During the last few days, I attended a software development conference in Varberg, Sweden, called myConf. Over the past decade, I’ve participated in several industry-specific conferences, but this was my first purely development-focused conference in more than ten years. It was very different from the trade shows I’m used to attend – in many ways.

As you might know, I’ve been working in the Salesforce ecosystem for the past 15 years. My focus has always been on growth and learning. As part of that journey, I’ve attended various networking events to meet people. Over the years, a few things have stood out to me. These system-specific conferences tend to have a higher focus on selling products, services, and even ideologies. Drink the Kool-Aid. They are usually filled with salespeople trying to sell to new potential customers or to indoctrinate those already in their orbit. As an introvert, this doesn’t appeal to me – it mostly exhausts me. Add to that the fact that if you’re not a customer or a potential lead, you’re not particularly interesting.

With that in my backpack, myConf was something entirely different. A breath of fresh air.

But let’s start by describing what myConf is. It’s a small conference organized by factor10, a consultancy firm based in Sweden. Over the course of two half-days – one afternoon and one morning – eight different presentations were given by well-renowned speakers. The conference is not overcrowded; with fewer than 100 participants, the atmosphere is open and makes it easy to connect with people. Even for an introvert. The structure of the event is designed to support networking and discussions – without forcing them.

For example, the room was divided into groups that competed against each other to build LEGO bridges capable of holding as much weight as possible. A perfect opportunity to chat and connect while focusing on creating something together.

Another example was during dinner. After each course, you were asked to switch seats, placing you next to new people. This increased the number of people you interacted with, but in a relaxed and natural way. If you didn’t find much in common with the people next to you – no problem. When the course finished, you moved on. If you did have more things to talk about, there was plenty of time during the breaks to continue the conversation. A really clever approach to help people ease into conversations with others and get to know eachother.

No expo. No selling. It was incredibly refreshing to be in a space where no one was trying to sell you anything – not during the breaks, and not from the stage. The presentations were about sharing ideas, perspectives, and experiences. Not selling “truths”.

These are my reflections from the two days at myConf. And yes – if I can attend next year, I absolutely will.