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One of the best things about trade shows is not the scheduled meetings but the chance meetings that come up unexpectedly. Just because you happened to go down one aisle instead of the next, you bump into an old acquaintance that you have not seen for years, or you happen to talk to the guy in line next to you to get a $5 Pepsi, and it turns into a great, new connection.
When I first started going to trade shows, I used to try to fill up every hour with meetings. Invariably, by lunch on the first day, my schedule would be turned on its head due to cancellations, re-schedules, and no-shows. Now, I try to have a more relaxed schedule and leave more time for chance meetings. As it turned out for this show, the chance meetings were probably at least as productive as the scheduled meetings. Because the aisles were quite full on the first day and pretty full on Day 2, there were plenty of people to bump into. I have learned to “embrace the chaos” of trade shows and roll with the punches.
I am often asked about the return on investment for trade shows. If I analyze the return from just one trade show, the results are worse than investing in Tesla in the past few months. Selling or buying a business is a huge decision, so we rarely meet a prospective client and immediately move toward an engagement agreement. APEX EXPO has been one of the best ways to make great connections that pay off down the road. I have been coming to the IPC show since it was in Long Beach in 1999, and it has been a key source of new business for me.
For 2026, I think I will either just stick to the show or limit my offsite meetings to Orange County. This year, I made a couple of “field trips” to visit companies in Los Angeles and San Diego and spent too much time in SoCal traffic. Maybe I will even make a side trip to Disneyland one of these days see what kind of characters I bump into over there.
Tom Kastner is the president of GP Ventures, an investment banking firm focused on sell-side and buy-side transactions in the tech and electronics industries. GP Ventures has offices in Chicago and Tokyo, with five people in total. Tom Kastner is a registered representative of, and securities transactions are conducted through, StillPoint Capital, LLC—a Tampa, Florida, member of FINRA and SIPC. StillPoint Capital is not affiliated with GP Ventures.
