World of Business Ideas to Host Two-Day ‘Be Beta’ Innovation Conference in Bogotá from June 6-7

The World of Business Ideas (WOBI) will host a two-day innovation conference next week in Bogotá focused on the concept of operating with a “beta” mind-set. From June 6-7, the event will feature corporate executives, high-power thinkers, and leadership icons including FC Barcelona legend Carles Puyol, Airbnb executive Chip Conley, former Apple creative director Ken Segall, and innovation expert Sir Ken Robinson.

With a theme of Be Beta, the event, which will take over the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo on Tuesday and Wednesday, is scheduled to include at least 11 speakers who will offer attendees insights on the failures and successes that they have experienced within their chosen disciplines.

The beta concept is one well known in Silicon Valley and other innovation circles. By encouraging an early product release — as many of those who will appear on stage have done over and over — companies can embrace their initial mistakes.

The best organizations then learn from what doesn’t work with humility and make further improvements rather than just assuming their first attempt will be perfect. “Through this new forum, we are inviting companies to live in a permanent beta state,” said Alberto Saiz, CEO WOBI.

The speakers at WOBI’s “Be Beta” in Bogota will include Airbnb executive Chip Conley, FC Barcelona legend Carles Puyol, and former Apple creative director Ken Segall. (Credit: WOBI)

Saiz said that the support and confidence shown by the local business community was the key factor that drew WOBI to the Colombian capital. “What we are looking for with this second edition,” said Saiz, “is for entrepreneurs who attend to understand that, today, any product or company that they have, if it is not reinvented, will be at risk of disappearing in two or three years by something that someone else does.”

The World of Business Ideas convention in Bogotá will also include ample networking opportunities so that those in attendance can learn from one another in addition to gleaning insight from the speakers and formal presentations.

More than 1,300 people have already registered to attend, with nearly 70% of attendees serving in CEO or senior management-level positions, according to WOBI. At least two-thirds of those planning to join the event live and work in Bogotá. Another 20% will be coming from Medellín, Cali, and Cartagena.

The Be Beta event will be an all-day affair on both June 6 and 7, kicking off at 9:00 am and wrapping up at 6:45 pm each day. The full speaker lineup and schedule can be seen on the WOBI website.