From Napa to Delhi: Part 2 – Nova, India Mobile Congress, and who came out on top…when it’s not all about work

Earlier in the month, I spent some time talking about my experiences from a set of events that straddled the September-October divide: GSMA’s Nova Future Summit and India Mobile Congress. Specifically, I wanted to call out common themes across these incredibly different events in order to give a view into what the industry is thinking about. 

While there were plenty of common themes across the events, we can’t ignore how unique each one was. I’ll dig into this on an event-by event basis. Before then, and while it’s still fresh in my mind, I want to address the big question – which show “won.” 

As with any good judging exercise, the evaluation needs to consider diverse criteria. And, since it’s a crime to travel to amazing places without thinking outside the event venue, here’s an unbiased view of which show came out on top across the most important criteria. 

• Weather – Nova. Diurnal temperature variation (hot in the day, cool at night) is part of what gives Napa wines their balance while helping with aromatics and colour. It also means that an early morning run or bike ride will be a little uncomfortable until you build up a sweat. I’ll take that any day over the sweat you build up in Delhi just shuttling between meetings. 
• Libations – IMC. Surprised you on this one, huh? Sure, if you’re a wine person, Napa is incredible. Even next year, when Nova moves to Half Moon Bay, you’ll be close to the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA (make your way up to Ridge Monte Bello if you have time). But the experimentation with gin, whiskey and even tequila in India is truly impressive. Positioned as “innovation” it aligns well with both events. 
• Food - Nova. Vegetarians will find few more veggie-friendly countries than India. I’m not a vegetarian. That means the turkey jerky from Angelo’s in Sonoma wins out. 
• Wildlife – IMC. Speaking of turkeys, it’s always great to see people encounter wild ones for the first time. If you’ve not spent much time in Northern California (or rural Virginia, for that matter), you don’t know how common they are. Of course, they’ll never be as approachable or friendly as Delhi’s street dogs. My team keeps telling me not to pet them, but I keep ignoring them. 
• Polish – Tie. IMC exemplifies how the world’s 2^nd largest mobile market (by connections) survives on one of the lowest ARPUs (220 out of 238 markets GSMA Intelligence tracks); a focus on the fundamentals. The show gets the job done. Big telco booths are shiny and impressive even if you might need to trip over some cables on the way to get to them. Nova itself was much more consistently polished. Hands down. But wander off into Napa and you find a mix of shiny tasting rooms and working farms. And, outside the manned Nova keynotes, you had spicy small-room discussions. That mix is what makes each fun.