf Europe, at least, I noticed that they include activities like hikes or rafting or canoeing or whatever it might be. It sounds like a small thing, but it really builds relationships and allows you to network in a natural way, make friends, really. So if you are in software, if you're in SaaS or want to get into SaaS, then you want to get to MicroConf. Now, if you're a lifestyle business kind of person, you want to build a business around the way you want to live, you are into like maybe being a digital nomad, then you definitely should go to DCBKK.

13:51DCBKK is run by the Dynamite Circle community, and it's held annually in Bangkok. And BKK is the airport code for Bangkok. Now, to attend the conference, you have to be a member of Dynamite Circle, but you can just Google it and apply to join. It's pretty easy to join. And it's well worth the membership. It's about$500 all year. And you get to network and meet people online and in your local area that are into independent businesses, lifestyle businesses. Now, I have attended and had the pleasure of speaking at DCPKK, and I find that the attendees are really into lifestyle design, financial independence, retiring early, and generally a business that supports their lifestyle.

14:33One of the things I like about DCPKK is that the attendees come with a diverse background, different types of people from different parts of the world. It's not just Western-centric. And they do a good job of trying to have fun with the attendees. There's a really cool tuk-tuk ride you take through Bangkok as you go to dinner. It's actually a lot of fun. And if you're into lifestyle business and digital nomading, then you're going to love this group and you're going to love this conference. So you should definitely check it out. Now, if you're on any kind of online business and you're really into payments, pricing, strategy, how to optimize your revenue, then this is a must-attend event.

15:11It's called Stripe Tour, and it's hosted by Stripe, the payment processor. Stripe Tour is a great one-day conference, so it's not going to take a lot of time. And what I love about it is that it's a tour, meaning it's a conference that they run in many major cities around the world. So you're not going to have to travel too far to attend. I attended the Sydney edition and absolutely loved it because the content is excellent. If you do a YouTube search on Stripe Tour, you'll notice that they bring on some of the best speakers in the world. One of the most popular talks on the internet is with Johnny Ive, who was the head of design at Apple.

15:47And that's a talk on the Stripe Tour. But Stripe Tour might be one that's just in your major city and you could drive to. So this is actually probably the most affordable one in terms of which conferences that you need to spend money on. Big surprise about Stripe Tour is that it's actually free. So if you want to attend Stripe tour. You probably will get an invite if you're a Stripe customer. But if you're not, you can just reach out to them and say, hey, I'm interested in Stripe tour. I'd love to attend if it's in my local area in 2026. I'm definitely attending. I absolutely love it. You get literally breakfast, lunch, and coffee throughout and great sessions.

16:25And I mean, we're talking about some of the best speakers in the world attending this conference. So you're going to absolutely love it. I talked about the podcast show London being great value, but this is like out of this world, a great value. Now, if you are a through and through creative, you do creative work, maybe you're a YouTuber, maybe you're a filmmaker, maybe you're in media, maybe you're an artist, maybe you create music, maybe you're a designer in tech, maybe you're into culture, I highly recommend you attend South by Southwest, which is also known as SXSW. It's more of a festival than a conference.

17:00Now, I'm recommending this conference, but I need to warn you, it's big, it's chaotic, it's overwhelming. South by Southwest takes over a major city and takes over many, many streets and many neighborhoods, and it could feel like a lot, but it's also a lot of fun. It's really inspiring and full of interesting and creative people. It's actually quite cool because when you go to these conferences, even like the sponsor booths are really well done and really fun and interesting. For example, I went to the Amazon Prime booth, and it's not a booth. It's actually a whole experience. It was called Primeville, I believe.

17:36And when you walk in, they give you like prime dollars. This is just like fake paper money. But with that paper money, you can go and cash them in for fun stuff, food, ice cream, even gifts throughout the pavilion of Primeville. And it's really cool because you get to learn about what they're doing and the later shows and what they're investing in and all that kind of stuff. So it's really well done and it's a little bit offbeat. So if you like cross-pollination of ideas and culture, it's worth experiencing at least once. I went to the South by Southwest when I was in Sydney and it was fantastic and a lot of fun.

18:13And I met some really cool people there. But also, I just really enjoyed thinking outside of the box and attending a conference that's not my typical business conference. South by Southwest's main conference is in Austin, Texas, and it's a lot like I mentioned. There's tracks for film, for music, for gaming, for tech. There's a lot of different kind of badges you got to choose from. Yeah, it's a ton of things for you to sort out, but I believe it's worth going to at least once and experiencing. One of the surprises of South Lights of the West is that you get to like go to free movie screenings, movies that are about to come out that no one's seen before, and it's really fun to kind of meet the actors or the directors after the movie when they have a discussion.

18:54It's really cool also that they have live performances. When I went to the South by Southwest in Sydney, Chance the Rapper was here and he performed. So it's really something that you not only learn from and meet interesting people, but also something that allows you to kind of have fun in the process. Now, if you're listening to this podcast because you feel like you're not moving forward and thought maybe if I go to a conference, I'm going to really feel motivated and start doing something. Maybe you're in a little bit of a winter of your life and you You can't help but complain to your friends about how tough things are.

19:24Well, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast because we have an upcoming episode you don't want to miss. It's called How to Stop Complaining and Start Making Progress. Now, listen, I'm not going to be shouting at you like I'm David Goggins telling you to man up, right? No, you probably have really valid reasons for feeling the way you feel. But is complaining helping? Probably not, right? So let's figure out how to stop that cycle and start making progress in your life, in your business. and we want to break that loop that keeps you stuck. I'm working on this episode right now, so hit subscribe so you don't miss it when it gets released.

19:59Those are the conferences I recommend, but here's the part most people miss. A conference itself doesn't change your life. How you show up does. Here are my rules when it comes to that. Don't book work calls when you're there. Don't work on your business. Make sure you have time to just be fully present when you're in this conference because you're spending all this time and money and effort to get there. You want to maximize your return on investment so you don't have any regrets. Be fully present. Talk to people. Even if you're introverted, make a goal. Every day, I'm going to meet two to three people and I'm going to talk to them, have a conversation.

20:36And this is another one that I used to fall victim to. It's a long day. You're tired. And then around four or five o 'clock, you're like, oh, I'm just going to go out of my room and maybe get some room service. No, you're there to continue to grow and to meet people and to have thought-provoking conversations. Stay for the dinners. Stay for the drinks. Have a mocktail if you don't drink. Go to the after parties. Enjoy yourself and get to know people. I've met some interesting, fun people that I've worked with in the future when I met people at conferences. You already paid for the ticket. You already paid for the flights, the hotels, and the time away from your business.

21:12Trying to half attend kills your return on investment. So immerse yourself. Don't half-ass it, okay? Immerse yourself and get the most out of it. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Lisa, who asked today's question, and everybody who's listening, there is no universal best conference, right? The right conference depends on your business, your stage in business, the people you want to meet, the life you're trying to build. So choose intentionally and not emotionally. Think about what can I get from this conference that I can't get by just staying at home. If this episode has helped you think more clearly about where you want to invest your time and attention, your next lesson should be how to focus and get ahead of 99 % of other people.

21:57Because the right room only matters if you can actually apply what you'll learn. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow, and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business.

22:30And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

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