In this episode of The ACSN Podcast, host Michael Steelman interviews two conference sponsors, Wix.com and GoGig on their experience and what they find so valuable about the ACSN way of including sponsors.

Produced in partnership with Alumni FM.

Sabba Quidwai - Wix.com

Melanie Lo - Wix.com

Chris Hodges - GoGig

Collaboration is a non-negotiable

2:48 [Sabba]: ​​ As we think about the future, collaboration is a non-negotiable. And I think the more different partners, whether it's companies, schools, and whatnot begin to come together, I think that's truly how we'll begin to accelerate the change that we hope to see across all of our organizations.

What makes the ACSN community unique

3:14 [Melanie]: I would say that with this group, the kind of generosity and warmth surrounding the sponsorship and just the spirit of the conference is something that is very valuable to me, personally, to see that we are valued for being here, we've been given opportunities to showcase what we do by being here. And just the general group was a real treat to get to be a part of.

Taking sponsorships to the next level/ Connecting with institutions the ACSN way

07:26 [Chris] The uniqueness of the conference really... I didn't come in with any preconceived expectations. Conferences are usually conferences, right? And when you're a vendor, there's this pay-to-play mentality under most circumstances where there's this line of vendors and people will come visit your booth and as much swag as you have is going to attract the vendors to that booth. And that's not really what this was. It surprised me in a pleasant way in that you really took the vendors and the sponsors and injected them into the conference, not really to sell their product, but to engage and talk about why the industry was changing. Breakout sessions, dinner breakouts, getting into smaller groups, where we weren't there really to sell our product, but again, participate in the conversation, talk about why the vertical was changing. What is needed in the space? And just hear from our peers and collect as much information as we can, so we can bake that into our technology, make it better, and then deliver value to our customers. That's really what I felt from the value of how the conference was structured. On the side of encouraging other partners, in the space of career services or alumni, this addresses both. So, it's a great way to get engaged, get connected in an intimate sort of setting with the institutions.