Hey there!
I hope you’re enjoying this speaker preview series. This time we’re bringing you a real heavy-weigh champion in the virtual summit space - what we call Summit Strikes.
Darrell Vesterfelt is the GOAT when it comes to thsi topic.
If you’ve ever launched a product, a startup, or even a simple online course… you probably know the sound of silence.
No matter how good the idea is, no matter how sharp the messaging feels, most launches land flat. Not because the founder is incompetent. Not because the product is bad. But because attention is now the rarest resource in business.
That’s exactly what Darrell Vesterfelt and I dug into during our recent interview for the Viral Genius Podcast. Darrell is the VP of Growth at Mighty Networks and one of the most experienced event marketers on the planet. He’s run everything from 100-person micro-summits to juggernauts with 180,000+ registrations.
And he’s come to one conclusion:
A well-executed summit breaks through the noise in a way no other marketing lever can.
Darrell put it simply:
“If I’m going to choose to spend my time somewhere, I’m going to spend it where I can get all the information — not just one idea.”
That’s the power of summits. They create a gravitational pull. Multiple speakers. Multiple ideas. Massive perceived value. It’s the only format where people willingly give you hours of their time in exchange for zero dollars.
And once you understand the psychology, the strategy becomes obvious:
1. Summits break the norm.
A feed full of micro-content doesn’t stand a chance against a multi-speaker event.
2. They overwhelm with value.
As Darrell says, you want attendees walking away thinking:
“If they give me this much for free… what happens when I pay them?”
3. They’re scalable — at any size.
Darrell’s run astonishing 180K-person events. But he’s also run 200-person events that outperformed the giant ones because the end goal was clearer.
4. They activate networks.
You don’t need a giant ad budget. You need the right positioning, the right partners, and the right “reason to gather.”
This is the Strike Marketing philosophy in action: create a moment, deliver overwhelming value, and turn that attention into lasting authority.
Darrell will go deep on this in his session at the Strike Marketing Summit: “Why Most Startups Launch to Crickets — and How One Summit Can Fill Your Funnel Overnight.”
If you’ve ever wanted to use an event - big or small - to launch a product, a company, or a category… you’ll want to be there.
👉 Register here:
