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Preparation for Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon is already gaining momentum. This is the world’s largest platform for innovation, where partnerships are born and global projects are launched. Last year, the SoftBees team not only presented its solutions in Lisbon but also received an unexpected opportunity – a free booth at Web Summit Qatar 2025 and coverage in the global Web Summit advertising campaign. Tetiana Dashevska, CEO and co-founder of the fintech company and ITU member SoftBees shares firsthand experience, life hacks, and insights that will help Ukrainian IT companies make the most of the opportunity that participation in Web Summit provides.
Imagine you’re immersed in your projects, planning new launches, and suddenly your phone is blowing up with messages from all over the world: ‘Tanya, we saw you and the SoftBees team in the Web Summit ad!’ Germany, Poland, Ireland, Valencia… The geography was impressive. I open the link – and I see the same photo: us, inspired and a little tired, at our booth in Lisbon, in branded T-shirts with Ukrainian embroidery. Honestly, back then in Lisbon, I didn’t think that one shot would ‘fly’ across the planet. But now, looking back, I see a clear chain of decisions and a stroke of luck that led us here,
— comments Tetiana Dashevska.
The photo taken during SoftBees’ participation at Web Summit 2024 became, six months later, the face of a global Web Summit 2025 advertising campaign (which will take place on November 10–13), garnering millions of views.
Maximum strategy: not only a booth, but four applications
When the company first applied to Web Summit in 2024, its plan was pragmatic: secure a booth and meet potential clients. However, the atmosphere of great opportunities inspired the team, and it was decided to apply for four activities at once:
Two weeks before the Summit, SoftBees learned that it had been selected for Startup Showcase. Ahead was a performance on the big stage before an international audience – with strict timing and no room for error.
Preparation for the stage: 30 takes of one video
The path to the Showcase stage began with the creation of a 60-second video. The company approached this task as if it were launching a new product: it developed a script, carefully polished every phrase, and shortened the text so that every second worked toward the result.
I recorded this video more than thirty times until it turned out exactly as required by Web Summit – clear, structured, and energetic. It was a real marathon,
— says Tetiana Dashevska.
After the selection came the second phase – preparation for the two-minute performance on stage. Without slides, without a teleprompter, without prompts.
Two minutes alone with an English-speaking audience, without the possibility of looking back at slides – it’s a serious test. You must keep the structure in your head, the pace in your voice, and confidence in every word,
— says Tetiana Dashevska.
That is why the company engaged a professional pitching consultant. Together they turned the performance into an engaging story and rehearsed it down to the smallest details.
Behind the scenes of Web Summit: in the spotlight
The backstage atmosphere at Web Summit is a precisely directed process where every second counts: briefing, walk-on with second-by-second timing, bright lights, cameras, the hum of a huge hall.
The culmination of SoftBees’ participation was the performance in the Startup Showcase within the prestigious section “The Future of Money.” The company became the only startup from Eastern Europe to enter this program, and this became a source of special pride for the team.
On the floor
The booth was also buzzing with activity: visitors, partners, investors, media. The company’s branded T-shirts with Ukrainian ornamentation became a real magnet – even the official Web Summit photographer captured them for the archive. These very shots soon spread around the world.
An unexpected bonus – Qatar
Immediately after Lisbon, the company was offered very favorable conditions for participation in Web Summit 2025, and it, of course, agreed. Then came an unexpected bonus – a free booth at Web Summit Qatar 2025. This was completely unexpected but an extremely welcome opportunity.
Who are SoftBees?
Activity on the international stage is the result of daily work and expertise. SoftBees is a Ukrainian IT company that creates modern banking applications for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as for individual clients.
The company implements projects in Ukraine, Poland, Cyprus, the USA, and even in Africa. Its clients are banks and financial institutions, as well as companies from non-financial sectors that strive to integrate fintech solutions into their business.
Currently, SoftBees is developing its own Fintech-as-a-Service product for European financial institutions and will soon present an AI agent for banks’ financial monitoring.
Life hacks from SoftBees for future participants
The jury always senses when you approach the application formally, and when you put meaning into every word. In our case, it worked: we became the only startup from Eastern Europe in the ‘Future of Money’ section,
shares Tetiana Dashevska.
If you plan to participate in Web Summit, remember: preparation begins long before the event, and one successful application can catapult you into global advertising. Ukrainian companies have something to show the world.
