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Happenstance in Sin City: My adventures at CES 2015

Loren Trlin
Loren Trlin
// Picture this: 160,000 tech geeks descending upon Sin City. Sounds like hell to some, but it’s the stuff of dreams for a young startup entrepreneur.

Picture this: 160,000 tech geeks descending upon Sin City. Sounds like hell to some, but it’s the stuff of dreams for a young startup entrepreneur.


The Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (“CES”) is held in January every year and attracts 3,600 exhibitors and 170,000 attendees in an exhibition area covering 205,000 square metres. CES is a gathering place for people who thrive on the business of consumer technology. It’s a place where deals and networking is done on the exhibit floor, in business meetings and in chance meetings.

I hadn’t planned on attending CES. In fact, I ended up at CES through sheer chance. I was celebrating my brother’s birthday with him in Vegas. We visited a bar and found ourselves sipping cocktails surrounded by a hoard of tech nerds. Where were we? WHAT WAS THIS?!

We met a guy called Tony who convinced me that I would be crazy not to attend the tech monstrosity that is CES. At 2am (and a few cocktails later) I purchased my CES ticket. I skipped my 9am Los Angeles flight and my CES adventure began!

That same morning I found myself at Eureka Park, the startup corner of CES. Eureka was already BUZZing (see what I did there?) when I arrived for the first day. I spent the day asking questions and listening to the stories of my fellow startup treps. I admired the booths drawing the crowds and I got to know the stories of the founders sitting solemnly behind their empty booths.

There is something really exciting and magical about being surrounded by people at the beginning of their journey into the unknown. I met some inspiring people that gave me some useful tips like the importance of clearly conveying to your potential customer/investor what exactly it is you are doing and what problem you’re trying to solve.

Of the latest tech gadget trends, my favourite was the ZUta Pocket Printer along with some of the pet surveillance technology. A device that lets you monitor every scratch, sniff and nap of your furry friend while you’re at work? Genius! I watched an interesting presentation by Apptentive co-founder, Robi Ganguly on “How to get 100 Customers to Love Your Product”. My take away from that presentation is that we should always remember that those using our website and product are people, not users. This is something I constantly remind myself as I move towards launching my own startup, Buzzy. The people that will build and interact in my community are the key. They are not simply users of a product.

All in all, I had a wonderful, spontaneous adventure at CES. Despite arriving tired, I left incredibly energised by what I had seen. It made me realise that the Perth startup community has a lot to offer the world; we just need to be more confident in our ability to dream and play big. I’d highly recommend that you add CES to your bucket list.

It’s a must see. See you at CES next year!

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Loren Trlin

Loren Trlin

Loren Trlin was the founder of Buzzy Tasks and Hitch Me Up in Perth but is now based in Beverly Hills, Ca, where she is a business & transformation coach.
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