David Adelson doesn’t pull any punches when he talks about MetaCenter Global Week.
The event, which starts Monday, will become a huge moment in Orlando’s tech timeline.
It is a chance to illustrate to those outside of the tech industry just how deep The City Beautiful’s innovation community goes.
“We want to take our talent and Orlando professionals and give them a stage in our own hometown to tell global brands what we do,” he said. “That was the entire intent of MetaCenter Global Week.”
The event kicks off with a networking event on Monday then will send more than 125 speakers who specialize in technology onto stages throughout a three-day span.
Before the big day, we sat down with Adelson to talk more about this community, what preparations have been like and what he’s excited about.
ORLANDO TECH NEWS: This event partners Innovate Orlando with Synapse Orlando and Immerse Global Summit. What are you most excited about for the week?
DAVID ADELSON: I want to hear the reaction of the community. I want them to know we are here. We need to take technology and innovation here seriously. It lives here now and it will grow.
OTN: How much of a buy-in did you get from the Orlando tech community?
DA: It has been driven by the community. They have leaned into it and accelerated the messaging about what this conference actually is. The journey has been a big lift but it’s a lift that i know is going to pay off for our community longterm.
OTN: So the plan is to bring this event back in the future?
DA: We intend to do this every year. We except to continue to grow this and compound it and watch it get bigger and bigger. The community has pushed this forward and this is our community’s show. It’s a long-tertm process.
OTN: How important was it to get this rolling in 2023?
DA: Conferences like this usually take well over a year to prepare and we did it in five months. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to provide a conference of this scale to this community. I didn’t want to wait another year. We have put in a lot of work to get where we are.
OTN: And a multi-day conference was important, right?
DA: We could have done a one-day conference but if you look at what I talked about five months ago, and what this would be – nighttime acts, arts and entertainment – I’m bringing it, man. It’s showing up. The momentum we have been building comes to a head next week and we get to increase that momentum and put ourselves out there on the proper global stage.
OTN: How big of a deal can this be when looked back upon in the future?
DA: We are looking at how, not just how 1+1 can equal 3 but how can it equal 5? If we all come together because of the momentum we already have, this conference is an opportunity for people not that familiar with the tech industry to see what Orlando tech has to offer. I’m talking about people not necessarily part of the tech scene. This conference is another opportunity for these other brands to see how large of a tech ecosystem we have here.
OTN: So this is not just an event for Orlando tech, right?
DA: I’m excited to see not just our tech brethren but others who don’t know what or who we are and get to experience a small taste of what we have to offer. Outside of our TenX events, this is the first real action item that Innovate Orlando took on and if it says anything it’s that we are not just talking about tech, we are demonstratring and creating action for this community.
OTN: Should be a busy week.
DA: It will be an exhausting week for a lot of people but a significant one. It will be special if everyone comes on board.
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