300 events in. Here is what we wish we had known on day one.

We started GYG in 2019. By 2026 we had run 300+ events across 8 countries. Some of them sold out in 72 hours. Some of them lost money. Some of them changed the trajectory of the companies that hosted them.

These are the lessons we wish someone had handed us at the start.

Budget reality

Founders budget for the photographer, the venue, and the catering. They forget the line items that actually break a budget:

• Visa support for international speakers
• Translation booths
• Equipment rental excess on a custom stage
• The second crew when the first one quits 48 hours out

Add 18 percent to whatever you think you need.

The speaker is not the draw

A summit with 200 strong attendees and a B-tier keynote will out-perform a summit with 800 mid-attendees and a celebrity keynote.

Build the room around the people you want talking to each other in the hallway, not the person you want on the poster.

Local partners are non-negotiable

The first time we ran an event in a new country we tried to do it with just our Dubai team. Never again.

Local fixers, local PR, local logistics — they save you from the unwritten rules every city has. Pay them well, treat them as partners.

The afterparty matters more than the keynote

The deals that happen at GYG events do not happen on stage. They happen at:

• The yacht after
• The rooftop after
• The dinner where the people who matter to each other are seated four chairs apart by design

Budget for the afterparty as if it is the event. Because it is.

Reputation compounds

Year one was hard. Year three got easier. Year six — partners now propose collaborations before we even pitch.

That is the only marketing channel that has ever worked for us. Do the work. Treat people well. Show up next year too. Then it compounds.